LEONARDO CAPEZZONE

EXAM SESSIONS – ACADEMIC YEAR 2025–2026
All exams will take place at the Marco Polo Building, 3rd floor, room 318, and will begin at 10:00 AM. In case of a high number of registered students, an examination schedule will be arranged.
To obtain all information related to the exams, students must click on the DETAILS function.
Winter Session
First exam date: January 12, 2026
Second exam date: January 26, 2026
Third exam date: February 16, 2026
Extraordinary exam session: April 16, 2026
Summer Session
First exam date: June 3, 2026
Second exam date: June 22, 2026
Third exam date: July 13, 2026
September Session
First exam date: September 2, 2026
Second exam date: September 28, 2026
Extraordinary exam session: November 16, 2026
Winter Session:
First exam date: January 11, 2027
Second exam date: January 25, 2027.
Third esam date: to be scheduled.
Exam dates for the 2025–26 academic year are available on Infostud. Students are reminded to click on the DETAILS function for all exam-related information.

SECOND SEMESTER COURSES – ACADEMIC YEAR 2025–2026
Course start date: February 23, 2026
HISTORY OF ISLAMIC WORLD
Bachelor’s Degree (SAR, Demo-ethno-anthropological Studies, Linguistic Mediation, Archaeology) – 6 ECTS
Schedule and classroom:
Monday: 2:00–4:00 PM, Room XXII
Wednesday: 12:00–2:00 PM, Room XXII
Course Objectives
The course aims to:
a) provide students with knowledge and understanding of the historical-critical issues involved in studying the origins of Islam and the fundamental traits that characterize this religious tradition in its so-called classical form;
b) prepare them to understand the history of Islam, throughout its periods, within a comprehensive framework for interpreting the phenomena that have characterized the historical development of the Mediterranean and Eurasia.
c) stimulate the ability to identify the main thematic axes along which the medieval, modern, and contemporary history of the Muslim world has unfolded, both in harmony with the common roots (religious, economic, structural, cultural) shared with the West, and in autonomy and—in the more recent period—in subordination to the Western world, and to place these in comparative relation with the skills acquired in the other modules of the degree program.
d) enable students to develop independent judgment on the historical evaluation of the topics covered – starting from its origins, which are perfectly understandable if placed within the broader framework of the evolution of the Judeo-Christian monotheistic tradition in Late Antiquity..

Required Readings
Premodern period:
Capezzone, L., Medioevo arabo. Una storia dell'islam medievale, Milan, Mondadori, 2016
Modern and contemporary period:
Scarcia Amoretti, B., Il mondo musulmano. Quindici secoli di storia, Rome, Carocci, 1998, chapters 1 and 5–7
Guazzone, L., Storia contemporanea del mondo arabo, Milan, Mondadori, 2016, chapter 1
Any optional additional readings must be agreed upon with the instructor.
Assessment
The exam is oral.
Students must prepare a topic of their choice, preferably broad enough to allow evaluation of their critical thinking and historical approach to Islam. Additional questions may follow in order to assess knowledge of the full syllabus.
There are no separate programs for attending and non-attending students. However, attendance is a substantial component of the final evaluation.

INTELLECTUAL HISTORY OF THE ARAB, IRANIAN, AND ISLAMIC WORLD
Master’s Degree in Cultures and Religions
Course start date: February 23, 2026
Schedule and classroom:
Monday: 4:00–6:00 PM, Aula Nobile Grande
Wednesday: 2:00–4:00 PM, Aula B Ciasca (subject to change)
Course Objectives and Program
The course consists of monographic modules and aims to provide students with:

1. Knowledge and understanding of historical phenomena in the Arab-Islamic world over a broad chronological span (7th–15th centuries), emphasizing the plurality and diversity of geographic, linguistic, religious, doctrinal, and political expressions.

Special emphasis is placed on the three major cultural matrices that shaped Islamic intellectual history:

• Semitic
• Iranian
• Greek

2. Comparative perspectives with analogous historical experiences, especially those of the Christian West.
3. Methodological and critical tools necessary for interdisciplinary historical analysis.

Course Theme (2025–2026)
The Meaning of the Past in Premodern Islamic Culture: Religion, Historiography, Archaeology, and Fiction
Required Text
Capezzone, L. (ed.),
Before Archaeology. The Meaning of the Past in the Islamic Premodern Thought (and After)
Rome, Artemide, 2020
The book and additional materials are available in PDF format on Google Drive.

THESIS SUPERVISION GUIDELINES
Bachelor’s Degree Thesis
Requirements:

• Written dissertation of approximately 40–70 pages (2,200 characters per page, including spaces and notes)
• Oral defense before the examination committee

Eligibility requirement:
At least one exam in History of Islamic Countries must have been completed.
Completion time:
Minimum: 45 days
Maximum: 90 days
Master’s Degree Thesis
Requirements:

• Written dissertation of approximately 150–250 pages (2,200 characters per page, including spaces, notes, and bibliography)
• Oral defense before the examination committee

Eligibility requirement:
At least two exams (Bachelor’s and Master’s level) in History of Islamic Countries must have been completed.
Completion time:
Minimum: 180 days
Maximum: 360 days