CULTURAL HISTORY

The course belongs to the core educational activities of different Master degree courses (e.g. History from the Middle Ages to Present; Philology; Archival and Library Science) and provides a methodological introduction to cultural history.

Focusing on a single topic, which changes every year, the course allows students to understand how a culturalist approach might be useful to the work of the historian.

Good knowledge of European History, with a particular focus on the early modern period.

The history of emotions is confronted by a dilemma. Although sources about emotions abound, they are neither psychologically nor physically verifiable. Indeed, in historical research, emotions can only be addressed from a cultural or anthropological perspective, which focuses on how emotions were described within certain social groups. This course will first examine how historians have begun to address emotions and explain important paradigms in this research, in particular post-structuralism. The course will then analyze key texts and primary sources about the history of emotions.

A reference list of books will be made available on moodle.

Students will read one article or book chapter from one session to another, and will give a 20-minute presentation on an aspect of the history of emotions chosen from a list of topics prepared by the instructor. The presentation should be accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation, use a bibliography that the student has found independently, and analyze a source. The exam will be conducted orally and will focus on the topics covered during the course, both those addressed by the instructor and those presented by other students. Auditing students will agree a specific program for an oral exam with the instructor.

Lectures and seminarial activity

English

oral