MODERN HISTORY

Learning Objectives and Expected Learning Outcomes

Learning Objectives: The course aims to provide students with a comprehensive and critical understanding of the main historical processes of the Modern Age (conventionally from 1492 to 1815), with particular attention to the political, social, economic, and cultural dynamics that shaped Europe and its relationships with the wider world.

The course also seeks to develop students’ ability to read and interpret primary historical sources and to engage with contemporary historiography, with specific reference — within the DAMS and Musicology programmes — to the history of the arts, theatre, and music in Early Modern Europe.

Expected Learning Outcomes:

• Knowledge and Understanding: Students will acquire knowledge of the main events and processes of the Modern Age (see Course Contents), enabling them to correctly place musical repertoires within their historical and geographical contexts.
• Skills and Abilities: Students will develop the ability to read, analyse, and contextualise different types of primary historical sources (legal and institutional texts, diaries, literary texts, and visual sources). They will learn to construct coherent historical arguments supported by sources and critical literature.
• Autonomy of Judgement: Students will develop an initial critical ability to evaluate historical phenomena, recognising their complexity and the plurality of possible interpretations, without requiring advanced historiographical expertise.
• Communication Skills and Terminology: Students will be able to present course topics orally in a clear and accurate manner, using appropriate historical terminology. They will also be able to connect historical subjects with musical or artistic contexts with sufficient clarity.

Course Contents: The course covers the following essential topics:

(The lecturer reserves the right to modify some of the topics listed below according to students’ interests and requests during the course, including specific themes both within and beyond the following areas.)

• History and historiography
• Cultural categories for understanding historical issues
• Periodisation: the emergence of modernity
• Humanism and the Renaissance: culture, power, and patronage
• The great geographical discoveries
• The Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation: their impact on culture and music
• European courts and musical culture between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
• Slave-trading Europe: the Atlantic slave trade
• The Age of Absolutism
• The birth and development of opera within its historical context
• The natural history of humankind
• The Enlightenment and its impact on the arts and music
• Human rights, Enlightenment constitutionalism, and late eighteenth-century declarations
• The revolutions of the late eighteenth century
• “Nation” and “race”: towards a challenging modern age
• The relationship between history, society, and musical production in the Modern Age

Prerequisites and Course Contents

Prerequisites: No formal prerequisites are required. However, a basic knowledge of history acquired during secondary education is recommended. In order to develop the critical reading skills required for the analysis of texts in Italian or English (see Learning Objectives), proficiency in the relevant language is essential.

Course Contents (Course Structure and Delivery):

The course is divided into two parts, equally distributed across the 48 hours of scheduled classroom teaching (24 + 24 hours).

The first part (institutional section), corresponding to the first two hours of each four-hour teaching block, consists of lectures in which the lecturer provides an essential historical framework of the Modern Age, from the end of the fifteenth century to the threshold of the nineteenth century. The course follows the chronological and thematic pathway outlined in the Course Contents section, with a focus on a clear and accessible presentation aimed at providing students with the fundamental coordinates for understanding the period.

The second part (thematic/monographic section), corresponding to the remaining two hours of each four-hour teaching block, consists of workshops in which students are guided by the lecturer in selecting a specific topic, historical figure, or musical movement of the modern era. Students will then carry out an in-depth study of their chosen subject during classroom sessions under the lecturer’s supervision. This research will result in a presentation to be delivered during the final weeks of the course.

The procedures, schedule, and requirements for the workshop activities and final presentation will be explained in detail by the lecturer during the course.

Reference Materials

(At the beginning of the course, the lecturer will indicate the specific chapters to be studied. Students are not required to read all the texts listed in full.)

Institutional Section

• Ferrone, F., Motta, L., L’età dell’oro e del ferro, Turin: Einaudi, 2023.
• Mundus. L’età moderna: alle origini del mondo globale, Mondadori Studios, 2024. Podcast by Franco Motta.

Monographic Section

• Daolmi, Storia della musica. Dalle origini al Seicento, Florence: Le Monnier, 2023.
• Malvano, Storia della musica. Dal Settecento all’età contemporanea, Florence: Le Monnier, 2023.

Teaching Methodology and Assessment

Teaching Methods: The course is based on lectures featuring a clear and gradual presentation of the topics, supported by visual presentations, historical maps, images, and iconographic materials. Musical and artistic examples are frequently used to connect historical content with the repertoires studied at the Academy.

Short historical documentaries may also be shown during the course. Students will engage in guided reading and discussion of selected passages from primary sources and historiographical texts, without requiring advanced technical knowledge.

The classroom environment is designed to encourage participation and discussion, making it suitable for students with predominantly musical backgrounds. During the workshop activities, teaching methods based on peer education and collaborative learning will be adopted.

Assessment Methods:

• Oral Examination: An oral examination will assess students’ understanding of the course contents. Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of the main events and processes of the Modern Age; the ability to read, analyse, and contextualise different types of primary historical sources (legal and institutional texts, diaries, literary texts, and visual sources); and the ability to construct coherent historical arguments supported by sources and critical literature.
• Students will also be expected to demonstrate an initial critical ability to evaluate historical phenomena, recognising their complexity and the plurality of possible interpretations; to present course topics clearly and accurately using appropriate historical terminology; and to connect historical subjects with musical or artistic contexts with sufficient clarity.