HISTORY OF THE AGE OF REFORM AND COUNTER-REFORMATION

The teaching belongs to the characterizing activities of the master's degree program in History from the Middle Ages to the Contemporary Age, which prepare students to specialize in European and non-European history through a full mastery of the epistemological foundations of historiographical practice and the methodologies of investigation of different types of sources, including original ones.

Attendance and active participation in the course's offered learning activities and individual study will enable students to: 1) acquire knowledge of the analytical categories and main areas of investigation of the history of the Protestant Reformation from a social history and historical anthropology perspective; 2) explore topics such as: daily life; marriage, family, gender roles; emotions and feelings; forms of communication; materiality and devotions 3) address these issues through direct analysis of historical sources and class discussion of scholarly essays; 4) present orally and discuss a case study; 5) prepare a written text in the form of an essay, critically comparing bibliography and analyzing a source.

Knowledge of European history of the age of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation (textbook level)

Towards a social history of the Protestant Reformation
In Protestant Reformation studies since the 1980s, social history and historical anthropology have produced innovative research on the relationships between religious change and such areas as: everyday life; gender relations and family life; emotions and feelings; forms of communication (oral, written, visual); forms of devotion; and objects and materiality. The course aims to explore these aspects in depth on the basis of the most recent bibliography and through the analysis of different types of sources.

1. General overview
- Thomas Kaufmann, I redenti e i dannati. Una storia della Riforma, Torino, Einaudi, 2018.
- Ulinka Rublack, Reformation Europe, Cambridge U.P. 2005 (2nd ed. 2017)
2. Monographic issue:
- Ronnie Po Chia Hsia, The German People and the Reformation, Cornell 1988
- Susan Karant-Nunn, The Reformation of Feeling. Shaping the Religious Emotions in Early Modern Germany
- Christopher Martinuzzi (ed.), Thomas Müntzer, Scritti, lettere e frammenti, Torino, Claudiana, 2017.
- Id., Allstedt 1523. Müntzer nei giorni della riforma, Milano, Unicopli, 2017.
- Lyndal Roper, Summer of Fire and Blood: The German Peasants' War, Basic Books 2025.
- Robert W. Scribner, For the Sake of Simple Folk: Popular Propaganda for the German Reformation, Cambridge U.P., 1981 (trad.it.: Per il popolo dei semplici. Propaganda popolare nella Riforma tedesca, Milano, UNICOPLI, 2008)
- Id.,Oral Culture and the Diffusion of Reformation Ideas in R. W. Scribner, Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany, London, Bloomsbury, 1987.
3. Other required readings
1. M.P. Holt, The Social History of the Reformation: Recent Trends and Future Agendas, «Journal of Social History», Autumn, 2003, Vol. 37, No. 1, Special Issue (Autumn, 2003), pp. 133-144.
2. O. Niccoli, Aleandro a Worms (1520-1521). Fonti figurate della Riforma nelle parole di un avversario, in: Ripensare la Riforma, a cura di L. Felici. Torino, Claudiana, 2015, pp. 325-346.
3. L. Roper, Emotions and the German Peasants’ War of 1524–6, «History Workshop Journal», Issue 92 (2021), pp.51-82.

Oral discussion on two alternative programmes:
A)
Participation in class activities and reading of proposed essays (40%); Written report on a case study and final oral discussion interview (60%).
B)
1. One book of your choice on the general part.
2. One book of your choice on the monograph part.
3. Reading of essays discussed in class (see: other readings)

oral

28-30: thorough knowledge of methodological issues and themes of the course; critical ability in comparison with studies; if possible, active participation; very good level of expression.
24-27: general knowledge of methodological issues and themes; knowledge and understanding of readings; good level of expression.
18-23: sufficient knowledge of methodological issues and themes; sufficient knowledge and understanding of readings; sufficient level of expression.

Introductory lectures. Seminar classes on discussion of scholarly essays and analysis of sources. Presentations by/students.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development