29424 - Seminars (1) (LM) (Sto.)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the seminar, through contact with scholars or experts from different disciplinary fields, the student will know how to organise and collect complex information in a coherent form, know how to apply methodologies of critical analysis, preservation and valorisation of historical memory. He/she knows how to identify a research problem relevant to historical research and can identify and make appropriate use of the sources of information needed to address it.

Course contents

Each year, the History and Oriental Studies programme organises several seminars on topics relevant to its educational objectives, enabling students to engage with the scientific research conducted by scholars and experts.

Students will attend a reasonable number of these in-person seminars, selecting them exclusively from the overall seminar offerings published on the programme's website under the 'Seminari liberi' and 'Seminari a ciclo' pages.

Seminars organised by other degree programmes may count towards the 6 CFU requirement only if an explicit agreement is in place between the degree programmes, as indicated on the event flyer.

Readings/Bibliography

Attending students.

The course consists of 30 hours of seminars.

Students are considered attending if they attend in person 22 hours (75%) of seminars, as evidenced by the seminar organisers' signatures on the designated sign-in sheet available here.

Students must collect proof of attendance for at least 22 hours of seminars and write four in-depth reports (in Italian or English), each ranging from a minimum of 900 words (three pages) to a maximum of 1,500 words (five pages). Each report must provide a comprehensive summary of the seminar content, highlighting the historical context of the topic covered, the sources used and the speaker's methodology.

Each report must be submitted within one month of the seminar's date to the teacher who organised it. For reports pertaining to Seminari liberi, this deadline is one month from the seminar's date. For reports pertaining to Seminari a ciclo, this deadline is one month from the seminar's conclusion. Each report must include the student’s first and last name, degree programme, student ID number, and email address at the top. The text may be submitted as a Word document attached to an email. Students are responsible for awaiting the teacher’s evaluation of each report and collecting the approval notifications sent via email.

 

Non-attending students.

The seminar experience by its very nature includes an experiential component that cannot be replicated, such as interaction with scholars, in-person debate and exposure to diverse disciplinary perspectives. While the programme for non-attending students cannot replace this component, it does simulate its cognitive structure: gathering diverse stimuli, critical analysis and reasoned synthesis.

Those unable to attend classes must therefore submit a portfolio of four progressively structured assignments based on the following modules:

1. Seminar journal (1.500 words): selection and listening to four seminar-style audio/video contributions (conferences, academic podcasts or lectures, with a minimum duration of 45 minutes each). For each, provide a critical summary and personal observation on the method or thesis.
2. Research Statement (1.200–1.500 words): a systematic survey of critical reviews in two to three academic journals in the field (timeframe: at least three years). Select 6–8 convergent reviews and map the emerging debate. Formulate a well-reasoned research question and a working hypothesis.
3. Note on Sources (1.200 words): compile a reasoned list of at least eight sources (primary and secondary, of at least two different types) that are relevant to the research question identified in Module 2. Critically evaluate the reliability, accessibility, relevance and limitations of the sources.
4. Argumentative essay (2.500–3.500 words): a reasoned exploration of the identified research problem, making critical use of the cited sources. Rather than providing a definitive answer to the research question, a methodologically sound and historiographically grounded discussion is expected.

Use of AI tools
Assignments 3 or 4 may include an optional section of around 400 words providing an account of and critical evaluation of the use of AI tools. This should include a statement of use, documentation of at least one concrete interaction (prompt and output in the appendix), a critical evaluation of the output and a methodological reflection on the relationship between generative tools and historical research.

The extended document with complete instructions for each module is available on Virtuale.

The portfolio of four assignments must be submitted to the coordinating teacher for activity 29424 – Seminars (Alice Bencivenni for the Historical Sciences curriculum; Mattia Guidetti for the Oriental Studies curriculum) at least one month before the exam date. The coordinating teachers are also available to answer any questions regarding the programme for non-attending students.

Teaching methods

Seminar activities are held in person.

These include lectures by experts on historical, historiographical and archival topics, as well as introductory lectures on Oriental languages, film series, in-depth studies of sources for historical research and cultural studies, and various types of workshops.

Assessment methods

In order to receive an evaluation, attending students must submit the following documents to the coordinator of Activity 29424 – Seminars (Alice Bencivenni for the Historical Sciences curriculum; Mattia Guidetti for the Oriental Studies curriculum):

1) the signature collection form certifying attendance at a minimum of 22 hours of seminars;
2) the four seminar papers;
3) the evaluations of these papers, as communicated by email from the faculty members organising the individual seminars.

Non-attending students must submit the portfolio of four papers required by the programme to the coordinator of Activity 29424 – Seminars (Alice Bencivenni for the Historical Sciences curriculum; Mattia Guidetti for the Oriental Studies curriculum.

These papers are evaluated based on four criteria: historical contextualisation, critical use of sources, coherence of argumentation and methodological reflection. A detailed document outlining the assessment criteria for each of these aspects is available on Virtuale.

Course 29424-Seminars does not involve a numerical grade, but rather a pass/fail status.

Teaching tools

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible [https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students] as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Alice Bencivenni