Ateneo - UPO

The Italian Communes (12th-14th centuries): sources, main research avenues and open debates

In addition to the topics covered in class, attending students will be tested on F. Menant, L’Italia dei comuni (1100-1350) [Viella]
and on ONE of the following volumes:
• Ch. Wickham, Sonnambuli verso un nuovo mondo. L’affermazione dei comuni italiani nel XII secolo [Viella]
• P. Grillo, La falsa inimicizia. Guelfi e ghibellini nell’Italia del Duecento [Salerno]
• Luongo, La Peste Nera. Contagio, crisi e nuovi equilibri nell'Italia del Trecento [Carocci]
• G. Todeschini, Visibilmente crudeli. Malviventi, persone sospette e gente qualunque dal Medioevo all'età moderna [Il Mulino]
Non-attending students will also be tested on on F. Menant, L’Italia dei comuni (1100-1350) [Viella]
and on TWO of the following volumes:
• Ch. Wickham, Sonnambuli verso un nuovo mondo. L’affermazione dei comuni italiani nel XII secolo [Viella]
• P. Grillo, La falsa inimicizia. Guelfi e ghibellini nell’Italia del Duecento [Salerno]
• Luongo, La Peste Nera. Contagio, crisi e nuovi equilibri nell'Italia del Trecento [Carocci]
• G. Todeschini, Visibilmente crudeli. Malviventi, persone sospette e gente qualunque dal Medioevo all'età moderna [Il Mulino]

Basic level: 1. knowledge and understanding: acquisition and understanding of the themes and problems of the history of the Italian communal world. Advanced level: 1. ability to apply knowledge and understanding: being able to critically interpret the sources and literature on the subject; 2. expression of judgements: being able to evaluate and argue the problems related to Italian municipal history; 3. communication skills: being able to clearly expound the acquired knowledge; 4. study skills: acquiring an autonomous and personally revised knowledge of the study contents.

Basic knowledge of medieval history (especially concerning the 11th-14th centuries) acquired in an undergraduate university course.

The course is a seminar; in addition to lectures, therefore, students will be asked to participate, individually or in groups, in the analysis of primary sources published and translated into Italian, or in debates related to the main historiographical problems addressed during the course. Occasionally the lecturer will ask students to prepare short presentations on specific passages from sources or extracts from articles between lectures. Sources and materials used in lectures will be made available on the DIR platform.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via reference office consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities. Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

Erasmus/exchange students are invited to contact the lecturer at their earliest convenience, in case they wish to prepare a list of agreed readings in English and/or in French instead of the Italian titles listed above.

The final examination will be an oral exam lasting approximately 20/30 minutes; for attending students, one of the questions will always focus on the analysis of a passage from one of the sources covered in class during the course. The aim is to test the knowledge included in the objectives and the expected learning outcomes by means of an examination that includes questions on the main debates dealt with in the course, in order to verify: 1) the learning of basic notions; 2) the acquisition of a critical capacity in the analysis of problems; 3) the acquisition of a critical capacity in the use of sources; 4) the use of appropriate scientific terminology; 5) the ability to establish links between topics. In particular, the following weight will be given to the verification of the aforementioned achievement of the educational objectives: 1) 45%; 2) 15%; 3) 15%; 4) 10%; 5) 20%. Honours (lode) will be awarded on the basis of an assessment of the accuracy, depth and elaboration capacity of the answer.

Some of the main topics analysed will be:
- The birth of the communes
- The conflict between the Empire and Italian cities
- Italian communal institutions
- The economic life of the communes
- The affirmation of the Popolo
- Civic religion in the communes
- The environmental awareness of the inhabitants of the communes
- Factions and conflicts in communal towns - Primary and university education - The birth of the signoria
- Art at the service of communal and seigniorial political ideology - The Plague and its impact on the communes
- Humanism
- The criminal justice system of the Italian communes
- Economic ethics in communal Italy

Integration of the gender dimension: in the course there will be a class on gender and sexuality in the Italian communes

Basic level: students are expected to have acquired 'solid knowledge of historical background' (cf. SUA A4.b.2) in the field that the course concerns. Advanced level: students are expected to be able to 'demonstrate a professional approach to the analysis of historiographical texts and sources' (cf. SUA A4.b.2)