The teaching of Archives and Institutions, serving as a heuristic of documentary sources, has as its main objective the illustration of the birth, development, and management of archives with reference to the relevant producing entities. The second module examines the archival documentation created by non-state, public, and private producers from the 15th to the 20th century, with particular attention to the collections and archives preserved in the Historical Archives of the Municipality of Genoa.
The teaching of Special Archives, understood as a heuristic of documentary sources, has as its main objective that of illustrating the dynamics of formation, maintenance and conservation of archives in reference to the relative producing entities, of state, public, ecclesiastical and private origin, from the Middle Ages to the contemporary age.
The aim of the course is to provide the tools to understand the dynamics between administrative activity, documentary production and archival conservation, in order to be able to identify, among those available, the most suitable archival sources to satisfy the different information needs of historical research.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
There are no specific prerequisites.
Teaching is held through lectures and seminars with the direct involvement of students. Attendance, although not mandatory, is strongly recommended. The seminar insights proposed to attending students are used as ongoing assessment tools.
Students unable to attend may contact the teacher to request the activation of distance learning in synchronous or asynchronous form.
For students with disabilities or specific learning disabilities (SLD).
Students with disabilities or SLD are reminded that in order to request adaptations during the exam, they must first enter the certification on the University website at servizionline.unige.it in the "Students" section. The documentation will be verified by the University's Services Sector for the inclusion of students with disabilities and SLD (https://rubrica.unige.it/strutture/struttura/100111). Subsequently, well in advance (at least 10 days) of the exam date, an email must be sent to the teacher with whom the exam will be taken, copying both the School Contact Teacher for the inclusion of students with disabilities and SLD (Elisabetta.Colagrossi@unige.it) and the Sector indicated above. In the email, it is necessary to specify:
The contact person will confirm to the teacher that the applicant has the right to request adaptations during the exam and that such adaptations must be agreed with the teacher. The teacher will respond by communicating whether it is possible to use the requested adaptations. Requests must be sent at least 10 days before the exam date in order to allow the teacher to evaluate the content. In particular, in the case in which you intend to use concept maps for the exam (which must be much more concise than the maps used for studying), if the sending does not respect the expected times there will not be the technical time necessary to make any changes. For further information on the request for services and adaptations, please consult the document: https://unige.it/sites/unige.it/files/2024-05/Linee%20guida%20per%20la%20richiesta%20di%20servizi%2C%20di%20strumenti%20compensativi%20e_o%20di%20misure%20dispensative%20e%20di%20ausili%20specifici%20Maggio%202024.pdf
1) I. ZANNI ROSIELLO, Gli archivi nella società contemporanea, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2008 or F. VALACCHI, L'archivio aumentato. Tempi e modi di una digitalizzazione critica, Milano, Editrice Bibliografica, 2024.
An essay chosen from the volume: 2) Storia d’Italia nel secolo 20esimo. Strumenti e fonti edited by C. PAVONE, Rome 2006, downloadable at https://dgagaeta.cultura.gov.it/public/uploads/documents/Saggi/Saggi_88.pdf
Ricevimento: The teacher receives through the dedicated MSTeams channel, or at the office in via Balbi 2. However, it remains available via email at stefano.gardini@unige.it
STEFANO GARDINI (President)
september 15, 2025
The timetable for this course is available here: EasyAcademy
The exam is oral. The questioning leaves room for the presentation of a topic from the program chosen by the student and at least one additional question formulated by the teacher. Further questions may be asked by the teacher to better ascertain the candidate's level of preparation.
Attending students may present the results of an exercise agreed with the teacher for the exam.
The oral exam will focus on the topics covered in class and covered by the bibliography. The assessment of the level of preparation of the candidates will take into account the actual mastery of the basic notions of the discipline as well as the ability to critically rework the themes and problems covered in class, as well as the ability to establish relationships between different themes and topics.
For students unable to attend classes, the exam will focus exclusively on the bibliography, without prejudice to the assessment criteria just stated.
Students with disabilities or SLD are reminded that in order to request adaptations during the exam, they must first enter the certification on the University website at servizionline.unige.it in the "Students" section. The documentation will be verified by the University's Services Sector for the inclusion of students with disabilities and SLD (https://rubrica.unige.it/strutture/struttura/100111).
Subsequently, well in advance (at least 10 days) of the exam date, an email must be sent to the teacher with whom the exam will be taken, copying both the School Contact Teacher for the inclusion of students with disabilities and SLD (contact email) and the Sector indicated above. In the email you must specify:
the name of the course
the date of the exam
the student's surname, name and matriculation number
the compensatory tools and dispensatory measures deemed functional and required.
The contact person will confirm to the teacher that the applicant has the right to request adaptations during the exam and that such adaptations must be agreed with the teacher. The teacher will respond by communicating whether it is possible to use the requested adaptations.
Requests must be sent at least 10 days before the exam date in order to allow the teacher to evaluate the content. In particular, if you intend to use concept maps for the exam (which must be much more concise than the maps used for studying), if the sending does not respect the expected times there will not be the technical time necessary to make any changes.
