The aim of the course is to provide students with an overview in the general European history of early modern times. First of all, the lecturer will describe the chronological sequence of the main historical events. Then, in the monographic part of the course, he will help the students to study a single topic through the bibliography and the documents.

The course is divided into two parts, that will be taught one after the other. Each one consists in 36 hours of lesson (the whole course consists in 72 hours).

General part:

1. Introduction: History, Historiography, and primary sources

2. The general framework: demography, economy and society in early modern Europe.

3. The geographical discoveries (XV-XVIII cent.)

4. Politics, war and State building in early modern Europe

5. Reformation and Counter-Reformation

6. The general crisis of the seventeenth century

7. The American and French revolutions

8. The industrial revolution.

Monographic part

Martin Luther and the Reformation of the sixteenth century

- The Reformation: the general issue

- Martin Luther as a historical figure: history and biography

- Martin Luther's theology

- Martin Luther's Reformation and its limits

- Luther and the other Reformations: John Calvin, Huldreych Zwingli and the "Radical Reformation"

- The Reformation and the birth of the "modern world"

At the end of the course the students:

• will have a general knowledge on early modern European history; besides, they will have a more specific knowledge of a single topic, through the study and the analysis of texts and documents;
• will learn the historical events of the early modern age, and to communicate and to argue their ideas abour historical events and about the different interpretations of them;
• will learn how to make bibliographical research concerning history and to assume information from a history book. They will learn how to speak in public about history and to use historical arguments.

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

Innovative teaching methods

Debate

During some of the lessons, the lecturer will propose a debate on some of the most discussed topics of early modern European history. Before the debate, the lecturer will supply bibliography items that the students will read. Then the class will be divided in two parts: one of them will argue a thesis, and the other one will argue the opposite. The discussion will be moderated by the lecturer

Course books

For the general part:

The study of one textbook ("manual") AND of a supplementary textbook is required.

1. Main textbook. The students can freely choose between the following:

a. Francesco Benigno, L'età moderna. Dalla scoperta dell'America alla Restaurazione, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2005 (and other editions);

b. Carlo Capra, Storia moderna (1492-1848), Firenze, Le Monnier, 2004 (and other editions. This text has to be studied only until the Napoleonic period).

c. [For the students interested in "global history" there is also the textbook: Introduzione alla storia moderna, a cura di Marco Bellabarba e Vincenzo Lavenia, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2018. It is a very complex text, and it deals also with topics that will not be treated in the lessons]

2. Supplementary textboo. The students can freely choose 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

Monographic part

The study of the following texts is required:

Guido Dall’Olio, Martin Lutero, Roma, Carocci, 2013 (and other editions)

Lucia Felici, La Riforma protestante nell’Europa del Cinquecento, Roma, Carocci, 2016 (and other editions).

The study of the material that will be given to the students during the lessons (Moodle) is also required.

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

R. H. Bainton, The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century. Enlarged Edition, Boston, Beacon Press, 1985 (other editions allowed, if not shortened)

Roland H. Bainton, Here I stand. A Life of Martin Luther, Nashville, Abingdon Press, 1978 (other editions allowed, if not shortened)

         

Assessment

Written examination AND oral examination (both mandatory)

Written examination

There will be just one written examination for each session; the (positive) outcome remains valid for one calendar year.

Before taking the oral exam, the students must have passed the written test.

The written test consists in three open-ended questions, concerning the general part of the course.

Oral examination

The oral examination deals with the monographic part of the course..

The written proof aims to test the students' knowledge as for the general issues (nouns, dates, events). Besides, it shows the students' ability to explain historical topics with coherent and consistent exposition, which connects historical events with each other. In a written proof the students can also express freely their opinions (if well argued) about history.

The oral examination aims to the same goals, with a different degree of interaction between the students and the lecturer

Assessment

Written examination:

In general, completeness, accuracy and accuracy of answers will be considered, regardless or their length.

Particular criteria (valid for both the written and the oral examinations)

A. Knowledge of nouns, dates, and events

Level 1 (insufficient): poor knowledge of the events and of their location in space and time. Reference to space and time are missing (or almost missing); wrong sequence of the events.

Level 2 (from 18 to 22): inaccurate knowledge of nouns, locations and dates; sufficient knowledge of historical events

Level 3 (from 22 to 26): good knowledge of nouns, locations and dates; good capability to narrate historical events.

Level 4 (from 26 to 30): comprehensive knowledge of nouns, locations, dates and event, also of historical figures and facts of secondary significance 

B. Deep knowledge. The historical meaning of events, and their relationship with the previous and subsequent history.

Level 1 (insufficient): Little or no knowledge of the previous and subsequent history or the event in question.

Level 2 (from 18 to 22): Rigid and mechanical connection between events (for example: "The cause of the Reformation was the immorality of the clergy").

Level 3 (from 22 to 26): Good connections between previous and subsequent history and the event in question.

Level 4 (from 26 to 30): articulated and precise connections between previous and subsequent history and the event in question. The event in question is placed into its context, with all the necessary elements.

C. Knowledge of he historiographical debate, of the different interpretations of the historical events, and of their importance for the present times.

