Learning objectives

To deepen one or more aspects or specific themes of medieval society through the reading and the commentary, oral and written, of sources of various typologies and the reading and discussion of relevant historiographical contributions. To provide the student with the methodological and critical tools necessary for the initiation of independent research work.

Prerequisites and basic notions

Students are required to have a basic knowledge of medieval history and of Latin.

Program

Perceptions of Africa and Africans in medieval Europe. The Late Middle Ages.
Is it possible to propose a global history of the Late Middle Ages? And, in this perspective, how can we study the history of the representation of Africa and Africans? The course aims to answer these questions. It will do so through two case studies. The first, reconstructed through a dossier of sources proposed in class, will concern the cult of Saint Maurice and the context that led to the placement of a statue of Saint Maurice with sub-Saharan features to protect the tomb of Emperor Otto I in Magdeburg in the 13th century. The second, reconstructed on the basis of a recent monograph by the anthropologist Marco Aime, will examine the case of the pilgrimage to Mecca undertaken by the Sultan of Mali, Mansa Musa, in 1324 and its impact on the world economy of the time, demonstrating the full inclusion of sub-Saharan Africa in the economic and political links that linked Africa, Asia and Europe.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

The course will be mainly seminar-based and will be based on the reading and commentary of recent historiographical sources and interpretations. After having received the necessary knowledge, in the course of the lectures the students will try to analyse autonomously some of the proposed sources. They will then have to write a short essay on their own, based on indications given in the lectures, to be handed in before the exam.

Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs

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