MODERN HISTORY 2

The ancient regime and the origins of modern sensibility: politics, religion, art, culture, society. From the Homeric epic to commercial music

The course is located in the second year of the "political-international" curriculum of the CdS LCSL and intends to provide a further step of critical study in historical and historical-cultural subjects for the students of the course, asking as a premise the passing of an exam mod. 1 of Modern History or Contemporary History (1st year exam)

Knowledge and understanding: At the end of the course the student will have to demonstrate:
a) to be able to articulate a coherent historical picture of the events and debates that cover the period from the advent of the modern age to the Enlightenment cultural revolution, the turning point in the birth of the contemporary world;
b) ability to recognize the different types of historiographical research in relation to the different historical and artistic sources examined, therefore
c) to be able to adequately comment on the complex of historical sources (visual and written) analyzed in class,
d) to show a conscious use of the historiographical categories used during the lessons;
e) the ability to autonomously initiate insights and reflections on specific cases related to the topic of the course.

To attend the course, students must have already taken a first year history exam (module 1: Modern History or Contemporary History). The course is structured around the learning needs of students of the "political-international" curriculum, but deals with issues and topics that may be of particular interest to students of the "literary-cultural" curriculum with a purely historical and historical-cultural methodological approach; the course can therefore be attended as a free choice exam by all students enrolled in the CdS LCSL.

The ancient regime and the origins of modern sensibility: politics, religion, art, culture, society. From Homer to Britney Spears

The teaching intends to outline a long journey of cultural history from late antiquity to the expiration of the ancient regime, identifying in the Enlightenment age ("siècle qui élabora la plupart des idées dont nous vivons" [Francastel]) the moment of the foundation of sensibility of the moderns, both in the public spheres of society and politics and in the global perception of the nature of man, understood as a political creature and as a unique and unrepeatable individual, holder of inalienable rights.
To this end, the relationship between the arts and politics will be analyzed from the Homeric poem to today's consumer music, focusing on the different forms of representation of man's mission between the age of "discipline" and "confessionalization" and the age of rights, thus using the main media of the historical times in question: literature, theatre, music, visual arts. The metamorphoses of the symbols and themes of duties, rights and imperatives of politics and faith that occurred within the various cultural objects, vehicles of social communication, will make it possible to perceive and signal some of the salient passages crossed by European culture during its tiring transit towards 'our' modernity.

Bibliography

For ATTENDING students

1) lecture notes and 2) some readings that will be indicated at the beginning of the course.

For NON-ATTENDING students

* G. TOCCHINI, Art and politics in the culture of the Enlightenment. Diderot, Rousseau and the critique of the ancient artistic regime, Rome, Carocci, 2016

In addition: 1 book of your choice from list A, plus 1 book of your choice from list B.

During the oral exam, the student will have to demonstrate:
a) to be able to articulate a coherent historical-social picture of the works, events and debates that are at the origin of the birth and development of the sensitivity of the moderns in the relative artistic-literary canon, from late antiquity to the age of the Revolutions;
b) ability to recognize the different types of historiographical research in relation to the different historical, artistic, musical and literary sources examined, therefore
c) to be able to adequately comment on the complex of historical sources (visual, audio and written) analyzed in class,
d) to show a conscious use of the historiographical categories used during the lessons;
e) the ability to autonomously initiate insights and reflections on specific cases related to the topic of the course.

15 frontal academic lessons, with the aid of iconography and music; source commentary

Italian

NB: Attending students will be required to print and bring to class a paper version of the texts that will be read during the lessons, which can be downloaded in pdf from the Moodle section on this page.

oral

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