Learning objectives
Knowledge and understanding. The course will allow students a critical
understanding of the past as a tool for critical understanding of the
present.
Ability to apply knowledge and understanding. Lectures, individual study and research conducted during the laboratory part of the course will give students the ability to connect the past with the present, identifying
trends and long-term problems.
Autonomy of judgment. At the end of the course, students, on the basis
of their analytical knowledge, should have acquired the ability to collect
data and critically interpret the topics studied.
Communication skills. At the end of the course students should have achieved the ability to clearly explain the main problems
Learning ability. The study commitment should give students a certain
methodological mastery, learning skills and ability to analyze sources
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of Modern History.
Course unit content
The course consists of a critical excursus on historiography and sources on diplomacy during the early modern age.
Full programme
Attending students:
1) Roberto Bizzocchi, Guida allo studio della storia moderna, pp. 83-122 (ovvero il Capitolo Le Fonti) Laterza, varie edizioni.
2) Ventura A., Introduzione, in Relazioni degli ambasciatori veneti al Senato, Bari, Laterza, 1980, pp. vii-cvi.
3) A. Contini, L' informazione politica sugli stati italiani non spagnoli nelle relazioni veneziane a metà Cinquecento (1558-1566), in L’informazione politica in Italia (secoli XVI-XVIII), a cura di E. Fasano Guarini, M. Rosa, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, 2001, pp. 1-57
4) Daniela Frigo, Corte, onore e ragion di Stato: il ruolo dell’ambasciatore in età moderna, in “Cheiron”, 1998, n. 30. Vol. XV, pp. 1-43.
5) P. Volpini, Ambasciatori, cerimoniali e informazione politica: il sistema diplomatico e le sue fonti, in Nel laboratorio della storia. Una guida alle fonti dell'età moderna, a cura di Maria Pia Paoli, Roma, Carocci 2013, pp. 237-264 e Leggere un’istruzione a un ambasciatore, pp. 367-373;
6) De Vivo F., How to Read Venetian Relazioni, in «Renaissance & Reformation», (2011) pp. 25-59;
oppure
P. Volpini, Ambasciatori nella prima età moderna tra corti italiane ed europee, Roma, Sapienza University Press SUE, 2022, pp. 125-136 (dispacci e relazioni).
7) a written paper with an analysis of the source to be agreed with the lecturer. The source will be chosen from a list proposed during the course. The paper will be presented and discussed during the workshop orally and will form an integral part of the final examination.
Not attending students have to contact the professor.
Changes in Syllabus may be communicated at the beginnig of the course
Bibliography
See the "Programma esteso" box
Teaching methods
Frontal and interactive lessons. After a historiographical and methodological introduction, studies and sources on the diplomatic mediation will be examined and discussed in class.
Sources and texts will be available on the Elly platform.
Assessment methods and criteria
The exam consists of a critical analys of a source choseen with the professor and presented during the lesson and in the final oral exam. If possible, a second written analysis will be assigned as final task. Active participation in classes is required.