The learning objective is to be able to examine historical problems through the historical literature and the analysis of the primary sources.

These knowledges are necessary both for those who will become teachers in secondary schools, and for those who will continue historical studies (PhD or other)

Witchcraft and Witch-Hunts in Eary Modern Europe and Italy

Syllabus

Part one: historical introduction

- Why and how to study early modern witchcraft

-  History and geography of the European witch-hunts

- Theological and legal grounds for the witch-hunts

- The tie between "maleficium", witchcraft, and demonic possession

- Justice, tribunals and witch-hunts: the Roman Inquisition and witchcraft

Part two: analysis of a witch trial

The professor will analyze a trial conducted by judges of the Roman Inquisition against a witch.

The documentary sources will be supplied to the students during the lessons, and they will also uploaded on "Moodle" (platform for blended learning)

A general knowledge of Early Modern European history is strictly recommended.

• The students must gain knowledge about the meaning of "witchcraft" and the witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe, through the reading of the secondary literature and the interpretation of primary sources.

• The students must learn how to read an inquisition trial and to identify its procedures and different phases.

• The students must learn how to deal with primary sources without relying on others' interpretations, and to write about history after having gained knowledge through the sources 

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

The professor will provide to inform students during the lessons. The learning material will be ulploaded on "Moodle" platform for blended learning.

Teaching

Lessons given in classroom; seminars and workgroups may be organized during the lessons.

Attendance

The attendance is mandatory for those students who want to give the exam as attending students (see below).

The other students must refer to the "additional information for non-attending students".

Course books

Textbooks:

a. Brian P. Levack, La caccia alle streghe in Europa agli inizi dell'età moderna, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2008 (si raccomanda di usare quest'edizione o una successiva, non quelle precedenti)

b. "Non lasciar vivere la malefica". Le streghe nei trattati e nei processi (secoli XIV-XVII), a cura di Dinora Corsi e Matteo Duni, Firenze,Firenze University Press, 2008

Both texts are mandatory

Beyond the textbooks, the students will study also the sources and other papers that will be distributed or uploaded on "Moodle".

Textbooks for the students who choose to study and to give the exam in English:

a. Wolfgang Behringer, Witches and Witch Hunts. A Global History, Cambridge, Polity Press, 2004

(it can be substituted by: Brian P. Levack, The Witch-Hunt in Early Modern Europe, 4th edition, London, Routledge, 2015)

b. Brian P. Levack, The Devil Within. Possession and Exorcism in the Christian West, New Haven-London, Yale University Press, 2013

Assessment

Oral exam.

There will be the possibility to write a paper, but  in that case, the students have also to discuss the paper in the classroom.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Course books

The course books for non-attending students are different, depending on the different cases:

1) If the students have not yet attended a general history course for the early modern period (i.e. if they have not studied an Early Modern European history handbook), then they will study the following texts

a. One manual chosen among the following:

Francesco Benigno, L'età moderna. Dalla scoperta dell'America alla Restaurazione, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2005;

or

Carlo Capra, Storia moderna (1492-1848), Firenze, Le Monnier, 2004 (fino al capitolo 25 incluso, cioè fino a pagina 320)

and

b. Another book, chosen among the following

Giampaolo Romagnani, La società di antico regime (XVI-XVIII secolo). Temi e problemi storiografici, Roma, Carocci, 2010

or

Guido Dall'Olio, Storia Moderna. I temi e le fonti, Roma, Carocci, 2004.

2) If the students have already attended an early modern history course and they have studied a handbook, then they will study the following texts (please take note that the choice is between a) one huge book, or b) a group of three books, or c) a group of two books:

a. Adriano Prosperi, Tribunali della coscienza. Inquisitori, confessori, missionari, Torino, Einaudi, 1996 (and reprints)

or

b. R. H. Bainton, La Riforma protestante, Torino, Einaudi, 1960 (e successive ristampe); G. Dall'Olio, Martin Lutero, Roma, Carocci, 2013; R. H. Bainton, Erasmo della cristianità, Firenze, Sansoni, 1970

or

c. M. Firpo, F. Biferali, Immagini ed eresie nell'Italia del Cinquecento, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2016 ; M. Firpo, Artisti, gioiellieri, eretici. Il mondo di Lorenzo Lotto tra Riforma e Controriforma, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2001.

It is possible, to ask the professor for a "personalized" syllabus. In this case, the students have to contact the professor by e-mail or talk to him during the office hours.

Assessment

oral exam.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

The lessons will be given in Italian. The students can ask the professor to give the exam in English.Since the source that will be analyzed are written in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Italian, a very good knowledge of Italian language is strictly recommended. A basic knowledge of Latin can be helpful, but it's not requested.