Cultural History of the Modern Period
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
The course aims to provide an overview of the geo-political and cultural construction of Europe from the late Middle Ages to the early Modern Age considering the cultural and intellectual processes that lead to the formation of modern states. The course will follow both a chronological and a thematic path.
In each of the three units, the following macro-themes will be considered: cultural contacts between different political systems; Euro-Asian and African intellectual networks; and the elaboration of the idea of "just war" from the ideological opposition between Christianity and Islam in the context of the construction of the Mediterranean empires.
The perspective adopted, partly based on a reflection on European history, favours a comparative methodology, built on the constant and in-depth reference to the non-European world.
In each of the three units, the following macro-themes will be considered: cultural contacts between different political systems; Euro-Asian and African intellectual networks; and the elaboration of the idea of "just war" from the ideological opposition between Christianity and Islam in the context of the construction of the Mediterranean empires.
The perspective adopted, partly based on a reflection on European history, favours a comparative methodology, built on the constant and in-depth reference to the non-European world.
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Achieve familiarity with the construction of the philosophical and political idea of Europe, starting with some cornerstones of classical culture and historiographical literature;
- Analyse European conflicts between the 14th and 18th centuries by taking into account the ideal and ideological assumptions that determined them in the long run or at specific historical moments;
- Describe the historical development of the concept of Europe and trace the milestones of the consolidation of nation states between the 16th and 18th centuries;
- Understand the global projection of Europe in the modern age in economic, political, military, intellectual and cultural terms.
- Achieve familiarity with the construction of the philosophical and political idea of Europe, starting with some cornerstones of classical culture and historiographical literature;
- Analyse European conflicts between the 14th and 18th centuries by taking into account the ideal and ideological assumptions that determined them in the long run or at specific historical moments;
- Describe the historical development of the concept of Europe and trace the milestones of the consolidation of nation states between the 16th and 18th centuries;
- Understand the global projection of Europe in the modern age in economic, political, military, intellectual and cultural terms.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
The classes will follow a path both chronologically and by themes and problems.
The first teaching unit is dedicated to the transformations that occurred in the relationship between society and war and in the organization of armies, with reference to the Euro-Mediterranean space, between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, up to the Italian Wars and the Ottoman conquest of Hungary.
The second teaching unit is focused on the early modern age, particularly on the frame of the relationships between sovereign power and ruling classes, as shaped by the global struggle for hegemony in Europe and overseas.
The third teaching unit is focused on the nineteenth century and on the new logic imposed by the growing interdependence between the war effort and industrial production, and by the key role acquired, in the strategic planning and management of conflicts, by formalized institutions within the European State apparatuses.
In each of the three units the following macro-themes will be taken into consideration:
1) the search for consensus as a product of the development of value systems underlying the notion of 'just war', but also as the use of war as a tool to accelerate the pace of transactions between sovereign power and the elite and, therefore, to strengthen the bond - founded on mutual legitimation - between ruling classes and leadership;
2) the relationship between the technological aspects of the art of war and the socio-cultural and political ones;
3) the relationship between war and the economic system.
The perspective adopted, although starting partly from European military history, favours a comparative methodology, built on constant and in-depth reference to extra-European spaces.
The first teaching unit is dedicated to the transformations that occurred in the relationship between society and war and in the organization of armies, with reference to the Euro-Mediterranean space, between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, up to the Italian Wars and the Ottoman conquest of Hungary.
The second teaching unit is focused on the early modern age, particularly on the frame of the relationships between sovereign power and ruling classes, as shaped by the global struggle for hegemony in Europe and overseas.
The third teaching unit is focused on the nineteenth century and on the new logic imposed by the growing interdependence between the war effort and industrial production, and by the key role acquired, in the strategic planning and management of conflicts, by formalized institutions within the European State apparatuses.
In each of the three units the following macro-themes will be taken into consideration:
1) the search for consensus as a product of the development of value systems underlying the notion of 'just war', but also as the use of war as a tool to accelerate the pace of transactions between sovereign power and the elite and, therefore, to strengthen the bond - founded on mutual legitimation - between ruling classes and leadership;
2) the relationship between the technological aspects of the art of war and the socio-cultural and political ones;
3) the relationship between war and the economic system.
