The first part of the course aims to give the students a general knowledge of the great problems of European early modern history, so they will construct a basis for more advanced knowledges.

The second part of the course will examine a more particular problem, viewed through the reading and the analysis of texts and documents. The general context, however, will be kept into consideration, too.

The knowledge of Early Modern History is necessary for those who will be teacher in the secondary schools, and it also allows the student to acquire more detailed knowledge in other subjects.

The course

is divided into two parts: a general one, and a monographic one. Each one of this parts will consist in 36 hours of lesson (the whole course consists in 72 hours of lesson)

The lessons wil begin September 20, 2021

First part (general)

The main problems of Early modern history

Syllabus:

1. Indroduction: history, history of historiography, and sources.

2. The general framework: historical demography, economy and society of Earli Modern Europe

3. The great discoveries: Columbus and others.

4. Early modern political Europe

5. Religion: Reformation and Counter-Reformation

6. The general crisis of the XVII century.

7. The French Revolution.

8. The industrial revolution.

Second (monographic) part:

Jews and Christians in early modern Europe

- Introduction: what "Jew" means.

- The Jews in Europe from the Roman Age to the Middle Ages.

- Changes: from the Middle Ages to the Early Modern era.

- Antijudaism or Antisemitism?

- Conversions or expulsion: Spain and Portugal, 1492-1497

- The "Marranos" and their culture

- Martin Luther and the Jews

- Italy: tolerance and repression.

- The Jews and the Inquisition (Spain, Italy, Portugal)

- The Jews and the modern world

- Toward the XX century: the birth of contemporary antisemitism.

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

Teaching

Frontal lessons

Course books

Textbooks for the first part of the course

A modern history handbook (chosen between the two listed below), and a complementary textbook:

1. One of the following handbooks:

a. FRANCESCO BENIGNO, L'età moderna. Dalla scoperta dell'America alla Restaurazione, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2005;

b. CARLO CAPRA, Storia moderna (1492-1848), Firenze, Le Monnier, 2004 (until chapter 25 included, that is, until page 320)

c. Introduzione alla storia moderna, a cura di Marco Bellabarba e Vincenzo Lavenia, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2018 (Note: this manual is particularly complex and difficult; it is intended only for students who are strongly interested in world history)

2. Complementary textbook, chosen between the following:

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

b. GUIDO DALL'OLIO, Storia Moderna. I temi e le fonti. Nuova edizione, Roma, Carocci, 2017.

Textbooks for the students who choosse to give the exam in English

M. E. Wiesner-Hanks, Early Modern Europe, 1450-1789, Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 2013 (and later reprints)

Second (monographic) part of the course (mandatory textbooks):

The following three texts (all of them mandatory)

1. Piero Stefani, Gli ebrei, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1997 (and subsequent reprints) [introductory reading]

2. Anna Foa, Ebrei in Europa. Dalla peste nera all'emancipazione, XIV-XVIII secolo, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1992 (and subsequent reprints)

3. Marina Caffiero, Storia degli ebrei nell'Italia moderna. Dal Rinascimento alla Restaurazione, Roma, Carocci, 2014

Textbooks for the students who choose to give the exam in English (both mandatory):

Jonathan I. Israel, European Jewry in the Age of Mercantilism 1550-1750, Oxford, Oxford UP, 1985 (and later reprints);

Marina Caffiero, Forced Baptism: Histories of Jews, Christians, and Converts in Papal Rome, University of California Press, 2011

NOTICE: Beyond the reading of the above texts, the students have to study the primary and secondary sources that the lecturer will make available on Moodle platform for blended learning, that will be analyzed during the lessons

Textbooks for the students who choose to give the exam in English

1.  General History:

M. E. Wiesner-Hanks, Early Modern Europe, 1450-1789, Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 2013 (and following reprints)

2.     Erasmus of Rotterdam: a Christian scholar in Reformation Europe (1466-1536)

R. H. Bainton, Erasmus of Christendom, Peabody (MA), 2016

Peter G. Bietenholz, Encounters with a Radical Erasmus. Erasmus' Work as a Source of Radical Thought in Early Modern Europe, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2009

Assessment

Oral exam. 

The oral exam aims to evaluate: 1) the knowledge of the contents of the subject; 2) the ability to distinguish and to evaluate the different historical narratives and their reliability; 3) the ability to use the specific language of history and of the object of the course: Each of these three criteria is graduated according to five levels: not sufficient (grade less than 18); sufficient (from 18 to 24); fair (from 24 to 27); good (from 27 to 30); excellent (30 cum laude).

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.

Teaching

Individual study

Course books

General History (the same texts as for attending students)

A modern history handbook (chosen between the two listed below), and a complementary textbook:

1. One of the following handbooks:

a. FRANCESCO BENIGNO, L'età moderna. Dalla scoperta dell'America alla Restaurazione, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2005;

b. CARLO CAPRA, Storia moderna (1492-1848), Firenze, Le Monnier, 2004 (until chapter 25 included, that is, until page 320)

c. Introduzione alla storia moderna, a cura di Marco Bellabarba e Vincenzo Lavenia, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2018 (Note: this manual is particularly complex and difficult; it is intended only for students who are strongly interested in world history)

2. Complementary textbook, chosen between the following:

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

b. GUIDO DALL'OLIO, Storia Moderna. I temi e le fonti. Nuova edizione, Roma, Carocci, 2017.

Textbooks for the students who choosse to give the exam in English

M. E. Wiesner-Hanks, Early Modern Europe, 1450-1789, Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 2013 (and later reprints)

Monographic reading:

For non attending students, the course books are different. The students have to choose one between the follwing couples of books (the choice is between the couples of books, not between the books): 

1.

Raffaella Sarti, Vita di casa. Abitare, mangiare, vestire nell'Europa moderna, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2008 (and following editions)

and Marzio Barbagli, Sotto lo stesso tetto. Mutamenti della famiglia in Italia dal XV al XX secolo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2013

2.

Massimo Donattini, Dal Nuovo Mondo all'America. Scoperte geografiche e colonialismo (secoli XV-XVI), Roma, Carocci, 2017

and Andrew Pettegree, L'invenzione delle notizie. Come il mondo arrivò a conoscersi, Torino, Einaudi, 2015

Textbooks for the students who choose to give the exam in English

1.  General History

M. E. Wiesner-Hanks, Early Modern Europe, 1450-1789, Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 2013 (2nd edition)

2.  Monographic reading

D. McCulloch, Reformation: Europe's House Divided 1490-1700, New York, Viking, 2004 (and following editions)

or, at the choice of the student:

Peter H. Wilson, Europe's Tragedy. A New History of the Thirty Years War, Cambridge (MA), The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009 (London, Penguin Books, 2010)

Assessment

Oral exam. 

The oral exam aims to evaluate: 1) the knowledge of the contents of the subject; 2) the ability to distinguish and to evaluate the different historical narratives and their reliability; 3) the ability to use the specific language of history and of the object of the course: Each of these three criteria is graduated according to five levels: not sufficient (grade less than 18); sufficient (from 18 to 24); fair (from 24 to 27); good (from 27 to 30); excellent (30 cum laude).

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.