Corso di laurea magistrale in Scienze storiche

The course contributes, in parallel with the other curricular ancient disciplines, to the achievement of the educational objectives of the Master's Degree Course in Historical Sciences by providing students with specific method tools for reading and critical-historical analysis of significant primary and secondary sources of Roman History, especially late antique.

At the end of the course students have to demonstrate they have acquired:

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING in relation to the planned theme, know the main literary and documentary sources and understand their different historical relevance.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING to be able to critically read and thematize the sources, contextualizing them in space and time.

AUTONOMY OF JUDGMENT to read, understand and interpret a source starting from the knowledge and skills acquired, setting in motion inductive and deductive cognitive processes.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS use scientific language and terminology in oral and written production; organize the topics with effective and clear presentation; make links, dephts and summaries.

LEARNING SKILLS demonstrate that students have acquired a continuous learning ability through the independent consultation of an updated bibliography and sitography.

‘The Constantinian revolution’: historical reality and reception.

After the twenty-year period of the Tetrarchy (284-305 A.D.), the thirty-year Constantinian period (306-337 A.D.), and above all his religious choice in a Christian sense, represented an epoch-making turning point that not only marked the last centuries in the Roman Empire, but also had decisive consequences on subsequent world history. For this reason, the judgement on his work has always been conditioned by the extreme divergence of opinions between supporters and adversaries, Christians and pagans, who from the very beginning grasped the centrality of his action, positively or negatively. The lectures given by the lecturers will present the main lines of Constantinian action - in continuity and discontinuity with Tetrarchic politics - in the various fields of politics, administration, economics, society and religion, emphasising in particular the ambiguity of the latter. Particular attention will then be paid to the ‘myth’ of Constantine and the reconstruction of his character to suit subsequent places, times, cultural and religious environments and currents of thought. All ancient texts will also be offered in translation.

The course will be divided into two parts: in the first, the lecturers will give lectures and propose exercises on the indicated sources relating to the Constantinian age. In the second part, the students who have attended the course will present orally the topics chosen for a written paper and discuss with the lecturers how to prepare it for the exam. All lessons will be held in person. Since this is a laboratory teaching activity, attendance is strongly recommended. For those who cannot in any way guarantee their presence in class, a substitute programme will be provided from some materials made available on the Moodle platform.

The degree of learning will be tested orally and in writing. Those taking the examination will be asked an oral question on the topics covered in the course. The content of the written paper on one or more ancient sources on Constantinian topics and on the historiographical readings indicated in the lecture will then be discussed. This paper (max. 10-15 pages) will be presented orally in the second part of the course and then handed in in written form to the lecturers before the examinations (at least 20 days in advance). It will be assessed according to the following criteria:

Knowledge and understanding of the topics;
Organisation, clarity and effectiveness of both oral and written exposition;
Ability to make connections, in-depth study and synthesis;
Ability to make comparisons and references with other documents and sources.

Students who achieve an independent vision of the themes explored in class, combined with good critical capacity, a command of expression using precise language, will be assessed with a very good or excellent grade (28–30 and honours); a primarily mnemonic or somewhat under developed acquisition of the contents of the course, with a linguistic and logical competence which is not always adequate will be valued with a grade from fair (21–24) to good (25–27); a minimal level of understanding of the contents of the course, combined with gaps in training or inadequate linguistic and logical competence, will earn a sufficient grade (18–20); the absence of the minimal level of understanding of the course contents, combined with inadequate linguistic and logical competencies and with training gaps, will produce an insufficient grade (<18/30).

For students with DSA or disabilities, please refer to the University's support (https://www.unito.it/servizi/lo-studio/studenti-con-disabilita) and reception procedures (https://www.unito.it/accoglienza-studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa), and in particular to the procedures for exam support (https://www.unito.it/servizi/lo-studio/studenti-con-disabilita/supporto-agli-studenti-con-disabilita-sostenere-gli-esami ).

Students with DSA are requested to inform the lecturer at the beginning of the course in order to agree on a personal learning path suited to their needs, even beyond the compensatory and dispensatory measures provided for the examination.

In order to prepare for the examination, all are required to study the above-mentioned volume by A. Barbero. Any other texts (journal articles, miscellaneous essays) will be indicated by the lecturers during the course and uploaded (if possible) onto the Moodle platform.

It is also possible to take the exam in a language other than Italian.

Students are advised to register for the course so that they can receive communication from the lecturer in good time.