Ateneo - UPO

Environmental history and History of cultural heritage.

The course consists of 2 modules: A) "History of cultural heritage" and B) "Environmental history". Two programmes are foreseen for attending and non-attending students.

A)
All students will prepare the 2 volumes indicated below:
-C. Tosco, “I beni culturali. Storia, tutela e valorizzazione”, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2014.
-M.P. Guermandi, “Restituire. L'elefante nella stanza dei musei occidentali”, Nomos Edizioni, Busto Arsizio, 2026.
Not attending students, in addition to the 2 books mentioned above, will prepare also:
-J. Clifford, “Four Northwest Coast Museums: Travel Reflections”, in “Routes. Travel and Translation in the Late Twentieth Century”, Harvard 1997, pp. 107-145 (DIR).
Anyone who has already passed the exam in previous years should contact the prof. Tigrino and replace Tosco’s book with:
-M.P. Guermandi, “Decolonizzare il patrimonio. L'Europa, l'Italia e un passato che non passa”, Castelvecchi, Roma, 2021.

B)
All students will prepare the 2 volumes and the article indicated below:
-M. Di Tullio, M.L. Fagnani, “Una storia ambientale dell’età moderna. Società, saperi, economie”, Roma, Carocci, 2024.
-E. Irace, M. Vaquero Piñeiro, “I paesaggi dell’Italia moderna. Da Petrarca a Napoleone”, Roma, Carocci, 2023.
-G. Bonan, "Storia e ambiente: scambio ineguale e mercato storiografico", in «Annali dell’Istituto storico italo-germanico in Trento», Fascicolo 2, Luglio-Dicembre 2020, pp. 15-31 (DIR).
Not attending students, in addition to the 2 books and to the article mentioned above, will prepare also:
-M. Armiero, S. Barca, “La storia dell’ambiente. Un’introduzione”, Carocci, Roma 2004, chap. 1 (Storia), pp. 19-56 (DIR).
-S. Mosley, “Ambiente e storia. Un’introduzione”, in “Storia globale dell'ambiente”, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2013, chap. 1, pp. 7-22 (DIR).

The Course has the following objectives at a basic level:
Module A): -acquiring the general knowledge about the history of cultural heritage, and the ability to study autonomously the historiography on this topic; -knowing how to analyze at a basic level the history of cultural heritage, and that of its “objects”; -ability to communicate, at a basic level, the history of cultural heritage; - ability to approach the historiographic literature and the sources of the history of cultural heritage.
Module B): -to acquire basic knowledge that allows to know the main themes and chronologies in the environmental history in the early modern and modern periods; - knowing how to express at least general judgments on themes and problems related to environmental history; -ability to approach the texts and the teaching tools of environmental history.

The course has the following purposes at an advanced level:
Module A): -acquiring a full knowledge of the history of cultural heritage, and the critical ability to study autonomously the historiography on this topic; -knowing how to analyze autonomously and in a critical way the history of cultural heritage, and that of its “objects”; -ability to communicate, to a large public but also with a scientibc language, the history of cultural heritage; -ability to critically approach the historiographic literature and the sources of the history of cultural heritage.
Module B): -to acquire advanced knowledge that allows to critically know the main themes and chronologies in the environmental history in the early modern and modern periods; -knowing how to express analytical judgments on themes and problems related to environmental history; -ability to fully understand the texts and the teaching tools of the discipline.

The 12 ECTS credits earned during the course are distributed as follows: 2,4 ECTS credits of direct teaching (didattica erogativa), including interactive sessions with and among students (see "Teaching Methods"); 9,6 ECTS credits of independent study.

Basic historical knowledge.

Frontal lectures; critical reading and critical analysis of the main historiographic themes and of the historical sources of the texts of the course, with particular attention to teaching methods. Individual study.

Those who have already taken the exams “Storia ambientale” or “Storia ambientale triennale” or “Storia del patrimonio culturale” in previous academic years are required to contact prof. Tigrino to redefine the texts for the exam. Students are advised to register on DIR (Didattica In Rete), where notices and communications will be posted, and where will be disposable some materials of the lectures.
Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via reference office consulting the University webpage: https://uniupo.it/it/servizi/servizi-studentesse-e-studenti-condizione-di-disabilità-e-dsa
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.

