Courses 2023-2024

2023-2024

Unifi courses

FALL 2023

HIPS Unifi - CALENDAR OF COURSES 

CORE COURSE: HISTORICAL CULTURES AND COLLECTIVE IDENTITY (8 ECTS)

• Modernity: birth and development of a historical concept  (Proff. Rolando Minuti-Emanuele Giusti)  - 2 ECTS

Topics: An outline of the history of concepts. The historiographical meaning of modernity and related concepts. European modernity and ‘other’ modernities in early modern age. Classical heritage and the development of a new idea of modernity in early modern culture.  An outline of the approaches to historiography in the 18th century. Varieties and tensions of the idea of modernity. European expansion, ethnographical approaches and the problems of cultural diversity. Guided visits to some Florentine libraries and museums.

• City and countryside in Medieval Italy. Rivers and human settlement  (Prof. Francesco Salvestrini) – 1 ECTS

Topics: Medieval and Modern use of rivers in European cities. Economy, culture, religion, society. Protection of cities from river floods in Medieval and Modern periods. European examples and the case of Florence (with visit to the Arno "pescaia" and mills).

• The Contemporary use of the Renaissance (Prof. Igor Melani) – 1 ECTS

Topics: World Expositions between 19th and 20th centuries. The project for a World Esposition (Rome 1942). Fascism and the use of national-culture identitarian rethoric; Urban Planning and Musealization; uses of Renaissance within European historiography; displaying Italian Renaissance: objects, people, meanings.

• Travelling and building identities in the Contemporary age (Prof. Francesca Tacchi-Dr. Lorenzo Venuti) – 2 ECTS

Topics: 1) West VS the “non European world”: analysis of some European illustrated travel journals and touristic guides in the 19th and 20th centuries (representations, travel accounts, role of images); 2) Experiences and accounts by Italian travellers in Eastern Europe during the Cold War (1950s and 1960s); 3) Racial representations in the world.

• Politics of memory in post-authoritarian systems (Prof. Stefano Bottoni) - 2 ECTS

Topics: the patterns of post-communist transition in Eastern Europe compared to post-1945 handling of Nazi and Fascist past; the process that led to the opening of the communist-time archives in Romania and the controversies over the past; forms and outcomes of the “lustration” projects in post-communist Russia and Eastern Europe; analysis of how several museums and public institutions have been representing the totalitarian past.

ELECTIVE/MANDATORY COURSES (8 ECTS)

HISTORY AND  INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF MEMORY – 2 ECTS

• Women in ancient Rome: Portraits from Public History (Prof. Ida Gilda Mastrorosa) – 1 ECTS

Topics: Overview on ancient Rome's political practices and protagonists and their representation through videos you-tube, in order to clarify how video-makers use ancient sources and specific communicative techniques to enhance the non-specialized public’s awareness of ancient history.

• History and memory of Italian Republic (Prof. Chiara Renzo) – 1 ECTS

Topics: Refugee Crisis after World War II. Focus on the Jewish displaced persons (DPs) after the Holocaust; Jewish DPs in refugee camps in postwar Italy and Jewish DPs’ clandestine departures to Palestine and the political role of Italy. Guided visit to the  Foundation “Museum and Documentation Centre of deportation and Resistance-Memorial sites on Tuscany” (Prato)

HISTORIES OF INCLUSION AND EXCLUSION – 3 ECTS

• Labelling the Other: Between History and Memory (Prof. Giovanni Tarantino) – 1 ECTS

Topics: Public History and Emotion (Affective cartography; Emotional grammars of identity/alterity); Genealogies of racial and ethnic representations; historical spaces as historical media; (de)commemorations.

• Inclusions and exclusions: Representations and stereotypes (Prof. Valeria Galimi) – 1 ECTS

Topics: Gender and race representation in the French Algeria during the 1930s; the diffusion of visual stereotypes in popular culture (cartoons, caricatures); the construction of the “other” and the representation of visual and cultural stereotypes.

• Gender and citizenship (Prof. Monica Pacini) – 1 ECTS

Topics: Women’s representation in political and social decision making in Europe; International agreements, diversity of settings, party gender cultures and electoral laws, good practices. Analysis on gender gap and/or gender issues in some countries.

