Cultural History of the Mediterranean
A.Y. 2019/2020
Learning objectives
The aim of the course is to enable participants to understand the notion of the Mediterranean and to compare and assess different approaches to this cultural and intellectual area through the ages. The course aims to provide students with a general comprehension of the Arabo-Islamic culture in the Mediterranean and its links to the European intellectual and cultural history. The course educational activities include lectures and seminars.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
- knowledge of the fundamental aspects of the history of the Mediterranean and the Arabo-Islamic civilization from middle ages to early modern period.
- understanding of the relationships connecting the European intellectual and cultural history to the Mediterranean.
- knowledge of the basic methodological tools.
- understanding of the concepts and lines of argument used in the sources.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
- ability to apply the knowledge acquired in framing authors and texts historically.
- ability to apply the understanding of concepts and argumentative forms to the analysis of complex texts and problems.
- ability to situate their own research into a wide and multi-disciplinary framework.
- knowledge of the fundamental aspects of the history of the Mediterranean and the Arabo-Islamic civilization from middle ages to early modern period.
- understanding of the relationships connecting the European intellectual and cultural history to the Mediterranean.
- knowledge of the basic methodological tools.
- understanding of the concepts and lines of argument used in the sources.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
- ability to apply the knowledge acquired in framing authors and texts historically.
- ability to apply the understanding of concepts and argumentative forms to the analysis of complex texts and problems.
- ability to situate their own research into a wide and multi-disciplinary framework.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
Course topic: The Mediterranean and Islam (60 hours, 9 ECTS)
Teaching module A (20 hours, 3 ECTS): Mediterranean in history: themes and problems
Teaching module B (20 hours, 3 ECTS): Islamic Mediterranean (Middle Ages: 7th-15th centuries)
Teaching module C (20 hours, 3 ECTS): "Arab" Sicily (9th-15th centuries)
Course presentation
The course aims to address the issues and problems of the historiographical debate about the idea of the Mediterranean (module A), with a focus on the Islamic presence in the medieval Mediterranean (module B) and particularly on the issues raised by the persistence of the "Arab" culture in Sicily between the 9th and the 15th centuries (module C). Exercises and additional educational activities are planned.
Teaching module A (20 hours, 3 ECTS): Mediterranean in history: themes and problems
Teaching module B (20 hours, 3 ECTS): Islamic Mediterranean (Middle Ages: 7th-15th centuries)
Teaching module C (20 hours, 3 ECTS): "Arab" Sicily (9th-15th centuries)
Course presentation
The course aims to address the issues and problems of the historiographical debate about the idea of the Mediterranean (module A), with a focus on the Islamic presence in the medieval Mediterranean (module B) and particularly on the issues raised by the persistence of the "Arab" culture in Sicily between the 9th and the 15th centuries (module C). Exercises and additional educational activities are planned.
Prerequisites for admission
The ideal prerequisite to effectively attend this course is a good high school level preparation in the areas of history and historical geography, with a basic knowledge of the main personalities and events of the Middle Ages, and a mastery of the basic tools for text analysis and for the understanding of methodological and critical texts.
Teaching methods
Frontal lessons, with exercises agreed with the teacher.
Learning benchmarks
Knowledge: At the end of the course, through the analysis of the sources, the student will acquire a basic knowledge of the historical developments of the Mediterranean and the Arab-Islamic civilization.
Skills: The student will be able to apply the above knowledge, putting the authors and texts of the Arab-Islamic civilization in the Mediterranean in a historical framework encompassing antiquity and modernity; he will thus develop the ability to critically read and interpret the sources, differentiating preconceived ideas from the results deriving from the scientific research.
Learning benchmarks
Knowledge: At the end of the course, through the analysis of the sources, the student will acquire a basic knowledge of the historical developments of the Mediterranean and the Arab-Islamic civilization.
Skills: The student will be able to apply the above knowledge, putting the authors and texts of the Arab-Islamic civilization in the Mediterranean in a historical framework encompassing antiquity and modernity; he will thus develop the ability to critically read and interpret the sources, differentiating preconceived ideas from the results deriving from the scientific research.
Teaching Resources
Bibliographical suggestions
Teaching module A
Program of the exam for attending students
Fernand Braudel (ed.), Il Mediterraneo. Lo spazio e la storia, gli uomini e la tradizione, trad. it Milano, Bompiani, 1987.
David Abulafia, Il Grande Mare. Storia del Mediterraneo, trad. it. Milano, Mondadori, 2013.
Teaching module B
Program of the exam for attending students
Leonardo Capezzone, Medioevo arabo. Una storia dell'islam medievale (VII-XV secolo), Milano, Mondadori, 2016.