The course consists of 2 modules: A) "History of cultural heritage" and B) "Environmental history"; each course has its own specific assessment method.
The overall assessment of the examination could take into account the student's ability to improve their ability to answer questions and their general ability to organise their work.
Oral exam, about 20 minutes for each module. The questions will assess: the student's ability to contextualize the topics learned in time and space; the acquisition of an organic vision of the disciplinary issues; the ability to use them into a coherent and correct exposition, also with a scientific language; the personal critical elaboration of the topics, with an autonomous approach to methodology. The exam is divided into 3-4 questions and concerns on the indicated bibliography, as well as for students attending, on the topics discussed during the lessons. The questions will concern (Module A) the content of the textbooks and the main issues of history of cultural heritage, and the topic on contested cultural heritage, in particular with regard to the phenomenon of colonialism, and (Module B) the main issues of environmental history in early modern and modern period (as also indicated in the content of the course).
Vote, expressed in thirtieths, takes place on the basis of the following parameters: 1) knowledge of the fundamental notions of bibliography and, for attending students, of the topics covered during the lessons (20 points out of 30); 2) reasoning skills critic on the topics (5 points out of 30); 3) ability to express and communicate, and to use a scientific language (5 points out of 30). The exam will be successful if the sum of 18/30 is reached or exceeded.

The course consists of 2 modules: A) "History of cultural heritage" and B) "Environmental history".

Module A):
Outline of the lectures.
• The concept of cultural heritage.
• The concept of collection and that of heritage: a historical approach.
• The history of heritage and protection: I. From the dimension of the sacred to the first interventions of protection in Roman period.
• The history of heritage and protection: II. From the Middle Ages to the French Revolution.
• The history of heritage and protection: III. The nineteenth century.
• The history of heritage and protection: IV. The twentieth century: from the concept of monument to that of cultural heritage.
• Protection and its tools: international cases and Italian peculiarities.
• The debate on the concept of enhancement.
• Contested cultural heritage and the debate on heritage and memory.
• Colonialism, collecting and cultures.
• The issue of the restitution of colonial artefacts and the debate in Western countries.

Module B):
Outline of the lectures.
• Themes and chronologies in the environmental history.
• The definition of the discipline.
• The environmental history and the debate on the dynamics of environmental resources in the past and today.
• The history of the landscape in the Old Regime: politics and economics.
• The history of the landscape in the Old Regime: culture and scientific knowledge.
• Climate change, population dynamics and the history of the biological environment.
• Anthropization, the development of agro-forestry-pastoral systems, and the relationship between city and country in history.
• Property, practices and environmentale resources.
• Knowledge and control of the environmental resources (waters, woodlands, animals, minerals).
• The industrialisation, the “natural” disasters and the environment.
• Globalization, colonialism and environment.
• The concept of Anthropocene.

The topics of the courses will be constantly analyzed in connection with the current applications in history research and teaching methodology.
Gender issues: specific insights are foreseen in both modules.

To achieve sufficient knowledge and skills, the student has to demonstrate:
Module A): Knowledge: -to know chronology, themes and categories of the history of cultural heritage in modern and contemporary period, and its interdisciplinary applications. -to know the main problems concerning the discussion about cultural heritage, and the dynamics of protection and enhancement. -to know the general features of the historiographical discussions on the topic upon contested cultural heritage (in particular with regard to the phenomenon of colonialism), and the relationship between "culture" and heritagization. Competence: -ability to analyze issues of the history of cultural heritage in a critical way. Transversal skills: -ability to clearly communicate issues discussed during the lessons, with a proper language and with a scientific terminology.
Module B): Knowledge: -to know main topics and chronologies of environmental history; - to know main historiographical and interdisciplinary topics of the debate about environmental history. Competence: -ability to analyze issues in an autonomous way. Transversal skills: -ability to communicate environmental history issues, and to decline them in historical teaching issues.

To achieve an advanced level, the student must also demonstrate that he/she has:
Module A): -an organic vision of the topics; -capacity for personal and critical processing of the topics; -ability to deepen theoretical and methodological issues of history in general, and in particular concerning heritage studies.
Module B): -An organic vision of the topics and chronologies of environmental history, with synthetic and analytical skills; -Capacity for personal and critical processing of the topics, with good use of scientific language and with autonomous communication skills; -Ability to deepen different topics, also to to use them in teaching applications.