VISUAL REPRESENTATION AND MEDIALIZATION OF HISTORY – 3 ECTS

• Urban planning for international cooperation (Prof. Giovanna Potestà) – 2 ECTS. Students those need to get more credits than 2, can attend all the course (12 ECTS)

Topics: Understanding the Urban; difference between city and settlements; physical urban spaces and social rilevance of public space; different interpretations of cities in different contexts and historical periods (early settlements and ancient cities; Greek, Roman, Medieval cities; the metropolis of the 19th century; the Modernist city). Geography and international cooperation: the Global South and urban theory.

• Human rights: The Catholic perspective (Prof. Maria Paiano) – 1 ECTS

Topics: The Catholic Church in the face of the Declaration of human rights and of the "modern freedoms": intransigentism and liberal Catholicism; attempts of conciliation by the papal magisterium; Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903), the age of Totalitarianism, the Vatican II Council and evelopments in the post-conciliar era.

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS (8 ECTS)

INTERNSHIPS

• Photography and Public History (Prof. Elisa Bassetto) – 2 ECTS

Historical photographs and photo archives in the experiences of Public history.

• Cinema and public history (Dr. Lorenzo Venuti) – 2 ECTS

Analysis of the various ways in which cinema have the power to enrich historical writing and research. Assigned readings, audiovisual material, and exercises, help students prepare for and contribute to, in-class discussions, whilst encouraging them to think critically about how cinema may be incorporated into their writing and research. 

WORKSHOPS

• Modern Art and History in Florence  (Prof. Cristiano Giometti) – 2 ECTS. Students those need to get more credits than 2, could discuss the item with Prof. Giometti 

Topics: the birth of art exhibitions as a mass phenomenon in Europe in the second half of the 19th century, and the activity in Florence between the end of the 19th century and the WW2. The outcome represents a vivid cross-section of the foremost Florentine, and only latently Italian, local identity of a cultural center where exhibitions served as an instrument to promote a shared Italian cultural identity. Guided visits to Palazzo Fenzi historical Palace (Sagas Department headquarter), to Opera del Duomo Museum, and other Florentine museums (i.e. Museo S. Marco, Il Bargello, etc.).

• Contemporary Art and History (Prof. Giorgio Bacci) – 1 ECTS

Topics: the lessons will present a series of journeys into contemporary art analysing different artists who are far from each other geographically but who often share experiences and thematic confluences.  Works are looked at starting with their historical and artistic placement; on one hand they are able to relate creatively to the art of the sixties and seventies and on the other they are capable of opening up to interdisciplinary inclusion without foregoing the essence of the medium employed. 

• History and identity in Italian Opera (Prof. Antonella D’Ovidio) – 1 ECTS  

Topics: the relationships between opera and national identity: re-reading this topic from a transnational perspective. Focus on the melodramma repertory, in order to examine how opera and politics intertwined in 19th century Italy and how Italian opera was subsequently transposed into different cultural context. Relationships between Italian opera, politics and the concept of "national identity". Transnational history and opera studies. Guided visit to Historical Archive of Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

SPRING 2024 (february-may)

Courses, internships, workshops with * will be activated/enrolled on request.

Some courses, internships and workshops are available also in the Fall semester

ELECTIVE COURSES

• Archaeology in the conflict areas (Prof. Marina Pucci) - 6 ECTS (it's possible to get less credits). Spring semester

The course provides a basic knowledge of Ancient Near Eastern archaeology (primarily for non-archaeologists) and aims to provide knowledge of archaeological practice, the aims of the discipline, and methods of enhancing archaeological heritage with particular reference to the relationship with local populations in countries of conflict.

• GIS for the analysis of environment and space * (Prof. Mario Tartaglia) - 6 ECTS (it's possible to get less credits). Spring semester

Introduction to GIS. Data structures, data formats, and reference systems. Mapping with GIS: basics and principles of map design. Introduction to ArcGis suite, including ArcMap, ArcCatalog and ArcToolbox. Working with ArcGis: basics, tables management and editing, selection, using symbology, labels, and layouts.

• Digital Humanities * (prof. Lapo Somigli) - 6 ECTS (it's possible to get less credits). Spring semester

Topics: In Italian. English knowledge is required. In addition to a theoretical approach, the workshop includes some exercises to acquire practical skills in the use of different softwares: 1) the definition of digital humanities; 2)  advanced word processing for editing structured texts; 3) Tools for organizing and managing bibliographic references; 4) the use of databases; 5) Introduction to the use of GIS platforms; 6) Presentation of research data and scientific communication.

