476 CE and the Myth of Rome in Fascist Italy (PhD)
Prerequisiti
The course is intended for PhD students but is also open to undergraduate students.
Programma
The third module, primarily intended for PhD students but open to all, builds on the first two modules of the course by returning to the question of the historical and historiographical significance attributed to the end of the Western Roman Empire. At the same time, it also has a distinct focus, as it frames this question within a specific line of research: the political and cultural uses of the myth of Rome in contemporary Italy.
The module will be devoted to the treatment of 476 in Fascist Italy, with particular attention to the ways in which the use of the Roman past addressed the idea of the end of the empire, the transition to the Middle Ages, and the political and interethnic relationship with the barbarian peoples.
Obiettivi formativi
The module aims to provide students with the tools to analyse the ways in which the end of the Western Roman Empire and, in particular, the date 476 were interpreted and reworked in Fascist Italy within the broader political and cultural use of the myth of Rome. By the end of the module, students will be expected to understand the relationship between historical reconstruction, historiographical interpretation, and the ideological use of the past; to critically analyse the ways in which Fascism used Romanitas to represent continuity, crisis, decline, and imperial rebirth; and to assess the role assigned to the transition to the Middle Ages and to the relationship with the barbarian peoples in the construction of historical and political narratives about the end of the Roman West.
Riferimenti bibliografici
A. Giardina, A. Vauchez, Il mito di Roma. Da Carlo Magno a Mussolini, Roma-Bari 2000.
L. Mecella, La fine di Roma e la questione della razza, in M. Cuzzi, L. Mecella, P. Zanini (a cura di), Letture dell’antico, mito di Roma e retoriche antisemite in epoca fascista, Milano 2024, pp. 307-347.
E. Migliario, G. Santucci (a cura di), «Noi figli di Roma». Fascismo e mito della romanità, Milano 2022.
F. Oppedisano, Senato sine fine, «StudStor», LXVII, 1, pp. 5-29
F. Oppedisano, P.S. Salvatori, F. Santangelo (a cura di), Costruire la nuova Italia. Miti di Roma e fascismo, Roma 2023.
Additional bibliographical references will be provided during the course.
Moduli
| Modulo | Ore | CFU | Docenti |
|---|---|---|---|
| Modulo 2: La fine dell'impero romano d'Occidente (per ordinari e PhD) | 20 | 3 | Fabrizio Oppedisano |
| Modulo 3: Il 476 e il mito di Roma nell'Italia fascista (per ordinari e PhD) | 20 | 3 | Fabrizio Oppedisano |