Ateneo - UPO

Early modern, modern and contemporary history; Public and Digital History.

The course consists of 2 modules: A) “Storia moderna magistrale” and B) “Public and Digital History”. Two programmes are foreseen for attending and non-attending students.

A)
All students will prepare the 2 books and 3 articles indicated below.
-U. Grassi, “Sodoma. Persecuzioni, affetti, pratiche sociali (secoli V-XVIII)”, Roma, Carocci, 2019.
-M. De Leo, “Queer: Storia culturale della comunità LGBT+”, Torino, Einaudi, 2021.
-T. Scaramella, “La storia dell'omosessualità nell'Italia moderna: un bilancio”, in «Storicamente.org – Laboratorio di storia», n. 12 (2016), pp. 1-21 (DIR).
-C. Beccalossi, “Sessualità e identità non conformi tra storia LGBT+ e storia queer”, in «Contemporanea», a. XV, f. 4 (2022), pp. 643-658 (DIR).
-O. Fiorilli, “Note per una storia trans-”, in «Contemporanea», a. XXII, f. 2 (2019), pp. 305-316 (DIR).
Not attending students, in addition to all those mentioned above, will prepare also:
-G. Marcocci, “Matrimoni omosessuali nella Roma del tardo Cinquecento: su un passo del «Journal» di Montaigne”, in «Quaderni storici», 133 (2010), pp. 107-137.
-N. Pizzolato, “«Lo diavolo mi ingannao». La sodomia nelle campagne siciliane (1572-1664)”, in «Quaderni storici», 122 (2006), pp. 449-480.
Anyone who has already passed the exam in previous years is required to contact prof. Tigrino to replace some of the texts.

B)
All students will prepare for the exam by reading:
1. Gabriella Gribaudi, “La memoria, I traumi, la storia. La guerra e le catastrofi nel Novecento”, Roma, Viella, 2020.
2. Marcello Ravveduto, Giampaolo Salice, Enrica Salvatori, “Storia digitale pubblica”, Milano, Pearson, 2026 (only in e-book format).
Students who are unable to attend and participate in the seminar will also prepare for the exam by reading: Emanuele Ertola,
“Tracce fasciste. L’eredità materiale del Ventennio”, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2026.

The Course has the following objectives at a basic level:
Module A): -ability to understand social history in its transformations through the time; -to be able to independently read scientific literature and sources related to social and cultural history; -to be able at least in an elementary way to evaluate and argue the dynamics related to the history of society, its themes and objects; -to be able to convey sufficiently appropriately the specificity of social and cultural history.
Module B): to provide students with an overview of the concepts of public history, oral history, memory, and digital history, as well as their interrelationships; to provide, through the seminar component, an opportunity to practice research skills and apply the concepts learned in the first part of the course in a practical way by analyzing a specific case study.

The course has the following purposes at an advanced level:
Module A): -to be able to comprehensively understand social history in its transformations through the time; -to be able to critically read the scientific literature and the sources related to social and cultural history; -to be able to consciously evaluate and argue the dynamics related to the history of society, its themes and objects; -to be able to convey the specificity of social and cultural history, including in a popular manner and with appropriate scientific terminology.
Module B): to provide an in-depth understanding of the historiographical debate on public history and the tools used in digital history, both for research and in relation to public history; to develop a critical understanding of the concepts and tools used to study the examples of public history and digital public history that will be discussed in the various seminar sessions.

The 12 ECTS credits earned during the course are distributed as follows: 2,5 ECTS credits of direct teaching (didattica erogativa), including interactive sessions with and among students (see “Teaching Methods”); 9,5 ECTS credits of independent study.

Basic historical knowledge (early modern and modern history).

Module A): 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. Important: Student participation during lectures is encouraged; the presentation of the texts during lectures will allow for a proportional reduction in the material to be prepared for the exam.

Module B): The course will consist primarily of frontal lectures: the instructor will cover the three main thematic areas of the course, beginning with the topics necessary for the seminar component. Throughout the course, at the end of each lecture and during office hours, the instructor will discuss with the groups their choice of topic for the seminar and provide advice and guidance. The last three sessions will be seminar-based: each group will present a case study, and the entire class will be invited to ask questions and offer comments, comparing the various cases.

Those who have already taken the exam “Storia della società moderna” 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) “Storia moderna magistrale” and B) “Public and Digital 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.

Module A:
Oral exam, about 20 minutes. 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.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 the content of the textbooks and specifically the historiographical debate upon gender, sexuality violence and social control in history (as indicated in the content).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.

