Corso di laurea magistrale in Scienze storiche

In parallel with other curricular disciplines of antiquities, the teaching contributes to the achievement of the educational objectives of the course of studies in Historical Sciences by providing students with specific methodological tools for understanding Late Antiquity (space-time collocation of events, technical language; use of sources), in view of historical research, teaching and historical communication, educational and cultural dissemination.

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING knowing the spatio-temporal coordinates of the considered period, the proposed problems and a suitable patrimony of specific terms of the discipline.

APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING using the acquired data in order to contextualize topics, events and historical figures in space and time; being able to read, understand and contextualize an historical source.

JUDGMENT AUTONOMY answering orally to questions that trigger inductive or deductive cognitive processes; reading, understanding and interpreting an unknown historical source from the acquired knowledge and skills.

COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS using a language and a scientific terminology; organizing the topics effectively and clearly; making connections, details and synthesis.

LEARNING SKILLS continuous learning ability by consulting an updated bibliography and sitography.

The course will be divided into two sections: one propaedeutic to Late Antiquity history and civilisation, in which the main historiographical orientations on Late Antiquity between the 20th and 21st centuries and the main areas of research will be reviewed (); the other, monographic, relating to the political, economic and social history of Sicily in the Imperial and Late Antique periods. What emerges is a picture of a province that was for a long time politically peripheral, but socially very dynamic, where senatorial and imperial latifundial interests were strongly present and which left behind sumptuous villas characterised by the presence of vast mosaic surfaces. The situation changed at the end of Antiquity, when the island regained its centrality in the confrontation between the Western and Eastern empires and the Vandal kingdom on the African coast.

Students are hereby informed that from 20 to 24 November 2024 an educational visit to eastern Sicily (Taormina, Syracuse, Roman Villas of Tellaro and Piazza Armerina, Morgantina, Catania) is planned in collaboration with the master course of Greek History, for which a small contribution from the Department will be provided for the first twenty enrolled students. Further details on the trip and the deadlines for enrolment (which cannot be later than the end of September) will be available as soon as possible on the course's Moodle page.

Lectures lasting a total of 36 hours (6 CFU), which will take place in the classroom with the support of multimedia material. All lectures will be held in presence. Students who are unable to attend the lectures in person will be guaranteed the possibility of using the lecture material and the audio recording of the lectures via the Moodle platform.

The course topics and the reading of the indicated bibliography will be verified through an oral examination for the evaluation of which (in thirtieths) the following parameters will be considered: knowledge and understanding of the required topics; relevance of the answers; organization, autonomy, clarity and effectiveness of the exhibition; ability to operate links, insights and synthesis; ability to refer to the historical 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.

To prepare for the examination, all are required to study the above-mentioned volume by A. Marcone. Bibliographic material relating to the monographic part will be provided by the lecturer during the course.

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.