29748 - History of Late Antiquity (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

After completing the course the student should recognize the impact of the Judeo-Christian culture on the transformation of the culture and of the values system in the late Roman and Hellenistic world in the centuries from III to VI A.D. The student should be able to assess the relationships and connections with other disciplines identifying the specific contribution of historical studies He should be able to identify the opportunities for discussion and learning that are mosta appropriate to their abilities and inclinations.

Course contents

Cities and Capitals in Late Antiquity: real Capital, Imaginary Capital, Emblematic Capital, Capital intermittently

1) Political, Cultural, ideological aspects.

2) Identity, Alterity, differences.

The study of late-antique capital will also allow for the integration of other perspectives: a) the historical development of urban and settlement systems and their impact on the territories, b) the theme of complex processes of meeting different cultural matrices, c) Universalism of empires and universal powers (secular and religious). Universal capitals can be studied as very extensive contact terminals that are reflected in cultural, demographic and social experiences: universal capital sees many travelers, many foreigners, many diplomats, and listens to many languages.

The articulation of the course is a continuation of the International Joint Field Work on Late Antiquity project (Unibo and Udem) and envisages integrated teaching between the Département d'histoire of UdeM and the Department of History Cultures Civilisations of UNIBO, through the use of an e-learning platform and lessons in vision conference through the Polycorm platform. At the end of the course a study trip is planned to offer UNibo students the opportunity to visit some of the late antique Italian capitals (depending on availability and to be decided during the course: Milan, Ravenna, Rome, Aquileia)
For the academic year 2022/2023, collaboration and some joint lectures are also planned with the History of Late Antiquity course of the University of Turin (Prof. Andrea Pellizzari) and some connections and lectures/conferences from Paris VIII (lecture in Italian and French), the University of Palermo and the University of Missouri-Kansas City (lecture in Italian and English). Students from Turin will join the educational trip if Ravenna is the chosen destination.

Given the particular structure of the program a specific calendar will be provided during the first lessons. Attendance is recommended to those interested in participating in group activities, including educational travel.

Themes of the lessons in visionconference:
The capitals of the Western Roman Empire: Rome
The capitals of the Western Roman Empire: Ravenna
The capitals of the Western Roman Empire: Milan
The other capitals of the empire: Antioch and Constantinople

N.B. The educational trip can only be planned once the pandemic situation is clearer.

http://www.disci.unibo.it/it/ricerca/laboratori-di-ricerca/joint-field-work-on-late-antiquity

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/groups/339311243217470/

Readings/Bibliography

Attending students:

Given the particularity of the course, integrated with Udem, attending students will be delivered at the beginning of course teaching materials, also available online and on the e-learning platform, on which to prepare the exam, in agreement with the teacher Udem, who will deliver The same program for his students in Canada.

Non attending students:

1)B. Girotti, Ch. R. Raschle, Capitali e città nella tarda antichità, Milano 2020 

https://www.ledonline.it/ledonline/945-citta-tarda-antichita.html

2)The New Late Antiquity: A Gallery of Intellectual Portraits, 19th, a cura di Clifford Ando e M. Formisano, Universitätsverlag Winter, 2021. N.B.: in this book the non-attending student only has to study the following chapters: Preface; P. Blaudeau; G.A. Cecconi;L. Cracco Ruggini and R. Lizzi Testa;A. Giardina;N. Lenski; A.Marcone;I. Tantillo; C.O. Tomasi.

Non-attending students are requested to contact the professor via e-mail, via institutional email studio.unibo.it.

Teaching methods

Lessons will be held in the oral form by the teacher.
Student participation is required when reflecting on documents.

Assessment methods

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending.

Oral exam. The examination consists of an assessment of the knowledge acquired during the course through the comments of a few texts chosen from all those in the program and educational materials and the verification of the ability to concisely and critically expose the topics addressed at the base of the contents of exam bibliography and provided educational materials.

The interview will have to emerge a solid basic knowledge of the discipline.

The assessment will therefore be based on:

- Mastery of content;
- Synthesis and analysis of issues and problems;
- Ability to express themselves adequately and with language appropriate to the subject matter.

The achievement by the student the ability to comment comprehensively the steps and to express an organic vision of the topics discussed in class with a good mastery of expression and specific language will be evaluated with marks of excellence. A mnemonic knowledge of matter, together with capacity of synthesis and analysis articulated in a proper language, but not always appropriate, lead to discrete evaluations. training gaps and / or inappropriate language - albeit in a context of minimal knowledge of exam material - will lead to votes that will not exceed sufficiency. training gaps, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the bibliographic materials offered during the course will be evaluated negatively.

Teaching tools

Slides, photocopies, uploaded materials online, e-learning platform with additional teaching materials.

Office hours

See the website of Beatrice Girotti