69407 - Comparative History of European Cities

Course contents

Teaching starts in September 2021.

Europe is a continent with a high urban density and population; understanding its historical dynamics, starting from the ancient urbanization, helps to better understand the complexities of contemporary reality. The course aims to provide a comparative picture of the main stages of the formation and transformation of urban settlements. By means of the analysis of some case studies that can make use of different types of sources (archaeological, literary, documentary, etc.), the course aims to propose a critical vision of a long and complex reality of European urban history, sometimes misunderstood, which has deeply influenced the formation of our culture and our institutions.

The course in particular includes a series of lessons dedicated to the European historical framework ( 1st-15th centuries), structured according to the following thematic frameworks:
Roman Empire and urbanization of Europe
People on the move: European ethnogenesis
Roman barbarian kingdoms and the finding of capital cities
Europe and the Carolingian Empire
Islamic presence in Europe
Feudal Europe and local authorities
Papacy, Empire and Cities in the central centuries of the Middle Ages
European monarchies and cities
Forms of power between municipal and stately urban realities
Urban economy and society in the late Middle Ages

Readings/Bibliography

One textbook among the following

- Introduzione alla storia medievale, a cura di G. Albertoni, S. Collavini, T. Lazzari, Bologna, Il Mulino 2015

- P. Grillo, Storia medievale. Italia, Europa, Mediterraneo, Ediz. Mylab. Pearson 2019

- G. Piccinni, I mille anni del Medioevo, Ediz. Mylab. Pearson 2018

- A. Zorzi, Manuale di storia medievale, Torino, UTET Università, 2016

Those who have included in their study plan training activities with code 11379, in addition to the bibliography previously indicated, will be assigned additional bibliography to be agreed with the teacher at the beginning of the course.

Teaching methods

Teaching is by a combination of lectures and seminars.The active involvement of students is strongly recommended.

Assessment methods

Students will be asked three open-ended questions aimed at verifying their knowledge of urban history topics, as taught during the term and available in the Bibliography. Among the indicators that will contribute to the evaluation there are the knowledge of the topics discussed in the lessons and contained in the Bibliography; the property of language and the ability to compare the evolutionary historical lines of the major European cities.

Teaching tools

Lectures based on aerial views, cartography and literary as well as archival sources.

Office hours

See the website of Rosa Smurra