Ateneo - UPO

OUTLINES OF ETHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH AND TEACHING OF GEOGRAPHY

The teaching will be organized in two Teaching units:
1) ETHNOLOGY
2) DIDACTICS OF GEOGRAPHY

Teaching unit “ETHNOLOGY”
The study program consists of:
A) Miller Barbara (2025), Antropologia Culturale (Terza edizione italiana a cura di Broccolini Alessandra), Milano, Pearson. See the document “MANUALE MILLER - PARTI DA STUDIARE.PDF” presente nell’area DIR del corso - www.dir.uniupo.it. (those who have already taken an exam in demo-ethno-anthropological disciplines will have to replace the manual with another text, contacting the teacher).
B) Aime Marco (2020), Classificare, separare, escludere. Razzismi e identità, Torino, Einaudi.
C) Slides used during the module, which will be available online on DIR platform - www.dir.uniupo.it.
D) A seminar will be organized for attending students.

Teaching unit “DIDACTICS OF GEOGRAPHY”
ATTENDING STUDENTS:
- E-learning lessons and documents uploaded on DIR; digital teaching platform; - articles available in the following volume: Giovanna Filosa, Emanuela Gamberoni (a cura di), Una scuola inclusiva. Azioni per contrastare i rischi di dispersione di alunne e alunni di origine straniera, Milano, Franco Angeli,
2023 First Part ‒ Ricognizioni sul fenomeno: Studenti Nai: emergenza, risorsa, opportunità. L’azione della scuola come comunità educante inclusiva e il ruolo chiave del dirigente scolastico di Anna Sturino; La didattica della geografia come antidoto alla dispersione formativa di Claudio Gambino; Finalità e obiettivi geografici per l’accoglienza, l’integrazione e la cittadinanza: ruolo e significato della formazione geografica di Maria Fiori; L’inclusione 4.0: come abbattere le distanze di Sabrina Malizia; I confini del dialogo interculturale e i ponti dell’apprendimento/formativi di Felice Arona, Vincenzo Di Natale, Sabrina Malizia, Daniela Turrisi; Le aree interne italiane e le sfide dell’accoglienza e della formazione della popolazione migrante: alcune note preliminari di Gianni Petino. Articles available in OpenAccess: https://series.francoangeli.it/index.php/oa/catalog/book/952

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:
Gino De Vecchis, Daniela Pasquinelli d'Allegra, Dentro la geografia. Teorie e Pratiche per la scuola secondaria, UTET Università, Milano, 2026
One of the following volumes:
1) Daniela La Foresta (a cura di), Territori digitali e nuove progettualità educative per l’insegnamento della geografia, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2025. Available in OpenAccess: https://series.francoangeli.it/index.php/oa/catalog/book/1489;
2) Giovanna Filosa, Emanuela Gamberoni (a cura di), Una scuola inclusiva. Azioni per contrastare i rischi di dispersione di alunne e alunni di origine straniera, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2023. Available in OpenAccess: https://series.francoangeli.it/index.php/oa/catalog/book/952;
3) Cristiano Giorda, Giacomo Zanolin (a cura di), Idee geografiche per educare al mondo, Milano, Franco Angeli, 2020. Available in OpenAccess: https://series.francoangeli.it/index.php/oa/catalog/book/470

The course aims, at a basic level, to transfer to students:
• Objective - knowledge and comprehension: acquiring the basic knowledge of the disciplines: theoretical concepts, and fields of ethnographic and geographical investigation.
• Objectives - ability to apply knowledge and comprehension: being able to identify, to interpret and critically position some aspects of ethno-anthropological culture; acquiring the ability to critically read texts and documents. The student will be able to understand different geographical scales (global, supranational, national, regional and local).
• Objectives - expression of opinions and judgments: acquiring the ability to analyse and to make personal pronouncements about the concepts learned; comparing ethnographic data. Critical understanding of the texts studied, the basic skills of bibliographical research and the main topics related to disciplinary teaching methodologies (the main conceptual nodes, the use of technologies and the specific role of the teacher).
• Objectives - communication skills: ability to communicate the issues, orally or by means of written papers, using an appropriate terminology in ethnological and geographical fields.
• Objectives - ability to study: deepening the topics through bibliographic research on the basis of the knowledge acquired; combining theoretical and methodological concepts with the observation of ethnographic and geographical data.

At a more advanced level, the aim of the course is to acquire:
- the ability to express critical judgements on the topics discussed, also as the result of a personal re-elaboration;
- the ability to illustrate the contents and topics of the course through a fluent and precise presentation, using the specific terminology learnt.

The assessment of the above mentioned goals will be verified during the exam.

The credits are divided between lectures, interactive teaching and home study in the following ratio. ETHNOLOGY: Lectures 1.6 credit and 4.4 credit for individual learning activity at home. DIDACTICS OF GEOGRAPHY: Lectures 1 credit, Interactive teaching: 0.2 credit and 4.8 credit for individual learning activity at home.

ETHNOLOGY: General culture knowledge from the high school.
DIDACTICS OF GEOGRAPHY: Basic knowledge of human and economic geography

Lectures (in class lessons and itinerant in Vercelli region), slides, and ethnographic video recordings. Guided discussions on specific topics to encourage active participation and critical thinking of students. Slides and other teaching materials will be available on the DIR website.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities (DSA) or Special Educational Needs (BES) can request specific services and tools via the 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 educational needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the teacher in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.
This course of Didactics of Geography gives 6 credits in the M - GGR / 01 sector. These credits are essential for access to teaching in secondary school.