• Empirical research in Urban geography  (Proff. Mirella Loda-Matteo Puttilli-Panaglotis Bourlessas) - 9 ECTS (it's possibile to get less credits). Spring semester

• Anthropology of Cultural Heritage (Prof. Emanuela Rossi) - 6 ECTS (it's possible to get less credits). Spring semester

Topics. Decolonizing museums. 
The course seeks to address the relationships between museums and our society. In recent decades, museums have encountered enormous changes. We will focus on these changes by mainly working through case studies. The strength of the "heritage paradigm" in the contemporary will be analyzed by focusing on some of the "tensions" surrounding museums and heritage, and the protagonists of their contemporary successes and challenges. Guided visits to some Florentine museums.

INTERNSHIPS

• LabGeo: Applied Geography Laboratory (Prof. Margherita Azzari) - Fall and spring semester

http://www.geografia-applicata.it/en/

For the projects see http://www.geografia-applicata.it/en/progetti-labgeo/

• Laboratory for Social Geography (LaGeS) (Prof. Mirella Loda) - Fall and spring semester.

http://www.lages.eu/en/

Through an interdisciplinary approach that combines theoretical and empirical research, qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis, and electronic data processing, LaGeS represents a reference point for the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge, and provides technical/scientific support and consulting services to both public and private organizations operating in the sector.

• San Gallo Archaeology Laboratories  (referee: Prof. Michele Nucciotti) - Ask in Florence for the program.

Jhttp://www.archeosangallo.com/en/

Joint effort with the staff of the cooperative company "San Gallo Laboratori Archeologici (Prehistoric Archaeology; Classical Archaeology and Etruscology; Archaeology and Epigraphy of the Nearest ancient East; Digital Bank on Aegean Subjects DBAS). Focus: Development Archaelogy; Management and Development of Cultural Heritage.

• HeRe_Lab for Heritage Research (Prof. Mirella Loda) - Fall and spring semester

Joint laboratory between Unifi and the Florence World Heritage and UNESCO Office of the Municipality of Florence. The aim is carrying out research activities, defining plans and projects for the protection, conservation and enhancement of the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Site “Historic Centre of Florence” and for the sustainable development of the metropolitan territory. 

The Lab tackles complex issues in order to analyse the interactions between different fields of study and identify shared solutions for the sustainable management of the tangible and intangible assets of the World Heritage site.

https://www.firenzepatrimoniomondiale.it/en/3730-2/

WORKSHOPS

• A walk around Florence * (Prof. Francesca Tacchi; Drr. Francesco Maccelli - Franca Orlandi Historical Archives of Florence City Hall) . Spring semester (on request, it could be held in fall semester)

The workshop follows two paths:

1) Joint effort with the staff of Historical Archive of Florence City Hall, the “memory of the city” hosted in the historic Bastogi Palace. Students will “experience” Florence by consulting documents, the two database (Archifirenze and Archidis), and Archiview, an "old" experience of public history (some on-line thematic paths relating to the Florentine “way of life”, ideated for a wide audience, such as students and tourists).

2) Activities linked to the Sagas department research project Study, management and valorisation of cultural heritage of Florence from the mid19th century to the 1960s.  The project consists in listing the places linked to events of particular historical relevance for the history of Florence (also the ones whose memory has been preserved after their destruction or modification), and the deploy a geo-referenced database (web portal, with GIS). 

• The memory of the Shoah * (Dr. Nura Abdelmohsen) – 1 ECTS. Spring semester (on request, it could be held in fall semester). 

Topics: 1) Terminology (Holocaust, genocide, Shoah); 2) excesses, abuses and institutionalization of memory, and the "memory train"; 2) The Auschwitz Museum (virtual tour); 3) Guided visit to The Auschwitz Memorial (Florence)

•  Florence and the Europe * (Prof. Francesca Tacchi-Dr. Dieter Schlenker, HAUE) - 1 ECTS. Spring semester

In cooperation with the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU), hosted since 2012 at Villa Salviati in Florence. Under the guidance of the HAUE staff, students will experience the 'European memory' through photographs archives and documents (concerning the institutions of the European Union, papers of pioneers of the European Union, political leaders, movements, associations, ngo groups.

https://www.eui.eu/en/academic-units/historical-archives-of-the-european-union

* Italian language courses at the University of Florence Linguistic Center --> see other website page and https://www.cla.unifi.it/changelang-eng.html