Words, Rituals, and Images: Cultures and Media in the Middle Ages

The aim of the course is to provide an overview of the political cultures elaborated in the early Middle Ages on a European scale (and thus in contexts very different in terms of forms of government and social arrangements), paying particular attention to the different media used to express them (words, rituals, and images). Finally, the course aims to develop in students the critical tools needed to understand the performative potential inherent in different communicative codes, in relation to the different contexts of use analyzed.

At the end of the course, students will be able to critically analyze the sources and scholarly essays inherent to the topic and historical period under consideration, elaborating autonomous reflections around the major junctures in the history of early medieval political thought. They will also be able to evaluate the peculiarities of the different communicative codes employed by the political societies of the period, identifying in each case their original and longer-lasting features. Finally, they will acquire the ability to confront each other in public and to lead a discussion by consciously using specialized vocabulary.
These skills will be acquired through continuous discussion with the lecturer in the classroom: in particular, through critical reflection on texts proposed for individual study and participation in debates activities. The latter, planned in particular in the third part of the course, will take the form of structured discussions among groups of students, whose object will be the analysis and comparison of the political cultures expressed by the different actors in medieval political life (princes, rulers, local bodies, communities, etc.).
Non-attending students will be able to make use of the teaching tools (written sources, images, etc.) made available by the lecturer on Ariel, delve into the main topics through special readings agreed with the lecturer, and engage in discussions with the lecturer via e-mail and/or during office hours.