The perspective adopted, although starting partly from European military history, favours a comparative methodology, built on constant and in-depth reference to extra-European spaces.
Prerequisites for admission
Basic knowledge of modern history and, with reference to the chronological period covered by the course, medieval and contemporary history is required.
Teaching methods
The topics of the classes will be addressed through frontal lessons and with the help of teaching materials (maps and documents) that the teacher will previously make available on the Ariel platform. Documents and maps will be read and analysed during the classes.
Attendance at all three teaching units, although not mandatory, is strongly recommended. Those who participate in at least two thirds of the lessons of each teaching unit are considered attending students.
Attendance at all three teaching units, although not mandatory, is strongly recommended. Those who participate in at least two thirds of the lessons of each teaching unit are considered attending students.
Teaching Resources
PROGRAM FOR ATTENDING STUDENTS
Teaching Unit A
A book of your choice among those indicated below, in addition to the lesson notes:
- Maria Nadia Covini, L'esercito del duca. Organizzazione militare e istituzioni al tempo degli Sforza 1450-1480, Roma, nella sede dell'Istituto, 1998;
- Susan Rose, Medieval naval warfare, 1000-1500, London, Routledge, 2002;
- Latin American indigenous warfare and ritual violence, edited by Richard J. Chacon and Rubén G. Mendoza, Tucson, The University of Arizona Press, 2007;
- Philippe Contamine, La guerra dei cent'anni, Bologna, il Mulino, 2013;
- Michael Mallett, Signori e mercenari. La guerra nell'Italia del Rinascimento, Bologna, il Mulino, 2013;
- Joseph F. O'Callaghan, The last crusade in the West. Castile and the conquest of Granada, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014;
- Christine Shaw, Barons and castellans. The military nobility of Renaissance Italy, Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2015;
- Tamás Pálosfalvi, From Nicopolis to Mohacs. A history of Ottoman-Hungarian warfare, 1389-1526, Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2018;
- Guerre ed eserciti nel Medioevo, a cura di Paolo Grillo e Aldo A. Settia, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018.
- Christine Shaw, Michael Mallett, The Italian Wars, 1494-1559. War, State and Society in Early Modern Europe, London-New York, Routledge, 2019.
Teaching Unit B
A book of your choice among those indicated below, in addition to the lesson notes:
- John K. Thornton, Warfare in Atlantic Africa, 1500-1800, London, UCL press, 1999;
- Peter Lorge, War, politics and society in early modern China, 900-1795, London-New York, Routledge, 2005;
- Factional struggles. Divided elites in European cities and courts (1400-1750), Mathieu Caesar ed., Boston, Brill, 2017.
- Brian L. Davies, Warfare, State and Society on the Black Sea Steppe, 1500-1700, London-New York, Routledge, 2007;
- Fighting for a Living. A Comparative Study of Military Labour 1500-2000, Erik-Jan Zürcher ed., Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2013 (up to p. 329);
- Alessandra Dattero, Soldati a Milano. Organizzazione militare e società lombarda nella prima dominazione austriaca, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2014;
- Guerre ed eserciti nell'età moderna, a cura di Paola Bianchi e Piero Del Negro, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018;
- Salvatore Bono, Guerre corsare nel Mediterraneo, Bologna, il Mulino, 2019;
- La rivoluzione militare dell'età moderna, a cura di Giampiero Brunelli, «Dimensioni e Problemi della Ricerca Storica», 2 (2022), pp. 7-230.
Teaching Unit C
A book of your choice among those indicated below, in addition to the lesson notes:
- Bruce Vandervort, Indian wars of Mexico, Canada and the United States 1812-1900, New York-London, Routledge, 2006;
- Susan-Mary Grant, The war for a nation. The American civil war, New York-London, Routledge, 2006;
- Stefano Levati, La "buona azienda negli eserciti prepara la vittoria e genera l'economia". Appalti, commissari e appaltatori nell'Italia napoleonica, Soveria Mannelli, Rubbettino, 2009;
- Candan Badem, The Ottoman Crimean War (1853-1856), Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2010;
- Rachel Chrastil, The Siege of Strasbourg, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 2014;
- Fighting for a Living. A Comparative Study of Military Labour 1500-2000, Erik-Jan Zürcher (ed.), Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2013 (from p. 331 to p. 580);
- Manuel Barcia, West African warfare in Bahia and Cuba. Soldier slaves in the Atlantic world, 1807-1844, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016;
- Holly Furneaux, Military men of feeling. Emotion, touch, and masculinity in the Crimean War, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016;
- Mao Haijian, The Qing Empire and the opium war. The collapse of the Heavenly dynasty, Cambridge, Cambridge University press, 2016.
