OVERVIEW

The course aims to provide students with the tools to navigate the themes and methods of cultural history.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with the tools to orientate themselves with respect to themes and methods of cultural history, in its various and diverse articulations. The goal is to become familiar with the specific lexicon of this type of subject; to acquire a basic understanding of the major currents of international historiography; to develop - through appropriate exercises (seminars and written reports) - techniques of analysis and critical interpretation of primary sources using this method of investigation. In particular, the applications of the method for the analysis of the key turning points and transformations characterizing the contemporary age will be object of scrutiny.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Course Learning Aims

The aim of the course is to provide students with the tools to navigate the themes and methods of cultural history. The objective is to gain familiarity with the specific terminology of this field of study; to orient oneself within its international historiography; and to develop—through tailored exercises (seminars and written reports)—techniques for the analysis and critical interpretation of primary sources using this methodology. A variety of source types will be analyzed (printed sources, historical footage, feature films, monuments). In particular, students will examine how this method is applied to address the course's monographic topic: the memory of the Holocaust (Shoah).

The course offers the opportunity to engage with this approach by starting from the analysis of sources and addressing specific research questions (applied knowledge).

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. Engage in a critical reading of sources (applied knowledge and understanding).

2. Effectively articulate an argument using specific terminology and appropriate reference bibliography (written and oral communication skills).

3. Demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of the academic debate surrounding the course's monographic topic (knowledge, understanding, and making judgments).

Transversal Skills / Soft Skills Developed

The course will foster the development of the following key competencies:

• Literacy competence (advanced level)

• Personal competence (advanced level)

• Social competence (advanced level)

• Project creation competence (basic level)

PREREQUISITES

A basic understanding of the core principles of historical method is required. Furthermore, students are expected to be familiar with the main conceptual and chronological frameworks of contemporary history.

TEACHING METHODS

Classes will be held in person.

The course will follow a seminar-style structure, emphasizing group discussion and debate, case and problem analysis, and collaborative teamwork.

Attendance online (via live streaming or recorded lectures on the Microsoft Teams platform) will be available only upon explicit request at the beginning of the course. Students choosing this option will be classified as non-attending students in all respects and will be required to follow the syllabus designated for non-attending students.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course aims to introduce students to the themes and methods of cultural history, with a particular focus on the nature of memory and representations of the Holocaust (Shoah).

Following a brief introduction to the culturalist approach, students will be familiarized with foundational texts in the field. Specifically, the course will focus on the work of Maurice Halbwachs, one of the founding figures of modern memory studies. The lectures dedicated to this module will contextualize Halbwachs historically while analyzing the impact of his work on subsequent scholarship.

The monographic section (Section B) is dedicated to exploring the specific dynamics surrounding the memory of the Holocaust. It will focus on the relationship between the historian and the witness, investigate filmic and literary representations of the event, and critically examine the role this memory plays today.

Assessment Methods

Attending students may take the exam orally or, alternatively, opt to submit a written paper.

• Oral Exam: Attending students choosing the oral exam must prepare one text selected from Section A and one text selected from Section B.

• Written Paper: Attending students opting for a written paper must agree on the topic and reference bibliography with the instructor in advance.

Non-attending students are required to supplement their preparation with the following volume:
 

1. P. Burke, La storia culturale, Il Mulino, Bologna 2019.

A. - Select one book from the following list of works by Halbwachs

1. M. Halbwachs, I quadri sociali della memoria, Ipermedium, Napoli, 1997 [ed. or. 1925].

2. Id., La memoria collettiva, Unicopli, Milano, 2007 [ed. or. 1949].

B. - Holocasust memory (select one book)

1. S. D. Kassow, Chi scriverà la nostra storia? L'archivio ritrovato del ghetto di Varsavia, Mondadori, Milano, 2009.

2. A. Wieviorka, L'era del testimone, Cortina, Milano, 1999.

3. S. Gensburger, S. Lefranc, Beyond Memory? Can We Really Learn from the Past?, Palgrave MacMillan, Cham, 2020.

4. R. Gordon, Scolpitelo nei cuori. L'Olocausto nella cultura italiana (1944-2010), Bollati-Boringhieri, Torino, 2013.

5. A. Minuz, La Shoah e la cultura visuale. Cinema, memoria, spazio pubblico, Bulzoni, Roma, 2010.

6. G. Didi-Huberman, Immagini malgrado tutto, Cortina, Milano, 2005.

7. Frédéric Rousseau, Il bambino di Varsavia. Storia di una fotografia, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2011.

8. L. David, The Past Can't Heal Us. The Dangers of Mandating Memory in the Name of Human Rights, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2020.

9. M. Rothberg, Multidirectional Memory. Remembering the Holocaust in the Age of Decolonization, Stanford University Press, Stanford, 2009.

10. F. Bertolini,Gli inganni della memoria. Testimonianza, falsificazioni, negazioni, Mimesi, Milano, 2016.

11. T. Kushner, The Holocaust and the Liberal Imagination. A Social and Cultural Histoy, Blackwell, Oxford, 1994. 

12. M. Hirsh, The Generation of Postmemory. Writing and Visual Culture after the Holocaust, Columbia University Press, NY, 2012.

13. J. E. Young, The Texture of Memory. Holocaust Memorials and Meaning,Yale University Press, New Haven, 1994.

14. F. Azouvi, Le mythe du grand silence: Auschwitz, les Français, la mémoire, Paris, Fayard, 2012.

15. J. Shandler, Holocaust Memory and the DIgital Age: Survivor's Stories and New Media Practices, Stanford University Press, Stanford, 2017.

16. P. Novick, The Holocaust in American Life, Houghton Mifflin, NY, 1999.

17. F. Focardi, Nel cantiere della memoria. Fascismo, Resistenza, Shoah, Foibe, Viella, Roma, 2020.

18. F. Azouvi, Du héros à la victime: la métamorphose contemporaine du sacré, Gallimard, Paris, 2024.

19. Jie-Hyun Lim, Victimhood Nationalism. History and Memory in a Global Age, Columbia U.P., NY, 2025.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

February

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Attending Students:

Attending students are encouraged to replace the oral exam with a written paper (between 14,000 and 20,000 characters, including spaces and footnotes) on a topic agreed upon with the instructor.

Non-attending Students:

Non-attending students must take an oral exam based on the assigned syllabus.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The written paper (for attending students) or the oral exam (for non-attending students) allows for the assessment of acquired skills. Specifically, evaluation will focus on the competencies gained both within the broader scope of cultural history in general and regarding the course’s specific monographic topic.

The examination board evaluates the achievement of learning outcomes based on the following criteria:

• a) Level of mastery of fundamental concepts;

• b) Ability to apply knowledge (source analysis);

• c) Critical reasoning skills applied to the material studied;

• d) Ability to structure knowledge effectively in discourse, using the specialized terminology of the discipline.

Throughout the seminar activities, the instructor will also assess the acquisition of transversal skills.

Both the written paper (if selected) and the oral exam will serve to evaluate the attainment of advanced-level functional literacy skills.