OVERVIEW

The course is seminar-oriented and aims to introduce students to historical research on Latin America, addressing a specific historiographical subject each academic year. A large part of the course is devoted to analysing and interpreting primary and secondary sources, preceded by a historical and historiographical introduction and an overview of the documentary funds related to the subject matter.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Aim of the course is providing students with the basic skills to orient themselves in the context of Latin American historical research, in modern and contemporary times.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course has two main objectives:

a) To provide students with the essential skills to navigate the field of Latin American historical research, exploring different historiographical topics each year.

b) To equip students with the necessary competencies for conducting research projects that adhere to international evaluation standards. Attending students will develop the ability to contextualize and analyze historical sources presented during the course, to critically engage with supplementary essays distributed in class, and will acquire the foundational knowledge required to formulate a research project.

By the end of the course, students will demonstrate autonomy and will possess a solid command of the academic literature, will showcase strong argumentative skills, and exhibit a collaborative mindset for group work, thereby developing their coordination and negotiation abilities. Additionally, students will enhance their capacity to efficiently manage social interactions through a collaborative approach, constructive communication, and aptitude for dialogue.

TEACHING METHODS

The course will comprise a combination of face-to-face lectures delivered by the lecturer and classroom presentations given by attending students.

The lectures will be conducted in-person. However, upon explicit request to the lecturer, students will have the option to remotely participate in the lectures through streaming on the Teams platform. Those students who choose to attend the lectures via Teams will be classified as non-attending and will be expected to adhere to the specific program outlined above.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Course Topic: Latin America: From the Birth of the Nation-State to Nationalism (19th-20th Centuries).

Course Structure:

Part One: Outlines of Latin American History.

Part Two: The Birth and Development of the Latin American Nation-State: Processes of Constructing a Collective Identity and Inventing a Territory.

Part Three: Nationalism in the 1920s and 1930s and Authoritarianism during the Interwar Period.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

PROGRAMME FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS

For an overview of Latin American history, reference will be made to the lecturer's lessons.

Two books among:

Paulina Alberto, Eduardo Elena (eds.), Rethinking Race in Modern Argentina, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2016.
Vanni Blengino, Il vallo della Patagonia, I nuovi Conquistatori: militari, scienziati, sacerdoti, scrittori, Diabasis, Parma, 1998.
Ronald H. Chilcote, Intellectuals and the Search for National Identity in Twentieth-Century Brazil, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2018.
Marshall C. Eakin, Becoming Brazilians: Race and National Identity in Twentieth-Century Brazil, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2017.
Amanda Salvioni, El silencio de las imágenes. Texto e ilustración en la narrativa hispanoamericana del siglo XIX, Ediciones de la Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, 2020.
Amanda Salvioni, L'invenzione di un medioevo americano. Rappresentazioni moderne del passato coloniale in Argentina, Diabasis, Parma, 2005.
Chiara Vangelista, Scatti sugli Indios. Ricerche di storia visiva, Aracne, Roma, 2018.

Chiara Vangelista, Cartografia Migrante. Hercule Florence da Nizza al Brasile (1804-1879), Licosia, Ogliastro Cilento, 2022
Fulvia Zega, Il mondo sotto la Svastica. Immigrazione e politica in Argentina e Brasile (1930-1960), Aracne, Roma, 2018.

PROGRAMME FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:

Loris Zanatta, Storia dell'America Latina contemporanea, Laterza, Bari, 2010.

Two books among:

Paulina Alberto, Eduardo Elena (eds.), Rethinking Race in Modern Argentina, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2016.
Vanni Blengino, Il vallo della Patagonia, I nuovi Conquistatori: militari, scienziati, sacerdoti, scrittori, Diabasis, Parma, 1998.
Ronald H. Chilcote, Intellectuals and the Search for National Identity in Twentieth-Century Brazil, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2018.
Marshall C. Eakin, Becoming Brazilians: Race and National Identity in Twentieth-Century Brazil, Cambridge University Press, New York, 2017.
Amanda Salvioni, L'invenzione di un medioevo americano. Rappresentazioni moderne del passato coloniale in Argentina, Diabasis, Parma, 2005.
Amanda Salvioni, El silencio de las imágenes. Texto e ilustración en la narrativa hispanoamericana del siglo XIX, Ediciones de la Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, 2020.
Chiara Vangelista, Scatti sugli Indios. Ricerche di storia visiva, Aracne, Roma, 2018.

Chiara Vangelista, Cartografia Migrante. Hercule Florence da Nizza al Brasile (1804-1879), Licosia, Ogliastro Cilento, 2022.
Fulvia Zega, Il mondo sotto la Svastica. Immigrazione e politica in Argentina e Brasile (1930-1960), Aracne, Roma, 2018.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

FULVIA ZEGA (President)

CARLA PAMPALONI

LEONARDO SCAVINO (Substitute)

CHIARA VANGELISTA (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

21st September 2023

Class schedule

L'orario di tutti gli insegnamenti è consultabile all'indirizzo EasyAcademy.

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

For attending students: classroom presentations and an oral examination. Attending students may also have the option to take a written exemption test at the halfway point of the course.

For non-attending students: an oral examination.

The duration of the examination will be approximately 30 minutes. The allocated time for the oral examination varies depending on the chosen program (6 or 9 CFU) and is not directly proportional to the student's level of preparation. The evaluation, on a scale of thirty, will be divided as follows: assessment of factual knowledge - maximum 15/30; assessment of the ability to analyze and contextualize specific issues within a broader historical framework - maximum 12/30; assessment of communicative skills - maximum 3/30.

The assessment method is based on the student's ability to contextualize the exam topics within their historical framework, both at a general level (Latin America) and at a local level (individual countries or specific areas). It is important to demonstrate a command of the disciplinary terminology, the ability to make interdisciplinary connections among the topics covered, while taking into account each student's curriculum, which will be clarified at the beginning of the examination. However, individual grades obtained in specific exams will not be discussed.

The examination takes the form of a conversation, during which the student's specific knowledge and their awareness of the characteristics of the studied texts (general history and monographs) will be assessed. Furthermore, the student's ability to respond to potential criticisms or requests for clarification during their exposition will also be evaluated.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Oral Assessment: Demonstrated understanding of the periodization and key issues in Latin American history; command of disciplinary terminology; presentation of a research project outline (not a "paper" but one of the outlines developed during the course's final phase); ability to identify underlying methodological approaches in the exam texts; analysis of select images studied during the course.

Evaluation of Non-Attending Students:

Oral Assessment: Demonstrated knowledge of the periodization and fundamental issues in Latin American history; mastery of disciplinary terminology. Students must show awareness of the sources used and methodologies employed by the exam text authors, as well as the ability to contextualize the topics and questions within their broader study and research experience.

For both attending and non-attending students, the oral exam will last approximately 30 minutes, regardless of the student's level of preparedness. The evaluation, graded out of 30, will be distributed as follows: factual understanding (maximum 13/30); ability to analyze and contextualize the addressed issues (14/30); communication skills (maximum 3/30).

Exam schedule