Teaching unit "Ethnology": E-mail: davide.porporato@uniupo.it. Room: Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici (Department of Humanities), ground floor, Palazzo Tartara, via Galileo Ferraris n. 109, Vercelli. Office hours: Wednesday, 8.30-10.00. Students are kindly asked to contact the teacher in advance by e-mail.

Teaching unit "Didactics of Geography": E-mail: raffaella.afferni@uniupo.it. Room: Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici (Department of Humanities), second floor, room n.19, Palazzo Tartara, via Galileo Ferraris n. 109, Vercelli. Office hours: see Upobook.

The final assessment for the integrated examination will take into account the grades obtained in the individual assessments for the two teaching units of
which the course is composed (“ETHNOLOGY” and “DIDACTICS OF GEOGRAPHY”), as well as the overall level of depth of knowledge acquired, the degree of autonomy demonstrated in applying such knowledge, and the student’s communication skills, in accordance with the stated educational objectives and expected learning outcomes.
The assessment criteria are as follows: - understanding of the course content; - relevance and effectiveness of responses in relation to the course content; -degree of structure and articulation of the response; - appropriateness of the disciplinary terminology used.
The examination grade is expressed on a scale of thirty. The examination is passed with a grade of at least 18/30.

The final assessment is given by the average of the partial marks and it is expressed according to the following criteria:
• From 18 to 21/30: acceptable knowledge and comprehension of the basic concepts of the discipline, and of the ethnographic and geographical research field; sufficient ability to understand and to conceptualize the anthropological change which took place in Italy in the 20th century; fair ability to apply the acquired knowledge and to communicate the issues using an appropriate terminology; fair ability to acquire new skills;
• From 22 to 25/30: the same items with a satisfactory performance;
• From 26 to 28/30: the same items with a good performance;
• From 29 to 30/30 (with possible honors): the same items with an excellent performance.

For the teaching unit “ETHNOLOGY”
The exam is aimed at verifying the achievement of the learning objectives. The exam is structured in parts that can be taken on a single day or in two consecutive or non-consecutive calls, at the student’s discretion.

First part
A) Miller Barbara (2025), Antropologia Culturale (Third Italian edition), Milano, Pearson (only the chapters listed in the document “MANUALE MILLER - PARTI DA STUDIARE.PDF” available on DIR) and slides presented during course. The knowledge of the program will be evaluated by an e-test consisting of 30 multiple-choice questions. The e-test lasts 30 minutes. 1 point is given for each correct answer; incorrect or unanswered questions carry no penalty. This part of the exam will be considered successful with a minimum of 18 correct answers.

Second part
B) Aime Marco (2020), Classificare, separare, escludere. Razzismi e identità, Torino, Einaudi and slides presented during the course. An oral or written presentation, depending on the student’s preference, on two themes of the program determined by the teacher. Answers will also enable testing communication skills and critical thinking. The written test lasts 60 minutes; the oral test lasts 20 minutes approximately. The mark is expressed in thirtieths. The second part of the exam will be considered successful with a minimum score of 18 points.

The results of the first part will be announced on the DIR website (registration number + mark); the final mark will be notified on “Esse3 – Computer Services” e-platform. Candidates may review their test during office hours.

For the teaching unit “DIDACTICS OF GEOGRAPHY" the exam is written and will last one hour.
For those attending the test will cover the topics proposed during the course to be developed in the form of a Learning Unit.
For non-attending students, the test consists of six questions and the requirement to answer five of them on the textbooks.

The teaching unit “ETHNOLOGY" will address the following topics: The origins of the discipline; the concept of culture in the anthropological sense; culture and symbols; culture and nature; the process of enculturation; levels of culture; cultural diversity; culture and creativity; cultural relativism and ethnocentrism; ethnicity and race; the results of globalization; migration, integration and social cohesion; memory strategies; ethnography as a resource for reflective teaching; education and multiculturalism;

The teaching unit “DIDACTICS OF GEOGRAPHY" will address the following topics: Current issues in geographical research and teaching. Themes, methods and tools. Reflections on the history of Geography education. Main teaching methodologies and the use of photography. GIS for a modern Geography. A Geography of emotions.

Integration of the gender dimension:
Within the course lectures will focus on the condition of women, with examples and in-depth analysis related to sex and gender (roles, gender-based intersections, and sexual orientation) and the teaching methodologies.

Knowledge and understanding: knowledge of some fundamental theoretical concepts of the disciplines; knowledge of the ethnographic and geographical research fields; ability to understand and contextualize the anthropological change in Italy during the 20th century. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: skills to critically identify, interpret and place some aspects of ethno-anthropological and geographical culture; ability to critically read a text. Expression of opinions and judgments: ability to make personal pronouncements about the concepts learned; ability to compare ethnographic and geographical data. Communication skills: ability to communicate the acquired knowledge by using an appropriate terminology and teaching methodologies. Learning/studying skills: ability to draw on bibliographic resources to acquire new competences; ability to combine theoretical and methodological concepts with the direct observation of ethnographic and geographical data.
To achieve an advanced level, students must also prove to have: - an organic vision of the topics addressed in class, and the attitude to synthetize and analyze them; - the ability to elaborate a personal and critical vision of the topics, with excellent language proficiency; - the ability to explore particular topics autonomously.
These results are consistent with the requirements of the Annual Form (SUA) of the 3-year course (A4.b.2.).