Ch. Picard, Il mare dei califfi. Storia del Mediterraneo musulmano (secoli VII-XII), trad. it. Roma, Carocci, 2017.
Teaching module C
Program of the exam for attending students
S. Tramontana, L'isola di Allāh. Luoghi, uomini e cose di Sicilia nei secoli IX-XI, Torino, Einaudi, 2014.
Teaching module A
Program of the exam for non-attending students
Fernand Braudel (ed.), Il Mediterraneo. Lo spazio e la storia, gli uomini e la tradizione, trad. it Milano, Bompiani, 1987.
David Abulafia, Il Grande Mare. Storia del Mediterraneo, trad. it. Milano, Mondadori, 2013.
Teaching module B
Program of the exam for non-attending students
Leonardo Capezzone, Medioevo arabo. Una storia dell'islam medievale (VII-XV secolo), Milano, Mondadori, 2016.
Ch. Picard, Il mare dei califfi. Storia del Mediterraneo musulmano (secoli VII-XII), trad. it. Roma, Carocci, 2017.
Teaching module C
Program of the exam for non-attending students
S. Tramontana, L'isola di Allāh. Luoghi, uomini e cose di Sicilia nei secoli IX-XI, Torino, Einaudi, 2014.
NB: Non-attending students must add to the program two books of their choice from those indicated below (agreeing them in advance with the teacher):
ANCIENT HISTORY
Valerio Massimo Manfredi, Lorenzo Braccesi, Mare greco. Eroi ed esploratori nel Mediterraneo antico, Mondadori, Milano, 2007.
Cyprian Broodbank, Il Mediterraneo. Dalla preistoria alla nascita del mondo classico, trad. it. Torino, Einaudi, 2015.
Michel Gras, Il Mediterraneo nell'età arcaica, trad. it. Paestum, Fondazione Paestum, 1997.
MEDIEVAL HISTORY
Duccio Balestracci, Terre ignote, strana gente. Storie di viaggiatori medievali, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2008.
Norman Daniel, Gli arabi e l'Europa nel Medio Evo, trad. it. Bologna, Il Mulino, 2007.
Shelomo Dov Goitein, Una società mediterranea. Storia di una comunità ebraica del Medioevo in uno stato musulmano. Il contesto sociale, politico, culturale e religioso attraverso i documenti di uno straordinario ritrovamento, trad. it. Milano, Bompiani, 2002.
Charles H. Haskins, Il Rinascimento del XII secolo, trad. it. Roma, Castelvecchi, 2015.
Konrad Hirschler, Leggere e scrivere nell'Islam medievale, trad. it. Roma, Carocci, 2017.
Bernard Lewis, I musulmani alla scoperta dell'Europa, trad. it. Milano, Rizzoli, 2005.
Maria Serena Mazzi, Il viaggio nel Medioevo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016.
Houari Touati, Biblioteche di saggezza. Libro e collezionismo nell'Islam, trad. it. Milano, Sylvestre Bonnard, 2006.
MODERN HISTORY
Bartholomé e Lucile Benassar, I Cristiani di Allāh. La straordinaria epopea dei convertiti all'islamismo nei secoli XVI e XVII, Milano, Rizzoli, 1991.
Salvatore Bono, Schiavi. Una storia mediterranea (XVI-XIX secolo), Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016.
Fernand Braudel, Civiltà e imperi del Mediterraneo nell'età di Filippo II, 2 voll., trad. it. Torino, Einaudi, 19825.
Giovanna Fiume, Schiavitù mediterranee. Corsari, rinnegati e santi in età moderna, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2009.
Bruno Pomara Saverino, Rifugiati. I moriscos e l'Italia, Firenze, Firenze University Press, 2017.
Teaching module A
Program of the exam for attending students
Fernand Braudel (ed.), Il Mediterraneo. Lo spazio e la storia, gli uomini e la tradizione, trad. it Milano, Bompiani, 1987.
David Abulafia, Il Grande Mare. Storia del Mediterraneo, trad. it. Milano, Mondadori, 2013.
Teaching module B
Program of the exam for attending students
Leonardo Capezzone, Medioevo arabo. Una storia dell'islam medievale (VII-XV secolo), Milano, Mondadori, 2016.
Ch. Picard, Il mare dei califfi. Storia del Mediterraneo musulmano (secoli VII-XII), trad. it. Roma, Carocci, 2017.
