2018/2019

2018/2019

DM270

M-STO/01 (MEDIAEVAL HISTORY)

DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES

HISTORY OF EUROPE

PERCORSO COMUNE

1°

(25/02/2019 - 05/06/2019)

6

36 lesson hours

Italian

ORAL TEST

FRANK THOMAS RALF - 6 ECTS

B.A. in Lettere or a similar discipline. Ability to read modern articles in English.

- knowledge of the variety of sources for the topic of the seminar
- ability to employ the most important methods of historical critique
- knowledge of the historical context of health policies adopted by late medieval Italian and European authorities in order to fight against diseases like Black Death or syphilis
- comprehension of the contributions of international research (especially written in English) to the topic of the seminar
- knowledge of the bibliographical tools necessary for doing research on problems of medieval history

"Political and Social Challenges in the Middle Ages: Epidemics and Sanitary Measures during the 14th and 15th Century"
If the plague of 1347-1351, the so-called Black Death, was not the first big pandemic that stroke the peoples of medieval Europe, it has been without any doubt the most destructive one since antiquity. From 1347 on, plague broke out every 10, 15, or 20 years, and even if it did never reach again the level of mortality and the extension it had had in the middle of the 14th century, the situation deteriorated when other diseases supervened, e.g. syphilis at the end of the 15th century. Among the many aspects connected to the topic the course will concentrate on a close reading – prepared by the students with oral presentations and (if requested) written essays – of original sources illustrating the reactions and political decisions of the authorities in such situations of emergency. The sources refer to exemplary cases of mainly Italian, but also non Italian communes and principalities.

- lectures
- Powerpoint presentation of images and maps (available on KIRO)
- classroom reading and discussion of selected sources
- oral presentation of an argument chosen by the students after consultation with the professor
- excursion to Milan

(A) Reading for students who will attend the class:
(1) dossier of original sources distributed during the lessons, notes from the lessons
(2) Gian M. Varanini, La peste del 1347-50 e i governi dell’Italia centro-settentrionale: un bilancio, in: La peste nera: dati di una realtà ed elementi di una interpretazione, Atti del XXX Convegno storico internazionale, Todi 10-13 settembre 1993, Spoleto 1994, pp. 285-317
(3) Jane S. Crawshaw, The Renaissance Invention of Quarantine, in Society in an Age of Plague, a cura di L. Clark e C. Rawcliffe, Suffolk 2013, pp. 161-173
(4) Eugenia Tognotti, L'altra faccia di Venere. La sifilide dalla prima età moderna all'avvento di AIDS (XV-XX sec.), Milano 2006, ch. 1-5

(B) Reading for students who will not attend the class:
(1) Klaus Bergdolt, La peste nera e la fine del medioevo, Casale Monferrato 1997 (edizione originale tedesca Monaco 1994)
(2) Gian M. Varanini, La peste del 1347-50 e i governi dell’Italia centro-settentrionale: un bilancio, in: La peste nera: dati di una realtà ed elementi di una interpretazione, Atti del XXX Convegno storico internazionale, Todi 10-13 settembre 1993, Spoleto 1994, pp. 285-317
(3) Jane S. Crawshaw, The Renaissance Invention of Quarantine, in Society in an Age of Plague, a cura di L. Clark e C. Rawcliffe, Suffolk 2013, pp. 161-173
(4) Eugenia Tognotti, L'altra faccia di Venere. La sifilide dalla prima età moderna all'avvento di AIDS (XV-XX sec.), Milano 2006, ch. 1-5

and one of the two following monographs (to be chosen)
(5a) Ann C. Carmichael, Plague and the Poor in Renaissance Florence, Cambridge 1986
or
(5b) Elisabeth Carpentier, Une ville devant la peste. Orvieto et la peste noire de 1348, second edition Bruxelles 1993

For students who will attend the class:
Oral exam (50%) about the content of the lessons and the programme of reading. The main criterion for a successful exam – besides the knowledge of the most important aspects of the content and the historical context of the topic – is the student's competence in reflecting on the use and criticism of historical sources.
In one of the two modules (Storia dell'Europa nel medioevo or Civiltà del basso medioevo), to be chosen, students have to prepare a paper (about 10 pages) on a limited argument connected with the topic of the seminar (instructions will be given at the beginning of the lessons). In this module the delivery of the paper is requested for being admitted to the oral exam. The oral presentation of the same argument in class, the student's contributions to the discussions during the lessons and - optionally - the paper account for another 50% of the final evaluation in the module "Civiltà del basso medioevo".

For students who will not attend the class:
A written essay on a limited topic (in one of the two modules of medieval history) and an oral exam about the entire programme of reading and the historical context of the topic. The main criterion for a successful exam – besides the knowledge of the most important aspects of the content of the programme, including its historical context – is the student's competence in reflecting on the use and the criticism of historical sources.
Students who do not attend the class are requested to contact the professor in time. This applies also and especially for students without credit points in medieval history, who have to complete their knowledge with a handbook or by attending the 'tutorato' in medieval history.

For students who will attend the class:
Oral exam (50%) about the content of the lessons and the programme of reading. The main criterion for a successful exam – besides the knowledge of the most important aspects of the content and the historical context of the topic – is the student's competence in reflecting on the use and criticism of historical sources.
In one of the two modules (Storia dell'Europa nel medioevo or Civiltà del basso medioevo), to be chosen, students have to prepare a paper (about 10 pages) on a limited argument connected with the topic of the seminar (instructions will be given at the beginning of the lessons). In this module the delivery of the paper is requested for being admitted to the oral exam. The oral presentation of the same argument in class, the student's contributions to the discussions during the lessons and - optionally - the paper account for another 50% of the final evaluation in the module "Civiltà del basso medioevo".

For students who will not attend the class:
A written essay on a limited topic (in one of the two modules of medieval history) and an oral exam about the entire programme of reading and the historical context of the topic. The main criterion for a successful exam – besides the knowledge of the most important aspects of the content of the programme, including its historical context – is the student's competence in reflecting on the use and the criticism of historical sources.
Students who do not attend the class are requested to contact the professor in time. This applies also and especially for students without credit points in medieval history, who have to complete their knowledge with a handbook or by attending the 'tutorato' in medieval history.