corso|33538

"The History of Enslavement in the Early Modern Period" This course aims to introduce students to the history of enslavement in the early modern era and to critically engage with the most recent historiographical developments on the subject. The initial sessions will focus on the Atlantic trade, examining its specific characteristics and its evolution within broader commercial networks and imperial competition of the time. A second set of classes will address Mediterranean enslavement, exploring its particular categories and considering the interplay of practices, representations, and regulations across different trades from a comparative and diachronic perspective. The course will have a workshop-based format, and critical in-class reading of recent historiography on the topic will be an integral part of the learning process. Attendance is not mandatory but is strongly encouraged.

first year 12 ECTS course of Early Modern History

Mandatory reading: Herbert S. Klein, Il commercio atlantico degli schiavi, Roma, Carocci 2014 The following three articles are mandatory: - Chloe L. Ireton, Black Africans’ Freedom Litigation Suits to Define Just War and Just Slavery in the Early Spanish Empire, in «Renaissance Quarterly», 73(4), 2020, pp. 1277–1319 - Tamar Herzig, Slavery and Interethnic Sexual Violence: A Multiple Perpetrator Rape in Seventeenth-Century Livorno, in «The American Historical Review», Volume 127, Issue 1, March 2022, pp. 194–222* - Mary L. Pratt, Arts of the Contact Zone, in «Profession», 1991, pp. 33–40* The three articles could be replaced by: Giovanna Fiume, Mediterraneo corsaro. Storie di schiavi, pirati e rinnegati in età moderna, Roma, Carocci 2025. One book among: Serena Di Nepi, I confini della salvezza. Schiavitù, conversione e libertà nella Roma di età moderna, Roma, Viella, 2022 Aurélia Michel, Il bianco e il negro. Indagine storica sull'ordine razzista, Torino, Einaudi, 2021 Olivier Pétré-Grenoilleau, La tratta. Saggio di storia globale, Bologna, Il Mulino 2010 John Thornton, L'Africa e gli africani nella formazione del mondo atlantico (1400-1800), Bologna, Il Mulino, 2010

The course will be organized into traditional lessons and debates. Students will be encouraged to participate actively to the lessons; also, student will be requested to present short papers.

Optional

The exam consists of an oral interview covering the topics discussed in the course. Students will be expected to critically engage with the subject matter, drawing on the required bibliography. Final grades range from 18 to 30 with honors (cum laude). A grade below 18 will be considered a failing mark.

This in-presence course will be laboratory-based. Attendance is not mandatory but is strongly encouraged