To show the organization of the course that includes this module, follow this link:  Course organization

Prerequisites and basic notions

Good knowledge of at least one period among medieval, early modern, and modern history. Students will be expected to actively participate in discussions, having read and being prepared to comment upon the sources and studies under consideration.

Program

"Use and interpretation of sources: the letter from the Middle Ages to the 20th century".
The course will deal with the letter as a means of expression and communication of different contents at different times: political communication and information in general (diplomatic, commercial, private letters), expression of feelings of friendship and affection; narration of one's own thoughts and actions to the other, which also includes aspects of the self. The letter is one of the most common documents available to the historian in all ages, and has recently become part of the larger category of egodocuments (writings of various kinds in which an individual tells about himself), which is increasingly attracting the historians' attention. In any case, it corresponds to a literary genre, with specific rules, which may vary from period to period, and requires nuanced interpretations that must take into account the context, the nature and purpose of sender and recipient, and the writing style of the time. The course will present public and private collections of letters from the 14th to the 20th century, trying to capture recurring elements and evolutionary traits and to put them in relation with the possible uses by the historian.

The following list is just an indication. The full list of texts will be given by the professor during the course. Non-attending students must in any case contact the professor to ask for the exam program.
A. Petrucci, Scrivere lettere. Una storia plurimillenaria, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2008;
Per lettera. La scrittura epistolare femminile tra archivio e tipografia, secoli XV-XVII, Roma, Viella, 1999;
G. Ciappelli, La lettera come fonte storica: tre esempi di carteggi tardomedievali e moderni: Francesco Datini, Lorenzo de' Medici, il "Mediceo del Principato", in "Quaero ex tuis litteris". Carteggi fra basso medioevo ed età moderna. Pratiche di redazione, trasmissione e conservazione, a cura di A. Giorgi, K. Occhi, Bologna, il Mulino, 2018, pp. 299-321.
Dolce dono graditissimo. La lettera privata dal Settecento al Novecento, a cura di M.L. Betri e D. Maldini Chiarito, Milano, Angeli, rist. 2003.

Didactic methods

The course will be a seminar course, and therefore foresees the reading and comment, with the participation of students, of sources that are gradually analyzed. Parts of published sources, or pictures of the handwritten versions of some texts will be analyzed with the help of Power Point. The professor will gradually assign readings of particular texts, and students will take care to read them in time so as to encourage a better active participation.

Learning assessment procedures

The exam will be composed of:
1. an ORAL EXAM, based on knowledge of assigned readings (see “Assigned readings”), material distributed during lessons and (for attending students) class notes;
2. a WRITTEN ESSAY of 40-50,000 characters (including notes) on a topic agreed with the professor. Papers must be sent to the professor at least two weeks in advance of the oral exam, in ways agreed upon with the professor during office hours.