OVERVIEW

Medieval History is a core course for the curriculum in History as well as other courses concerning general contents. It deals with institutions, people, societies and the main historical events from the 5th to the 15th century. It will provide insights about themes and research methodology. 

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Aim of the course is providing the student, both through examples and interpretation of the sources, with the ability to orient themselves in the time and space of medieval history and introduce them to a first knowledge of the sources and conceptual tools useful for the study of the subject.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The lectures will provide a general picture of European history during the Middle Ages and will address social, economic, cultural and institutional changes. Students will acquire an incisive view of this period which is commonly neglected or misunderstood.

For students taking the 9-CFU course

At the end of the course  the students should gain:

• incisive knowledge of essential events, contexts and historical development of Middle Ages;
• comparative understanding of aspects of the Medieval West and other Mediterranean civilizations;
• awareness of problems and methodology when studying the Middle Ages;
• knowledge of main medieval sources.

For students taking the 12-CFU course

At the end of the course students should gain:

• incisive knowledge of essential events, contexts and historical development of Middle Ages;
• omparative understanding of aspects of the Medieval West and other Mediterranean civilizations;
• awareness of problems and methodology when studying the Middle Ages;
• knowledge of main medieval sources;
• capacity in analyzing and describing examples of medieval sources.

PREREQUISITES

None

TEACHING METHODS

Face to face lectures.​

Lessons:

For 9 CFU

60 hours of traditional face to face lectures with slides to facilitate the comprehension of the lecture contents on the following topics: main political and institutional events and long-term phenomena (social, economic, cultural) characterising the Middle Ages; reading and commenting on examples of medieval sources; elements of historiography; types of medieval sources.

For 12 CFU

80 hours of traditional face to face lectures, with slides to facilitate the comprehension of the lecture contents, on the following topics: main political-institutional events and long term phenomena (social, economic, cultural) that characterize the Middle Ages; reading and commenting on examples of medieval sources; elements of historiography; typology of medieval sources, sources and historiographical texts. Introduction to the different types of medieval sources.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Contents for non attending students taking the 9-FU course

Outlines of medieval history, interpretative categories, up-to-date historiographical appraisal. Orientation in reading the sources and historiographical texts.

Contents for attending students taking the 12-CFU course

Outlines of medieval history, interpretative categories, up-to-date historiographical appraisal. Orientation to the reading of sources and a historiographical text. Introduction to the different types of medieval sources

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

For attending students taking a  9-CFU course: 

1) Textbook: L. Provero, M. Vallerani,  Storia medievale, Le Monnier 2016

2)  one book of your choice from the following:

• A. Barbero, Carlo Magno. Un padre dell'Europa, Laterza
• D. Bezzina, Artigiani a Genova nei secoli XII-XIII (https://books.fupress.com/catalogue/artigiani-a-genova-nei-secoli-xii-xiii/2958)
• Il falso e la storia. Invenzioni, errori, imposture dal medioevo alla società digitale, a cura di M. Gazzini, Milano 2022, (students can choose 5 chapters; the text will be uploaded on AulaWeb at the beginning of the course)
• T. Lazzari, Le donne nell'alto Medioevo, Milano-Torino 2010 (scaricabile da https://unibo.academia.edu/TizianaLazzari)
• L. Provero, Contadini e potere nel Medioevo, Carocci, 2020

For attending students taking a  12-CFU course: 

1) Textbook: L. Provero, M. Vallerani,  Storia medievale, Le Monnier 2016

2)  two books of your choice from the following:

• A. Barbero, Carlo Magno. Un padre dell'Europa, Laterza
• D. Bezzina, Artigiani a Genova nei secoli XII-XIII (https://books.fupress.com/catalogue/artigiani-a-genova-nei-secoli-xii-xiii/2958)
• Il falso e la storia. Invenzioni, errori, imposture dal medioevo alla società digitale, a cura di M. Gazzini, Milano 2022, (students can choose 5 chapters; the text will be uploaded on AulaWeb at the beginning of the course)
• T. Lazzari, Le donne nell'alto Medioevo, Milano-Torino 2010 (scaricabile da https://unibo.academia.edu/TizianaLazzari)
• L. Provero, Contadini e potere nel Medioevo, Carocci, 2020

For students taking a single  6-CFU course: 

Textbook: L. Provero, M. Vallerani,  Storia medievale, Le Monnier 2016

BIBLIoGRAPHY FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

Non-attending students (9 CFU or 12 CFU) will add the following essay to the respective syllabus provided for attending students:  G. Sergi, L’idea di Medioevo. Fra storia e senso comune, Roma, Donzelli, 2005.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

DENISE BEZZINA (President)

FRANCESCA PUCCI DONATI

ALBERTO COTZA (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Week of September 16th 2024

Class schedule

MEDIEVAL HISTORY

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

During the course, students are offered the opportunity to be tested on their knowledge of the textbook by means of two in-progress written tests. IMPORTANT: THE WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS ARE OPTIONAL: those who do not wish to take the written in-progress exams will present themselves directly at any exam session (starting from the January 2025 session), and the assessment in that case will be an oral exam on the entire syllabus (entire textbook + books of their choice)

The first written in-progress exam will consist of two open questions on the topics covered in class by the end of October. Only those who pass the first test will be able to take the second written test, which will be held in the last week of the course. The second written in-progress test will cover the rest of the course programme (EXCLUDING THE FREE CHOICE BOOKS). The exact dates of the two in-progress tests will be communicated by the lecturer at the beginning of the course.

Those who pass both written tests will only have to report on the books of their choice at the exam call (starting with the January 2025 session). Those who only pass the first written test must report on the second part of the textbook and on the books of their choice at the exam. The final exam grade will result from the average of the marks obtained in the three different tests.

Students will be assessed on their use of proper language, their awareness of historical processes and the ability to correctly discuss centuries, personalities, events, and long-term phenomena.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The examination will test the knowledge acquired in terms of the contents of the lectures, the basic text (textbook) and the texts chosen by the students.

The preparation will be considered adequate if the student shows knowledge of the programme topics and the ability to refer to the topics with language appropriate to discussion of historical themes.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

For students with disabilities or specific learning disabilities.

Students with disabilities or with specific learning disabilities are reminded that in order to request adjustments for exams they must first upload their certification on the University website at the following address: servizionline.unige.it in the "Students" section. The documentation will be checked by the University's Services for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and Learning Disabilities Sector (https://rubrica.unige.it/strutture/struttura/100111).

Subsequently, well in advance of the exam date (at least 10 deays before), an e-mail must be sent to the lecturer with whom the exam is to be taken, indicating both the School's Referring Lecturer for the inclusion of students with disabilities and with learning disabilities and the Sector indicated above. The e-mail must specify:

the name of the teaching course

the date of the call

the student's surname, personal name and student matriculation number

the compensatory tools and dispensatory measures considered functional and required.

The contact person will confirm to the lecturer that the applicant has the right to request adaptations during the examination and that these adaptations must be agreed upon with the teacher. The lecturer will respond by stating whether the requested adaptations can be used.

Requests must be sent at least 10 days before the date of the exam in order to allow the lecturer to assess their content. In particular, if concept maps are to be used for the exam (which must be much more concise than the maps used for study), if the submission does not respect the deadline there will not be the technical time necessary to make any changes.

For further information on the request for services and adaptations, please refer to 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