PROGRAM FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS
Teaching Unit A
Two books of your choice among those indicated below:
- Maria Nadia Covini, L'esercito del duca. Organizzazione militare e istituzioni al tempo degli Sforza 1450-1480, Roma, nella sede dell'Istituto, 1998;
- Susan Rose, Medieval naval warfare, 1000-1500, London, Routledge, 2002;
- Latin American indigenous warfare and ritual violence, edited by Richard J. Chacon and Rubén G. Mendoza, Tucson, The University of Arizona Press, 2007;
- Philippe Contamine, La guerra dei cent'anni, Bologna, il Mulino, 2013;
- Michael Mallett, Signori e mercenari. La guerra nell'Italia del Rinascimento, Bologna, il Mulino, 2013;
- Joseph F. O'Callaghan, The last crusade in the West. Castile and the conquest of Granada, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014;
- Christine Shaw, Barons and castellans. The military nobility of Renaissance Italy, Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2015;
- Tamás Pálosfalvi, From Nicopolis to Mohacs. A history of Ottoman-Hungarian warfare, 1389-1526, Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2018;
- Guerre ed eserciti nel Medioevo, a cura di Paolo Grillo e Aldo A. Settia, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018.
- Christine Shaw, Michael Mallett, The Italian Wars, 1494-1559. War, State and Society in Early Modern Europe, London-New York, Routledge, 2019.
Teaching Unit B
Two books of your choice among those indicated below:
- John K. Thornton, Warfare in Atlantic Africa, 1500-1800, London, UCL press, 1999;
- Peter Lorge, War, politics and society in early modern China, 900-1795, London-New York, Routledge, 2005;
- Factional struggles. Divided elites in European cities and courts (1400-1750), Mathieu Caesar ed., Boston, Brill, 2017.
- Brian L. Davies, Warfare, State and Society on the Black Sea Steppe, 1500-1700, London-New York, Routledge, 2007;
- Fighting for a Living. A Comparative Study of Military Labour 1500-2000, Erik-Jan Zürcher ed., Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2013 (fino a p. 329);
- Alessandra Dattero, Soldati a Milano. Organizzazione militare e società lombarda nella prima dominazione austriaca, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2014;
- Guerre ed eserciti nell'età moderna, a cura di Paola Bianchi e Piero Del Negro, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018;
- Salvatore Bono, Guerre corsare nel Mediterraneo, Bologna, il Mulino, 2019;
- La rivoluzione militare dell'età moderna, a cura di Giampiero Brunelli, «Dimensioni e Problemi della Ricerca Storica», 2 (2022), pp. 7-230.
Teaching Unit C
Two books of your choice among those indicated below:
- Bruce Vandervort, Indian wars of Mexico, Canada and the United States 1812-1900, New York-London, Routledge, 2006;
- Susan-Mary Grant, The war for a nation. The American civil war, New York-London, Routledge, 2006;
- Stefano Levati, La "buona azienda negli eserciti prepara la vittoria e genera l'economia". Appalti, commissari e appaltatori nell'Italia napoleonica, Soveria Mannelli, Rubbettino, 2009;
- Candan Badem, The Ottoman Crimean War (1853-1856), Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2010;
- Rachel Chrastil, The Siege of Strasbourg, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 2014;
- Fighting for a Living. A Comparative Study of Military Labour 1500-2000, Erik-Jan Zürcher (ed.), Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2013 (da p. 331 a p. 580);
- Manuel Barcia, West African warfare in Bahia and Cuba. Soldier slaves in the Atlantic world, 1807-1844, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016;
- Holly Furneaux, Military men of feeling. Emotion, touch, and masculinity in the Crimean War, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016;
- Mao Haijian, The Qing Empire and the opium war. The collapse of the Heavenly dynasty, Cambridge, Cambridge University press, 2016.
