B5169 - History of the Professions in the Early Moden Age (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will have mastered methodologies of an inherently interdisciplinary nature relating to the history of the professions in the early modern age, reflecting in their diversity the complexity of approaches that characterise this field of study. They know how to analyse the processes of institutional formation and organisation, the transformations that occurred in relation to changes in the state and the market. Thanks to their ability to access texts and data, they will be able to promote a critical and scientific approach and develop research on professionals, understood as a social group, whose composition, marriage alliances, transmission of intellectual capital through the family, income, participation in urban life and political institutions are studied in a diachronic perspective. They will also be able to understand the gender structuring that has accompanied the development of the professions, studying their spatial dislocation within cities and, finally, their cultural representations. They will also know how to use for different purposes – communication, teaching, dissemination, conservation – different types of knowledge about the professions in relation to mentalities, society, territory. They will be aware of the value of communication between different disciplines and of the specific contribution of the historian in promoting a critical and scientific approach to subjects of interest in different contexts. Finally, they can demonstrate methodological discipline and a spirit of self-criticism, as well as analytical and synthesising skills.

Course contents

The course aims to provide students with the tools to understand the historical development of the legal, medical, and technical professions in Europe, tracing the lines of continuity and discontinuity between past and present.

The educational objective of the course is therefore to illustrate the evolutionary dynamics that led to the structure of the legal profession, the medical profession, and the technical professions (notaries, engineers, and architects), through reflection on the historical organizational models and rules that characterized each individual profession from the 15th to the 18th centuries.

Students will also be involved in a series of three seminars, organized jointly with the History of Work and Professions course (Prof. Alessandra Cantagalli), on the evolution of professions from the Middle Ages to the contemporary age.

Readings/Bibliography

COMMON PART FOR ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

Avvocati, medici, ingegneri. Alle origini delle professioni moderne, a cura di Maria Luisa Betri e Alessandro Pastore, Bologna, Clueb, 1997 (6 ESSAYS)

Maria Teresa Guerrini, Le metamorfosi di Astrea. Professionisti del diritto nella Bologna d'età moderna, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2025 (dowloading in open access: https://series.francoangeli.it/index.php/oa/catalog/book/1415) (only pp. 93-197)

The early modern history at undergraduate level is assumed to be known. Students who need to recover and integrate their knowledge in this regard may rely on Carlo Capra, Storia moderna (1492-1848), Firenze, Le Monnier, 2021

 

ATTENDING STUDENTS

Attending students (up to a maximum of 7/8) will be asked to deepen a specific course topic, assigned by the teacher during the first lessons, with a ppt presentation in class.

Attending students who not choose the ppt presentation will have to agree with the teacher some readings chosen based on the interests raised by lessons

NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS

Some texts will have to be agreed with the teacher based on the interest generated by reading the manual

STUDENTS ARE WARMLY INVITED TO COME TO THE EXAM WITH THE BOOKS ON WHICH THEY HAVE PREPARED

Teaching methods

Lectures using Powerpoint presentations, available on Virtuale

Assessment methods

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

For attending students the exam consists of a deepening of the topics analyzed during the course agreed with the teacher at the beginning of the lessons. The student must trace the most significant literature and draw up a report in Power Point that will be presented and discussed in the classroom. The capacity of analysis of texts examined and areas to these proposed and the ability to adequately summarize the main concepts contained therein constitutes the element of evaluation. Students vill complete the test taking the oral exam on manual indicated in the bibliography.

Not attending students are required to study the manual indicated in the bibliography to which must be added the reading of two other texts agreed with the teacher on the basis of the interest aroused by the study of the manual.

The exam will be conducted orally and will assess the student's command of the material studied in the course. The student will be judged on his ability to summarise and critically discuss topics raised in the course, making use of the exam bibliography and the course tools provided.

The assessment will thus consider the student's:
- knowledge and understanding of the topics covered;
- ability to summarise and analyse themes and concepts;
- familiarity with the terminology associated with the subject and his ability to use it effectively.

Top marks will be awarded to a student displaying an overall understanding of the topics discussed during the lectures, combined with a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology

Average marks will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the material and is able to summarise them satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology.

Teaching tools

Materials on VIRTUALE

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Maria Teresa Guerrini