11379 - Medieval History (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will have a general critical knowledge of the medieval era, grasp its various components and be familiar with the historians’ trends and latest research avenues, tackling at least some of the most important sources upon which the Middle Ages have been defined. They will be able to state issues and interact critically, with texts and data to hand. They will have come to appreciate the importance of setting categories, languages and concepts in a long-term framework. They will be able to talk about the basic bibliography, showing they can read and critically understand it, linking up to issues discussed in class. They will read history texts in at least one language besides Italian and, in speaking, use the appropriate technical terminology.

Course contents

The Middle Ages: a thousand years of history

The course aims to provide a basic knowledge of the medieval period and will be divided into two parts.

In the first part, topics and problems connected with the very definition of the historical period and the structure of the sources available for the reconstruction of those centuries are dealt with, followed by a series of lectures on the salient features of the chronological narration of events, partly following the textbook.

In the second part of the course, a thematic in-depth study of Italian Comuni is presented, particularly from a political and institutional perspective. The evolution of the historiographical question on the municipalities will be briefly discussed, and then the institutional phases and general political issues will be examined in depth, with examples taken from the events of the main Italian municipalities.

Readings/Bibliography

Part I)

All students, attending and non-attending, must study

 

- the textbook:

A. Zorzi, Manuale di storia medievale, UTET, Torino, 2021 (SECOND EDITION)

- the powerpoints used in the lesson and available on Virtual

The written test will be based on them. 


Part II)

Attending students (those who attend at least 75% of the lectures) will have to read short scholarly essays that will be indicated in class, to be chosen according to their interest in the topics covered in class, and study the lecture notes to prepare for the oral test.

Non-attending students will be required to prepare for the oral test:

1. G. Milani, I comuni italiani, Laterza, Roma-Bari.

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2. one volume to choose from:

- L. Tanzini, A consiglio. La vita politica nell'Italia dei comuni, Laterza, Roma-Bari.

- P. Grillo, La falsa inimicizia. Guelfi e ghibellini nell'Italia del Duecento, Salerno editore, Roma.

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures: presentation of the topics and in-depth study of some particular aspects. Some sources, provided in Italian translation, will also be used and commented on in class.

Assessment methods

All students, whether attending or not, must take a written test.

--> To be admitted to the oral test it is necessary to have taken the written test and passed it with a score of at least 18/30.

--> The written test and the oral test can be taken in the same call or in different calls.

The written test is designed to test your knowledge of the textbook and during the Part 1 and consists of 6 open questions, requiring precise answers and good synthesis skills, marked from 0 to 5 points. The maximum possible result is 30/30.

Therefore, the following will be assessed:

- The mastery of the contents

- The ability to synthesise and analyse themes and concepts

- The ability to express oneself in writing in an adequate manner and with language appropriate to the subject matter.

The student's attainment of an organic vision of the themes addressed by the textbook, their critical use, a good mastery of expression and the use of specific vocabulary will be assessed with marks of excellence.

A mnemonic knowledge of the subject, together with the ability to synthesise and analyse in correct, but not always appropriate, language, will lead to fair marks.

Inadequate training and/or inappropriate language - albeit in a context of minimal knowledge of the examination material - will lead to grades below satisfactory.

Inadequate training, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the textbook content will result in negative marks.

The oral test is a free conversation aimed at ascertaining the knowledge acquired:

- of the contents of the lectures and the in-depth readings on "Virtuale" for the attending students;
- of the two books chosen for the not attending students.

The interview will assess the knowledge acquired, the ability to synthesise and the critical skills developed by the student.

The assessment of the test will take into account, in particular, the student's ability to orientate himself within the examination material in order to extract useful information that will allow him to illustrate themes and problems and to be able to link them together.

Therefore, the following will be assessed:

- The mastery of the contents

- The ability to synthesise and analyse themes and concepts

- The ability to express oneself adequately and in language appropriate to the subject matter.

The student's achievement of an organic vision of the themes, together with their critical use, a good mastery of expression and specific language will be assessed with marks of excellence.

A mnemonic knowledge of the subject, together with the ability to synthesise and analyse articulated in correct, but not always appropriate, language, will lead to fair marks.

Inadequate training and/or inappropriate language - albeit in the context of a minimal knowledge of the examination material - will lead to grades below satisfactory.

Formative deficiencies, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the bibliographic materials will be negatively evaluated.

The maximum mark for the oral examination is 30/30.

The final examination mark will be the average of the written and oral examination results.

At the teacher's discretion, an honourable mention may be added.

Teaching tools

"Virtuale", the University's repository, will be used to share tools to support teaching: power points summarizing the contents of the lessons, pdf files of sources and proposed readings.

Office hours

See the website of Tommaso Duranti