81749 - History of Women and Gender in the Medieval Period (1)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will know and apply the methods of gender studies and be able to recognise them in medieval historiography. In this light they will analyse narrative sources, legislation, treatises, literature and iconography. They will be able to write a little paper, collecting, selecting, organizing and logically outlining documentary data and information so as to formulate independent conclusions and opinions. They will interpret the products of historical communication with a critical eye and be able to personlize their own learning path in an organized, independent way, displaying self-criticism and interpersonal relating skills.

Course contents

Queenship: Female Power and Gender Discourses in the Early Middle Ages (6th–11th Centuries)

The term queenship in anglophone historiography refers to a specific field of research that investigates the representation and role of queens, their actual power, and their capacity to exercise independent political agency. This course will focus on queenship, or female royalty, in the early Middle Ages (from the 6th to the 11th century). The topic will be explored through the analysis of recent scholarly literature and direct readings of primary sources (in Latin, always accompanied by translations).

Conducted primarily in a seminar format, the course will examine both the concrete forms of female royal power and the use of gender models in contemporary political discourse, aimed at legitimizing or delegitimizing the queen’s actions and role.

Readings/Bibliography

Attending students will work on the course materials (sources, images, powerpoints and readings) that will be made available on the University's teaching platform.

Non-attending students will have to study:

Tiziana Lazzari, Le donne nell'alto Medioevo, Bruno Mondadori, Milano, 2010.

and one reading of their choice from the following list:

· G. Ravegnani, Teodora, Salerno, Salerno Editrice, 2016.

· Cristina La Rocca, Amalasunta, madre di un re bambino, e la competizione per il regno nell'Italia ostrogota (in margine a «Variae» XI, I), in Genre et compétition dans les sociétés occidentales du haut Moyen Age, IVe-XIe siècle, a c. di Régine Le Jan e Sylvie Joye, Turnhout, Brepols 2018 (Haut Moyen Age 29) pp. 65-77; da preparare insieme con: Kate Cooper, The Heroine and the Historian: Procopius of Caesarea on the Troubled Reign of Queen Amalasuentha, in A Companion to Ostrogothic Italy, a c. di Michael Shane Bjornlie, Kristina Sessa e Jonathan J. Arnold, Leiden-Boston, MA, E.J. Brill 2016 (Brill's Companions to European History 9) pp. 296-315.

· Germana Gandino, La memoria di Teodolinda nelle fonti altomedievali, in Teodolinda. I Longobardi all'alba dell'Europa. Atti del secondo Convegno internazionale di studio (Monza, Gazzada, Castelseprio-Torba, Cairate, 2-7 dicembre 2015), a c. di Gabriele Archetti, Spoleto (Perugia), Fondazione Centro italiano di studi sull'Alto Medioevo (CISAM) 2018 (Convegni 2) pp. 855-872; da preparare insieme con Nicoletta Francovich Onesti, Le regine dei Longobardi: archetipi narrativi e legittimazioni dinastiche, in Ead., Le regine dei longobardi e altri saggi, Artemide, Roma, 2013, pp. 7-30.

· Tiziana Lazzari, La rappresentazione dei legami di parentela e il ruolo delle donne nell'alta aristocrazia del regno italico (secc. IX-X): l'esempio di Berta di Toscana, in Agire da donna. Modelli e pratiche di rappresentazione (secoli VI-X). Atti del Convegno (Padova, 18-19 febbraio 2005), a c. di Cristina La Rocca, Turnhout, Brepols 2007 (Haut Moyen Age 3) pp. 129-149; da preparare insieme con Germana Gandino, Aspirare al regno: Berta di Toscana, ibidem, pp. 249-268.

· Cristina La Rocca, Liutprando da Cremona e il paradigma femminile di dissoluzione dei Carolingi, in Agire da donna. Modelli e pratiche di rappresentazione (secoli VI-X). Atti del Convegno (Padova, 18-19 febbraio 2005), a c. di Cristina La Rocca, Turnhout, Brepols 2007 (Haut Moyen Age 3) pp. 291-308; da preparare insieme con: Janet L. Nelson, Queens as Jezebels: the careers of Brunhild and Balthild in Merovingian history, in Women in the Medieval world, vol. 4, a c. di Cordelia Beattie, Routledge, Abingdon & New York 2017 (Critical Concepts in Women's History) pp. 3-41

· Chiara Stedile, La Vita Mathildis antiquior e la scrittura femminile in epoca ottoniana, prefazione di Tiziana Lazzari, Pacini, Pisa, 2023.

Teaching methods

After a few introductory lectures presenting the topic, students will be involved in the reading and presentation of specialized scholarly articles and in the analysis of selected primary sources

Assessment methods

Attending students will prepare an essay of approximately 10 pages (20,000 characters, including spaces) outlining the results of individual or group work set during the lectures.

The essay must be submitted in digital format (Word, Openoffice, pdf) at least 5 days before the date of the exam.

Non-attending students will take an oral test to check their learning and understanding of the books on the syllabus.

Evaluation criteria
In the evaluation of both the essay (frequenting students) and the oral test (non-attending students), account will be taken of the student's ability to find their way around the sources and bibliographical material proposed, to illustrate themes and problems and to be able to link them together.

The following will therefore be assessed:
- The mastery of the contents
- The ability to synthesise and analyse themes and concepts
- The ability to express oneself in language appropriate to the subject matter

The student's attainment of an organic vision of the themes addressed in the lessons 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 synthesis and analysis skills articulated in a correct but not always appropriate language, will lead to fair marks.

Formative deficiencies and/or inappropriate language - albeit in the context of minimal knowledge of the examination material - will lead to grades that do not exceed sufficiency.

Formative deficiencies, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the bibliographical materials offered during the course will lead to negative marks.

Teaching tools

"Virtuale", the University's repository of teaching materials, will be used for the distribution of teaching materials: power points summarising lecture content, pdf files of sources and further reading.

Students who require specific services and adaptations to teaching activities due to a disability or specific learning disorders (SLD), must first contact the appropriate office:https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students .

Office hours

See the website of Giacomo Vignodelli