Teaching Unit A
A book of your choice among those indicated below, in addition to the lesson notes:
- Maria Nadia Covini, L'esercito del duca. Organizzazione militare e istituzioni al tempo degli Sforza 1450-1480, Roma, nella sede dell'Istituto, 1998;
- Susan Rose, Medieval naval warfare, 1000-1500, London, Routledge, 2002;
- Latin American indigenous warfare and ritual violence, edited by Richard J. Chacon and Rubén G. Mendoza, Tucson, The University of Arizona Press, 2007;
- Philippe Contamine, La guerra dei cent'anni, Bologna, il Mulino, 2013;
- Michael Mallett, Signori e mercenari. La guerra nell'Italia del Rinascimento, Bologna, il Mulino, 2013;
- Joseph F. O'Callaghan, The last crusade in the West. Castile and the conquest of Granada, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014;
- Christine Shaw, Barons and castellans. The military nobility of Renaissance Italy, Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2015;
- Tamás Pálosfalvi, From Nicopolis to Mohacs. A history of Ottoman-Hungarian warfare, 1389-1526, Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2018;
- Guerre ed eserciti nel Medioevo, a cura di Paolo Grillo e Aldo A. Settia, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018.
- Christine Shaw, Michael Mallett, The Italian Wars, 1494-1559. War, State and Society in Early Modern Europe, London-New York, Routledge, 2019.
Teaching Unit B
A book of your choice among those indicated below, in addition to the lesson notes:
- John K. Thornton, Warfare in Atlantic Africa, 1500-1800, London, UCL press, 1999;
- Peter Lorge, War, politics and society in early modern China, 900-1795, London-New York, Routledge, 2005;
- Factional struggles. Divided elites in European cities and courts (1400-1750), Mathieu Caesar ed., Boston, Brill, 2017.
- Brian L. Davies, Warfare, State and Society on the Black Sea Steppe, 1500-1700, London-New York, Routledge, 2007;
- Fighting for a Living. A Comparative Study of Military Labour 1500-2000, Erik-Jan Zürcher ed., Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2013 (up to p. 329);
- Alessandra Dattero, Soldati a Milano. Organizzazione militare e società lombarda nella prima dominazione austriaca, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2014;
- Guerre ed eserciti nell'età moderna, a cura di Paola Bianchi e Piero Del Negro, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018;
- Salvatore Bono, Guerre corsare nel Mediterraneo, Bologna, il Mulino, 2019;
- La rivoluzione militare dell'età moderna, a cura di Giampiero Brunelli, «Dimensioni e Problemi della Ricerca Storica», 2 (2022), pp. 7-230.
Teaching Unit C
A book of your choice among those indicated below, in addition to the lesson notes:
- Bruce Vandervort, Indian wars of Mexico, Canada and the United States 1812-1900, New York-London, Routledge, 2006;
- Susan-Mary Grant, The war for a nation. The American civil war, New York-London, Routledge, 2006;
- Stefano Levati, La "buona azienda negli eserciti prepara la vittoria e genera l'economia". Appalti, commissari e appaltatori nell'Italia napoleonica, Soveria Mannelli, Rubbettino, 2009;
- Candan Badem, The Ottoman Crimean War (1853-1856), Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2010;
- Rachel Chrastil, The Siege of Strasbourg, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 2014;
- Fighting for a Living. A Comparative Study of Military Labour 1500-2000, Erik-Jan Zürcher (ed.), Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2013 (from p. 331 to p. 580);
- Manuel Barcia, West African warfare in Bahia and Cuba. Soldier slaves in the Atlantic world, 1807-1844, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016;
- Holly Furneaux, Military men of feeling. Emotion, touch, and masculinity in the Crimean War, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016;
- Mao Haijian, The Qing Empire and the opium war. The collapse of the Heavenly dynasty, Cambridge, Cambridge University press, 2016.