Module B:
Assessment will take place both during the seminar portion and during the final oral exam. With regard to the seminar portion, the evaluation will consider not only each student’s presentation but also their engagement during other presentations and their participation in the discussion to compare the different cases and arrive at an overall interpretation. The final grade will be determined as follows: 60% oral exam, 30% presentation, 10% participation during the seminar. The grade will be determined by the following elements:- A general knowledge of concepts and events — as a collection of facts without a conceptual link between them, accompanied by the use of inappropriate language in oral discussion — will be considered sufficient. Simply presenting one’s own case study without interaction during the seminar portion will be considered barely sufficient. Corresponding grade: 18–22. - A more in-depth but not detailed knowledge of concepts and events, with the use of language generally appropriate to the topic at hand, will be considered fair. Interaction during the seminar portion with the cases presented by other participants, making comparisons and references to one’s own case study, will be considered fair. Corresponding grade: 22–26. - In-depth knowledge, demonstrating a good understanding of the relationships between different phenomena and the ability to use the concepts learned independently, applying them to various events, will be judged satisfactory. It will be judged fully satisfactory if the student demonstrates the ability to discuss the texts they have read with independent judgment, identifying the author’s point of view and engaging with it critically. Interaction during the seminar portion that demonstrates a willingness to develop a general interpretation of the phenomenon encompassing all case studies will be considered excellent. Corresponding grade: 27–30 with honors.

The course consists of 2 modules: A) “Storia moderna magistrale” and B) “Public and Digital History”.

Module A):
Outline of the lectures:
• The history of modern society: themes in social, economic, political and cultural history.
• Gender, sexuality, violence and social control in the modern and contemporary history: the historiographical debate.
• Homosexuality and sodomy: sin, criminalisation and social control from the Middle Ages to the early modern period.
• Sexuality and gender in the modern period: spaces and cultures of transgression.
• Europe in comparison: the issue of sexuality as a cultural clash.
• Sexual non-conformity between the 18th and 19th centuries.
• Sexual transgressions in modernity: queer history between the 19th and 20th centuries.
• Medicine, race and politics: the debate on sexuality in the 20th century.
• Trans history and the overcoming of gender binarism.

Module B):
The lectures will follow this general outline:
Lecture 1 General introduction to the course: topics and practical matters. What are history and memory?
Lecture 2 World War I and collective memory.
Lecture 3 The public use of history from the Historikerstreit to the Italian “Civil War”; the political use of history in Italy: Southern Italian identity, the foibe, Marxism, and textbooks.
Lecture 4 “Sites of memory” and monuments.
Lecture 5 Origins, methodology, and history of oral history.
Lecture 6 Research topics in oral history; two examples of oral source analysis: Lina Kostenko and the memory of the Chernobyl disaster.
Lecture 7 Public history and historical communication. The concept of heritage.
Lecture 8: The Advent of Computer Science and the Birth of the Digital Humanities.
Lecture 9: Approaches and Historiography of Digital History.
Lecture 10: Historical Sources in the Digital Environment.
Lecture 11: Major Projects and Technological Tools.
Lecture 12 Two Examples: The History of Hackers and the Use of Generative AI in History.
Lecture 13 Seminar Presentations.
Lecture 14 Seminar Presentations.
Lecture 15 Seminar Presentations.

Gender issues: the module A) is specifically dedicated to the theme of gender in history The module B) also devotes space to the study of gender, particularly in lessons 2 and 6.

To achieve sufficient knowledge and skills, the student has to demonstrate:
Module A): Knowledge: -to know the main problems concerning the history of modern society. -to know the general features of the historiographical discussions on social and cultural history, and in particular those concerning gender, sexuality violence and social control in the early modern and modern period. Competence: - ability to analyze issues of social history 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 and Comprehension: Demonstrate knowledge of and an understanding of issues related to public, oral, and digital history in contemporary society. Demonstrate knowledge of the key stages in the development of historiography within these three subdisciplines. Understand the connection between digital history and public history. Applied Knowledge and Comprehension: Demonstrate the ability to understand and discuss issues concerning public and oral history in contemporary society. Be familiar with the main tools of digital history.

To achieve an advanced level, the student must also demonstrate that he/she has:
Module A): -An organic vision of the topics; synthesis and analysis skills; -Capacity for personal and critical processing of the topics; -Ability to deepen theoretical and methodological issues of history in general, and in particular concerning gender, sexuality violence and social control in the early modern and modern period.
Module B): Knowledge and understanding: Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the evolutionary stages of the three subdisciplines covered, and demonstrate an understanding of their differences and interactions, referring both to the leading authors in historiography and providing concrete examples. Applied knowledge and understanding: Demonstrate the ability to use the tools covered in the seminar to analyze an example of public history or digital public history and demonstrate the ability to discuss it by comparing it with the other case studies examined by the other seminar groups.