Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of Modern History and/or Contemporary History
(through a specific exam). Attending students who have not taken the aforementioned exams will be able to compensate with ad hoc readings for the chosen presentation.
Course unit content
Political information, news, history? The circulation of information and the narrative of the past have always been subjected to manipulation and falsification. Today we are faced with great possibilities for manipulating information and the past and history itself, subjected to criticism and manipulation, often fails to regain the role that it should have in this framework. The course will open different perspectives of reflection through the examination of specific cases of manipulation of history. After a series of lectures, the attending students will work through oral presentations discussed in class, commenting critically on both sources and historiographical essays. Given the nature of the course, attendance is strongly recommended. Those who make use of this possibility will be given the opportunity to choose whether to carry out the second part of the exam through a written essay or through an oral exam.
Full programme
Program for ATTENDING STUDENTS:
the essays indicated here will constitute the reference points for the final thesis (see the Course Contents section) which will be discussed in the oral exam:
1. L. Canfora, La storia falsa, Milano, Rizzoli, 2008.
2. T. di Carpegna Falconieri, Nel labirinto del passato. 10 modi di riscrivere la storia, Laterza, 2020: 3 chapters of your choice which will be indicated at the beginning of the course.
3. M. Bloch, La guerra e le false notizie. Ricordi (1914-1915) e riflessioni (1921), only the second part: Riflessioni di uno storico sulle false notizie di guerra, composed of: 1. La critica delle testimonianze; 2. Quattro libri sulle false notizie; 3. Problemi e prospettive.
4. A. Grafton, Falsari e critici. Creatività e finzione nella tradizione letteraria occidentale, Torino, 1996, pp. 9-37.
5. G. Pedullà, Annio, il falsario di Dio, in Atlante della letteratura italiana, vol. I, Torino, 2010 pp. 596-603.
6. R. Bizzocchi, Certezze granitiche. Una fonte epigrafica, in Prima lezione di metodo storico, a cura di S. Luzzatto, Torino, 2012, pp. 69-86.
7. S. Levis Sullam, Memoria, in Lessico della storia culturale, a cura di A.M. Banti, V. Fiorino, C. Sorba, Roma, 2023, pp. 194-212.
NON - ATTENDING STUDENTS will take the entirely oral exam and in addition to the texts indicated for attending students they will have to bring the following volume:
G. Maifreda, Contested Images. Political history of figures from the Renaissance to cancel culture, Feltrinelli, Milan, 2022
Given the seminar nature of the course, attendance is highly recommended.
NB. The exam bibliography may undergo changes which will be communicated at the beginning of the course
Teaching methods
Lectures and seminar workshops with the active participation of students
Assessment methods and criteria
Oral exam, oral presentation in class, short written essay