Level 1 (insufficient): Little or no knowledge of the existence of different interpretations of the event in question.

Level 2 (from 18 to 22): Generic knowledge of the different interpretations of the event in question.

Level 3 (from 22 to 26): Correct knowledge and narration of the different interpretations of the event in question.

Level 4 (from 26 to 30): Good knowledge and narration of the different interpretations of the event in question, and of their foundations upon theory or documentary sources.

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 part (the same as for attending students)

The study of one textbook ("manual") AND of a supplementary textbook is required.

1. Main textbook. The students can freely choose between the following:

a. Francesco Benigno, L'età moderna. Dalla scoperta dell'America alla Restaurazione, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2005 (and other editions);

b. Carlo Capra, Storia moderna (1492-1848), Firenze, Le Monnier, 2004 (and other editions. This text has to be studied only until the Napoleonic period).

c. [For the students interested in "global history" there is also the textbook: Introduzione alla storia moderna, a cura di Marco Bellabarba e Vincenzo Lavenia, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2018. It is a very complex text, and it deals also with topics that will not be treated in the lessons]

2. Supplementary textboo. The students can freely choose 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

Monographic part

For non-attending students the study of three books is required. The student can freely choose between the following: 

Anna Foa, Ebrei in Europa. Dalla peste nera all’emancipazione, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2014

M. Donattini, Dal Nuovo Mondo all’America, Roma, Carocci, 2017

M. Garbellotti, Per carità. Poveri e politiche assistenziali nell’Italia moderna, Roma, Carocci, 2013

C. Ginzburg, I benandanti. Stregoneria e culti agrari in Friuli tra Cinque e Seicento, Torino, Einaudi, 1966 (new edition Milano, Adelphi, 2020)

B. P. Levack, La caccia alle streghe in Europa, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2008 (and following editions)

R. Mazzei, Per terra e per acqua. Viaggi e viaggiatori nell’Europa moderna, Roma, Carocci, 2013

O. Niccoli, La vita religiosa nell’Italia moderna, Roma, Carocci, 2017

R. Sarti, Vita di casa. Abitare, mangiare, vestire nell'Europa moderna, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2003 (and following editions).

M. Vovelle, La rivoluzione francese 1789-1799. Nuova edizione ampliata, Milano, Guerini Scientifica, 2016

M. E. Wiesner-Hanks, Le donne nell’Europa moderna, Torino, Einaudi, 2017

Textbooks in English (both texts are mandatory)

E. Cameron, Enchanted Europe. Superstition, Reason, and Religion, 1250-1750, Oxford University Press, 2010

F. Young, A History of Exorcism in Catholic Christianity, London, Palgrave Macmillan, 2016

    

Assessment

(the same as for attending students)

Written examination AND oral examination (both mandatory)

Written examination

There will be just one written examination for each session; the (positive) outcome remains valid for one calendar year.

Before taking the oral exam, the students must have passed the written test.

The written test consists in three open-ended questions, concerning the general part of the course.

Oral examination

The oral examination deals with the monographic part of the course..

The written proof aims to test the students' knowledge as for the general issues (nouns, dates, events). Besides, it shows the students' ability to explain historical topics with coherent and consistent exposition, which connects historical events with each other. In a written proof the students can also express freely their opinions (if well argued) about history.

The oral examination aims to the same goals, with a different degree of interaction between the students and the lecturer

Assessment

Written examination:

In general, completeness, accuracy and accuracy of answers will be considered, regardless or their length.

Particular criteria (valid for both the written and the oral examinations)

A. Knowledge of nouns, dates, and events

Level 1 (insufficient): poor knowledge of the events and of their location in space and time. Reference to space and time are missing (or almost missing); wrong sequence of the events.

Level 2 (from 18 to 22): inaccurate knowledge of nouns, locations and dates; sufficient knowledge of historical events

Level 3 (from 22 to 26): good knowledge of nouns, locations and dates; good capability to narrate historical events.

Level 4 (from 26 to 30): comprehensive knowledge of nouns, locations, dates and event, also of historical figures and facts of secondary significance 

B. Deep knowledge. The historical meaning of events, and their relationship with the previous and subsequent history.

Level 1 (insufficient): Little or no knowledge of the previous and subsequent history or the event in question.

Level 2 (from 18 to 22): Rigid and mechanical connection between events (for example: "The cause of the Reformation was the immorality of the clergy").

Level 3 (from 22 to 26): Good connections between previous and subsequent history and the event in question.

Level 4 (from 26 to 30): articulated and precise connections between previous and subsequent history and the event in question. The event in question is placed into its context, with all the necessary elements.

C. Knowledge of he historiographical debate, of the different interpretations of the historical events, and of their importance for the present times.

Level 1 (insufficient): Little or no knowledge of the existence of different interpretations of the event in question.

Level 2 (from 18 to 22): Generic knowledge of the different interpretations of the event in question.

Level 3 (from 22 to 26): Correct knowledge and narration of the different interpretations of the event in question.

Level 4 (from 26 to 30): Good knowledge and narration of the different interpretations of the event in question, and of their foundations upon theory or documentary sources.

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.