Teaching module C
Program of the exam for attending students
S. Tramontana, L'isola di Allāh. Luoghi, uomini e cose di Sicilia nei secoli IX-XI, Torino, Einaudi, 2014.
Teaching module A
Program of the exam for non-attending students
Fernand Braudel (ed.), Il Mediterraneo. Lo spazio e la storia, gli uomini e la tradizione, trad. it Milano, Bompiani, 1987.
David Abulafia, Il Grande Mare. Storia del Mediterraneo, trad. it. Milano, Mondadori, 2013.
Teaching module B
Program of the exam for non-attending students
Leonardo Capezzone, Medioevo arabo. Una storia dell'islam medievale (VII-XV secolo), Milano, Mondadori, 2016.
Ch. Picard, Il mare dei califfi. Storia del Mediterraneo musulmano (secoli VII-XII), trad. it. Roma, Carocci, 2017.
Teaching module C
Program of the exam for non-attending students
S. Tramontana, L'isola di Allāh. Luoghi, uomini e cose di Sicilia nei secoli IX-XI, Torino, Einaudi, 2014.
NB: Non-attending students must add to the program two books of their choice from those indicated below (agreeing them in advance with the teacher):
ANCIENT HISTORY
Valerio Massimo Manfredi, Lorenzo Braccesi, Mare greco. Eroi ed esploratori nel Mediterraneo antico, Mondadori, Milano, 2007.
Cyprian Broodbank, Il Mediterraneo. Dalla preistoria alla nascita del mondo classico, trad. it. Torino, Einaudi, 2015.
Michel Gras, Il Mediterraneo nell'età arcaica, trad. it. Paestum, Fondazione Paestum, 1997.
MEDIEVAL HISTORY
Duccio Balestracci, Terre ignote, strana gente. Storie di viaggiatori medievali, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2008.
Norman Daniel, Gli arabi e l'Europa nel Medio Evo, trad. it. Bologna, Il Mulino, 2007.
Shelomo Dov Goitein, Una società mediterranea. Storia di una comunità ebraica del Medioevo in uno stato musulmano. Il contesto sociale, politico, culturale e religioso attraverso i documenti di uno straordinario ritrovamento, trad. it. Milano, Bompiani, 2002.
Charles H. Haskins, Il Rinascimento del XII secolo, trad. it. Roma, Castelvecchi, 2015.
Konrad Hirschler, Leggere e scrivere nell'Islam medievale, trad. it. Roma, Carocci, 2017.
Bernard Lewis, I musulmani alla scoperta dell'Europa, trad. it. Milano, Rizzoli, 2005.
Maria Serena Mazzi, Il viaggio nel Medioevo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016.
Houari Touati, Biblioteche di saggezza. Libro e collezionismo nell'Islam, trad. it. Milano, Sylvestre Bonnard, 2006.
MODERN HISTORY
Bartholomé e Lucile Benassar, I Cristiani di Allāh. La straordinaria epopea dei convertiti all'islamismo nei secoli XVI e XVII, Milano, Rizzoli, 1991.
Salvatore Bono, Schiavi. Una storia mediterranea (XVI-XIX secolo), Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016.
Fernand Braudel, Civiltà e imperi del Mediterraneo nell'età di Filippo II, 2 voll., trad. it. Torino, Einaudi, 19825.
Giovanna Fiume, Schiavitù mediterranee. Corsari, rinnegati e santi in età moderna, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2009.
Bruno Pomara Saverino, Rifugiati. I moriscos e l'Italia, Firenze, Firenze University Press, 2017.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Oral:
The oral exam is an interview about the texts in the program, aimed at verifying that the examinee has the ability to navigate the major historical trends in the history of the Mediterranean and has acquired a solid knowledge of the information acquired through the texts and the course. Non-attending students must agree on the program with the teacher.
Warning
National and international or Erasmus incoming students are invited to promptly contact the teacher in charge of the course.
The examination procedures for students with disabilities and/or with SpLD must be agreed with the teacher, in coordination with the competent Office.
The oral exam is an interview about the texts in the program, aimed at verifying that the examinee has the ability to navigate the major historical trends in the history of the Mediterranean and has acquired a solid knowledge of the information acquired through the texts and the course. Non-attending students must agree on the program with the teacher.
Warning
National and international or Erasmus incoming students are invited to promptly contact the teacher in charge of the course.
The examination procedures for students with disabilities and/or with SpLD must be agreed with the teacher, in coordination with the competent Office.
Unita' didattica A
L-OR/10 - HISTORY OF ISLAMIC COUNTRIES - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B
L-OR/10 - HISTORY OF ISLAMIC COUNTRIES - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica C
L-OR/10 - HISTORY OF ISLAMIC COUNTRIES - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor(s)