ID:
511168
Duration (hours):
36
CFU:
6
SSD:
STORIA MODERNA
Year:
2025
Overview
Date/time interval
Primo Semestre (22/09/2025 - 19/12/2025)
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The course aims to explain and deepen the main traits of the evolution of modern science - with a focus on the natural sciences - and its influence on culture and society. The course focuses on the relationship between individuals and institutions, the material aspects of research, the channels through which knowledge is acquired, the application of knowledge to the productive sector, the professional training, scientific communication and popular science. At the end of the course, the students will have acquired the elements to reflect independently on the history of science in the early modern and modern period, being able to master the historiography on the subject and to carry out bibliographic research or research on archival sources.
Course Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of early modern and modern history. Interest in the subject.
Teaching Methods
Frontal lectures. Moreover, students are invited to actively participate in the discussion, commenting on iconographic sources and selected short texts. Slides, essays, and examples of archival sources will be distributed in class and uploaded to the course e-learning page.
Assessment Methods
Oral exam.
Texts
ATTENDING UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
All readings in the following list:
- Notes, slides and sources commented in class
- M. Beretta, "Storia materiale della scienza", Roma, Carocci 2025, 3rd edition
- M. Di Tullio, M. L. Fagnani, "Una storia ambientale dell’età moderna. Società, saperi, economie", Roma, Carocci 2024, ONLY Chapters 9, 12 and 13
- M. Ciardi, "Dalla scoperta del Nuovo Mondo all’esplorazione dell’atmosfera. Le origini del viaggio scientifico", in M. Ciardi (ed.), Esplorazioni e viaggi scientifici nel Settecento, Milano, BUR 2008 or later editions, pp. 7-107
ATTENDING GRADUATE STUDENTS
All readings in the list for attending undergraduate students and IN ADDITION one of your choice from the following list:
- F. Antonelli, "Scrivere e sperimentare. Marie-Anne Paulze-Lavoisier, segretaria della 'nuova chimica' (1771-1836)", Roma, Viella, 2022
- P. Bertucci, "Viaggio nel paese delle meraviglie. Scienza e curiosità nell’Italia del Settecento", Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2007
- C. Merchant, "La morte della natura. Donne, ecologia e rivoluzione scientifica. Dalla Natura come organismo alla Natura come macchina", Milano, Garzanti, 1988 or later editions
- A. Rankin, "Panaceia’s Daughters: Noblewomen as Healers in Early Modern Germany", Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 2013
- M. K. Ray, "Figlie dell’alchimia. Donne e cultura scientifica nell’Italia della prima età moderna", Roma, Edizioni di storia e letteratura, 2022
NON ATTENDING UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS
Please, contact the lecturer to arrange for additional readings to be added to those on the attending lists.
All readings in the following list:
- Notes, slides and sources commented in class
- M. Beretta, "Storia materiale della scienza", Roma, Carocci 2025, 3rd edition
- M. Di Tullio, M. L. Fagnani, "Una storia ambientale dell’età moderna. Società, saperi, economie", Roma, Carocci 2024, ONLY Chapters 9, 12 and 13
- M. Ciardi, "Dalla scoperta del Nuovo Mondo all’esplorazione dell’atmosfera. Le origini del viaggio scientifico", in M. Ciardi (ed.), Esplorazioni e viaggi scientifici nel Settecento, Milano, BUR 2008 or later editions, pp. 7-107
ATTENDING GRADUATE STUDENTS
All readings in the list for attending undergraduate students and IN ADDITION one of your choice from the following list:
- F. Antonelli, "Scrivere e sperimentare. Marie-Anne Paulze-Lavoisier, segretaria della 'nuova chimica' (1771-1836)", Roma, Viella, 2022
- P. Bertucci, "Viaggio nel paese delle meraviglie. Scienza e curiosità nell’Italia del Settecento", Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2007
- C. Merchant, "La morte della natura. Donne, ecologia e rivoluzione scientifica. Dalla Natura come organismo alla Natura come macchina", Milano, Garzanti, 1988 or later editions
- A. Rankin, "Panaceia’s Daughters: Noblewomen as Healers in Early Modern Germany", Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 2013
- M. K. Ray, "Figlie dell’alchimia. Donne e cultura scientifica nell’Italia della prima età moderna", Roma, Edizioni di storia e letteratura, 2022
NON ATTENDING UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE STUDENTS
Please, contact the lecturer to arrange for additional readings to be added to those on the attending lists.
Contents
The course is primarily aimed at students in the Bachelor's Degree programme in Humanities. However, it is also designed for those enrolled in other Bachelor's Degree programmes and in the Master's Degree programme in Global History of Civilisations and Territories.
The course will provide the basic knowledge indispensable for considering the history of modern science in its various forms. These include the main figures in science, the institutionalisation of scientific subjects in university curricula, the emergence of scientific academies dedicated to experimentation and discussion, the organisation of networks to foster the exchange of materials and ideas, the application of scientific knowledge to the agricultural sector and the management of natural resources, the role of monarchs and governments in fostering scientific research, and forms of scientific dissemination. The course will also deal with the role of expeditions and, more generally, travel as an essential means of acquiring knowledge about animal and plant species, as well as the relationship between human societies and nature in cultural and economic terms.
The course will provide the basic knowledge indispensable for considering the history of modern science in its various forms. These include the main figures in science, the institutionalisation of scientific subjects in university curricula, the emergence of scientific academies dedicated to experimentation and discussion, the organisation of networks to foster the exchange of materials and ideas, the application of scientific knowledge to the agricultural sector and the management of natural resources, the role of monarchs and governments in fostering scientific research, and forms of scientific dissemination. The course will also deal with the role of expeditions and, more generally, travel as an essential means of acquiring knowledge about animal and plant species, as well as the relationship between human societies and nature in cultural and economic terms.
Course Language
Italian
Degrees
Degrees (3)
HUMANITIES
Bachelor’s Degree
3 years
GLOBAL HISTORY OF CIVILIZATIONS AND TERRITORIES
Master’s Degree
2 years
GLOBAL HISTORY OF CIVILIZATIONS AND TERRITORIES
Master’s Degree
2 years
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