28955 - History of Medieval Europe (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student acquires the required knowledge to orient himself in the history of Europe and Mediterranean basin and the critical skills useful to operate in complex theoretical frameworks, even in terms of historical memory in contemporary culture. The student will be able also to face usefully the connections of historical studies with other human sciences. At the end of the course, the student gains in-depth critical knowledge of the main lines of the formation of Europe through the interaction between historical phenomena and spatial definitions, the most up-to-date historiographical and scientifical debate. Is able to apply specific tools and source analysis, and to critically evaluate different culture. Is able to communicate effectively in written and / or oral form.

Course contents

The economic basis of power: the royal assets in the Early Middle Ages

The collapse of the structures of the Roman Empire determined, at different times in the reigns of the barbarian West, the end of the tax collection system that had been the basis of its organization. Public goods, or rather, the properties of the royal authorities, became the only form of financing for the kingdoms and their political, military and administrative structures.

After an introductory part on the Early Medieval era, the course will address the problem of the economic basis of royal power, starting from the very notion of "public good". It will examine the forms of management of these goods, the networks of power connected to such management, the ways and outcomes of embezzlement, the strategies put in place by the rulers to overcome the problem.

Readings/Bibliography

Attending students will have specific readings in order to prepare their own papers.

Not attending students will have a written and an oral test.

Written test will be based on S. Gasparri, C. La Rocca, Tempi barbarici. L'Europa occidentale tra antichità e Medioevo (300-900), Roma, Carocci, 2012.

For the oral test, they will study a book, chosen in this list:

W. Pohl, Le origini etniche dell'Europa: barbari e romani tra antichità e Medioevo, Roma, Viella, 2011.

B. Jussen, I Franchi, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2015.

P. Geary, In principio erano le donne, Roma, Carocci, 2018.

G. Albertoni, L'elefante di Carlo Magno, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2020.

I. Barbiera, Memorie sepolte. Tombe e identità nell'alto medioevo (secoli V-VIII), Roma, Carocci, 2012.

Tesori. Forme di accumulazione della ricchezza nell'alto medioevo (secoli V-XI), a cura di S. Gelichi e C. La Rocca, Roma, Viella, 2004.

Teaching methods

The teaching is a module of the course Origine dell'Europa and is fully integrated with the module Civiltà dell'Alto Medioevo.

It is not possible to attend only one module.

The teaching method will be mixed.

During the first two weeks (Civiltà dell'Alto Medioevo module), in distance learning mode, six frontal lessons will describe the main characteristics of the early medieval period.

In the following three weeks (Civiltà dell'Alto Medioevo module), in presence, the course will deal with the theme of the course with direct participation of the students, who will be asked to read small essays, not always in Italian language, to prepare for the meetings with colleagues from other universities who will participate in the lessons.

Regular attendance and active participation of students in the lessons is therefore required.

After the teaching break at the beginning of November, the module Storia dell'Europa medievale will begin, which will have a workshop form and will be structured in two weekly meetings of three hours each.

Students will have to present to the class, in small groups, the results of the reading of some scientific essays assigned to them. This will be followed by lessons dedicated to the filing of sources in digital format, the construction of a database, and their analysis according to the theme of the course.

The students, divided into small groups, will be guided in this way to prepare the database necessary to elaborate, at the end of the course, a written paper focused on the analysis of the data obtained and on the commentary of the "fiscal" indicators present in the assigned source

Assessment methods

This course (6CFU) is a component of the integrated course Origini dell'Europa C.I. (1) LM.

If the student's study plan includes the integrated course (12CFU), the final mark will be the arithmetic mean of the marks obtained in the two components (Civiltà dell'Alto medioevo and Storia dell'Europa medievale).

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

Students attending will have to follow both courses. At the beginning of the second module of lessons, they will have to present to the class, in small groups, the results of the reading of some scientific essays assigned to them.

At the end of the course, they will produce a written paper which will be discussed in a reserved examination section, and which will be the only final test of the integrated course and, therefore, of both lessons.

The evaluation of the papers will be based on both the completeness and formal accuracy of the text and the ability to critically analyse issues and problems.

Non-attending students will have to take only one written test, common to both courses, followed by one oral test. The written test and the oral test can be taken in the same appeal or in different appeals.

To take the oral test you must have taken the written test and passed it with a score of at least 18/30.

The written test is designed to test your knowledge of the manual and comprises five open questions, which require precise answers and a good ability to summarise; the first question will be marked out of 10 and the others out of 5. The maximum possible result is 30/30.

The following will be assessed:

- The mastery of the contents

- The ability to synthesise and analyse themes and concepts

- The ability to communicate adequately and in a language proper to the subject.

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 the higest grades.

A mnemonic knowledge of the subject, together with the ability to synthesise and analyse with a correct language but not always appropriate, will lead to intermediates grades.

Inadequate knowledge and/or inappropriate language - albeit in a context of minimal knowledge of the course's material - will lead to grades not exceeding sufficiency.

Inadequate training, inappropriate language and lack of orientation within the textbook content will be assessed negatively.

The oral test, also common to both courses, is a free conversation aimed at assessing your knowledge of the two books you have chosen, one for each course.

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

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

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 addressed in the bibliography 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 in correct, but not always appropriate, language, will lead to to intermediates grades.

Inadequate training and/or inappropriate language - albeit in a context of minimal knowledge of the examination material - will lead to grades not exceeding sufficiency.

Formative deficiencies, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the bibliographical material will lead to negative marks.

The maximum score awarded in the oral test is 30/30.
The final exam grade will be the average between the result of the written test and the result of the oral test.

At the teacher's discretion, a mention of praise may be added.

Teaching tools

IOL, the University's repository, will be used for the distribution of teaching tools: power points for the synthesis of lesson contents, pdf files of sources and further readings.

 

Office hours

See the website of Tiziana Lazzari