UCL - Civilizations of Italy in the Golden Age : from the Middle Ages to the Baroque

[ROM1544]

[15h] 3 credits

This course is taught in the 1st semester.

Teacher(s): Mattia Cavagna

Language: I

Level: First

Aims
Main themes
Content and teaching methods
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Aims

The students shall be able to give an interpretation of the semantics of history. That is to say, they shall examine a series of historical facts and their relative representations coherently (with an emphasis on works of literature and iconographic expressions).
Students shall be able to compare various historical documents, be they graphic, literary, journalistic, or on film (fictional or documentary).
The course aims to develop the students' autonomy when doing research, as well as to develop their awareness of Italian culture, by enabling them to recognize its distinctive traits.

Main themes

Development of subjects concerning the XIX century that anticipate some important political and social aspects of contemporary life:
- Birth of the concept of the Italian nation;
- Federalist ideas in Italy in the XIX century;
- Cultural and economic differences between the North and the South; the meridional question;
- Political "trasformismo" after 1876;
- Iconography and the Risorgimento;
- The Italian concept of Europe in the XIX century.

Content and teaching methods

The course offers a survey of the most important cultural centres of the Italian peninsula in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, namely Florence, Ferrara, Urbino, Mantua, Rome, Naples, Milan, and Venice. One or two lessons will be devoted to the political and cultural realities of each of these centres in a dual perspective: a global apprehension of the historical context and of major artistic and literary events, followed by detailed analysis of one representative author (writer, historian, artist).
Particular emphasis will be placed on the links between intellectuals and the political reality of their time, as well as on the role played by princes and governors.
Students are to choose an author and a topic for a ten-page research paper, the evaluation of which constitutes the final grade. Memorization and recital of a text are optional, but highly recommended.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Prerequisite :
A good knowledge of written and spoken Italian.

Assessment:
Students submit a ten-page paper written in Italian dealing with one of the topics seen in class or a closely related subject.

Course Materials:
A detailed class description is available on I-Campus (http://www.icampus.ucl.ac.be/)