PROGRAM FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS
Teaching Unit A
Two books of your choice among those indicated below:
- Maria Nadia Covini, L'esercito del duca. Organizzazione militare e istituzioni al tempo degli Sforza 1450-1480, Roma, nella sede dell'Istituto, 1998;
- Susan Rose, Medieval naval warfare, 1000-1500, London, Routledge, 2002;
- Latin American indigenous warfare and ritual violence, edited by Richard J. Chacon and Rubén G. Mendoza, Tucson, The University of Arizona Press, 2007;
- Philippe Contamine, La guerra dei cent'anni, Bologna, il Mulino, 2013;
- Michael Mallett, Signori e mercenari. La guerra nell'Italia del Rinascimento, Bologna, il Mulino, 2013;
- Joseph F. O'Callaghan, The last crusade in the West. Castile and the conquest of Granada, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014;
- Christine Shaw, Barons and castellans. The military nobility of Renaissance Italy, Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2015;
- Tamás Pálosfalvi, From Nicopolis to Mohacs. A history of Ottoman-Hungarian warfare, 1389-1526, Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2018;
- Guerre ed eserciti nel Medioevo, a cura di Paolo Grillo e Aldo A. Settia, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018.
- Christine Shaw, Michael Mallett, The Italian Wars, 1494-1559. War, State and Society in Early Modern Europe, London-New York, Routledge, 2019.
Teaching Unit B
Two books of your choice among those indicated below:
- John K. Thornton, Warfare in Atlantic Africa, 1500-1800, London, UCL press, 1999;
- Peter Lorge, War, politics and society in early modern China, 900-1795, London-New York, Routledge, 2005;
- Factional struggles. Divided elites in European cities and courts (1400-1750), Mathieu Caesar ed., Boston, Brill, 2017.
- Brian L. Davies, Warfare, State and Society on the Black Sea Steppe, 1500-1700, London-New York, Routledge, 2007;
- Fighting for a Living. A Comparative Study of Military Labour 1500-2000, Erik-Jan Zürcher ed., Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2013 (fino a p. 329);
- Alessandra Dattero, Soldati a Milano. Organizzazione militare e società lombarda nella prima dominazione austriaca, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2014;
- Guerre ed eserciti nell'età moderna, a cura di Paola Bianchi e Piero Del Negro, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018;
- Salvatore Bono, Guerre corsare nel Mediterraneo, Bologna, il Mulino, 2019;
- La rivoluzione militare dell'età moderna, a cura di Giampiero Brunelli, «Dimensioni e Problemi della Ricerca Storica», 2 (2022), pp. 7-230.
Teaching Unit C
Two books of your choice among those indicated below:
- Bruce Vandervort, Indian wars of Mexico, Canada and the United States 1812-1900, New York-London, Routledge, 2006;
- Susan-Mary Grant, The war for a nation. The American civil war, New York-London, Routledge, 2006;
- Stefano Levati, La "buona azienda negli eserciti prepara la vittoria e genera l'economia". Appalti, commissari e appaltatori nell'Italia napoleonica, Soveria Mannelli, Rubbettino, 2009;
- Candan Badem, The Ottoman Crimean War (1853-1856), Leiden-Boston, Brill, 2010;
- Rachel Chrastil, The Siege of Strasbourg, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press, 2014;
- Fighting for a Living. A Comparative Study of Military Labour 1500-2000, Erik-Jan Zürcher (ed.), Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2013 (da p. 331 a p. 580);
- Manuel Barcia, West African warfare in Bahia and Cuba. Soldier slaves in the Atlantic world, 1807-1844, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016;
- Holly Furneaux, Military men of feeling. Emotion, touch, and masculinity in the Crimean War, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2016;
- Mao Haijian, The Qing Empire and the opium war. The collapse of the Heavenly dynasty, Cambridge, Cambridge University press, 2016.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam consists of an oral interview on the topics covered by the volumes chosen from those in the program and, for attending students, also on the specific topics covered by the lessons. The exam aims to verify, in particular, the student's critical and logical-argumentative skills.
The grade of the exam will be expressed out of thirty.
The exam methods for students with disabilities and/or DSA must be agreed upon with the teacher, in agreement with the competent office.
International or incoming Erasmus students are invited to promptly contact the teacher in charge of the course.
The grade of the exam will be expressed out of thirty.
The exam methods for students with disabilities and/or DSA must be agreed upon with the teacher, in agreement with the competent office.
International or incoming Erasmus students are invited to promptly contact the teacher in charge of the course.
Professor(s)
Reception:
To be agreed with the teacher
Department of Historical Studies, via Festa del Perdono, n. 7