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72629-01 - Introductory course: That Most Precious Merchandise: Slavery in the Mediterranean, c. 800 - c. 1800 (8 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2024 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Ettore Morelli (ettore.morelli@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Slavery has widely been recognised as one of the foundations of the world we live in. Some scholars suggest that slavery existed in most human societies in history, and the scholarship on the subject is extensive. Its continuity with other forms of exploitation is well known. Its intimate and ambiguous relation with power is evident. Its various combination with great factors of social difference, such as gender and racial discrimination, is the object of sustained research. The connection with violence and death is sometimes apparent, other times hidden and latent, but always present. Slavery turns human beings into objects, or at least tries to do so; it makes some rich, and others a peculiar kind of poor: devoid of life, not only of wealth. Slavery is a complex and pervasive social phenomenon able to adapt to the most disparate contexts without losing some distinctive features. Its traces run so deep in society that they remain visible in language and social practices even when the institution itself is a thing of a long gone past. The Einführungskurs provides an introduction to this key aspect of human history by looking at the multiple developments of the institution of slavery between the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. The geographical focus of the course will be on the Mediterranean Sea, but cases ranging from Scandinavia and the British Isles will be included. The main research questions that will be pursued are: Did slavery disappear in the Middle Ages? What were the Medieval roots of the development of modern slavery in European colonial empires? More importantly, slavery is the lens that is adopted in this Einführungskurs to study society and, through that, to introduce the main aspects of historical research. Multiple approaches to the theme will be adopted, discussing its social, cultural, philosophical, legal, and biological aspects. The course will feature historical sources, literature, historiographical debates, and methodologies. The main objective of the course is to obtain the tools and skills that are required to study history and pursue historical research. |
| Bibliography | • Barker, Hannah, That Most Precious Merchandise: The Mediterranean Trade in Black Sea Slaves, 1260-1500, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2019. • Bloch, Marc, Feudal Society: Volume I The Growth of Ties of Dependence, London, Routldege, 2004 [1939]. • Bloch, Marc, ‘Comment et pourquoi finit l’esclavage antique’, Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales, 2, 1, 1947, 30-44. • Bloch, Marc, ‘Comment et pourquoi finit l’esclavage antique’, Annales. Histoire, Sciences Sociales, 2, 2, 161-170. • Bono, Salvatore, Schiavi. Una storia mediterranea (xvi-xix secolo), Bologna, il Mulino, 2016. • Bono, Salvatore, Piraten und Korsaren im Mittelmeer: Seekrieg, Handel und Sklaverei vom 16. bis 19. Jahrhundert, Stuttgart, Klett-Cotta, 2009. • Bono, Salvatore, Guerre Corsare nel Mediterraneo. Una storia di incursioni, arrembaggi, razzie, Bologna, il Mulino, 2019. • Brink, Stefan, Thraldom: A History of Slavery in the Viking Age, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2021. • Earle, T.F., J.P. Lowe, eds., Black African in Renaissance Europe, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2005. • McCormick, Michael, Origins of the European Economy: Communications and Commerce a.d. 300-900, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2002. • McKee, Sally, Uncommon Dominion: Venetian Crete and the Myth of Ethnic Purity, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000. • McKee, Sally, ‘Inherited Status and Slavery in Late Medieval Italy and Venetian Crete’, Past & Present, 182, 2004, 31-53. • McKee, Sally, ‘Domestic Slavery in Renaissance Italy’, Slavery & Abolition, 29, 3, 305-326. • Rio, Alice, Slavery After Rome, 500-1100, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2017. • Weiss, Gillian, Captives and Corsairs: France and Slavery in the Early Modern Mediterranean, Stanford, Stanford University Press, 2011. • Wyatt, David, Slaves and Warriors in Medieval Britain and Ireland, 800-1200, Leiden, Brill, 2009. |
| Comments | English is the language of the course. Texts will be in a range of languages, including Latin, but an English translation will always be offered. The Einführugskurs will begin in the second week of term. It will include excursions and a "digital module" in November. Der Einführungskurs findet in englischer Sprache statt und beginnt in der zweiten Semesterwoche. Am 20. November wird es einen Zusatztermin zum Bereich "Digitale Geschichte" geben, der von 16-18 Uhr stattfinden wird. |
| Admission requirements | Ausschliesslich für Studienanfänger:innen BSF Geschichte und BSF Osteuropastudien. Die Teilnahme an der Begrüssungsveranstaltung ist obligatorisch. Beachten Sie bitte zudem, dass die Teilnahme an den Sonderterminen (z.B. Exkursionen, Archivbesuche, usw.) der Einführungskurse obligatorisch ist. |
| Course application | Die Verteilung der Studienanfänger:innen Geschichte auf die verschiedenen Einführungskurse erfolgt bei der Begrüssungsveranstaltung am Mittwoch der ersten Semesterwoche um 9.15 Uhr. Bitte belegen Sie Ihren Einführungskurs erst nach der dort vorgenommen Zuteilung der Plätze. Sollte Ihnen die Teilnahme an der Begrüssungsveranstaltung nicht möglich sein, bitten wir um persönliche Rücksprache mit der Studienadministration des Departement Geschichte. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Wednesday | 12.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 1 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 02.10.2024 | 12.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 1 |
| Wednesday 09.10.2024 | 12.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 1 |
| Wednesday 16.10.2024 | 12.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 1 |
| Wednesday 23.10.2024 | 12.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 1 |
| Wednesday 30.10.2024 | 12.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 1 |
| Wednesday 06.11.2024 | 12.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 1 |
| Wednesday 13.11.2024 | 12.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 1 |
| Wednesday 20.11.2024 | 12.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 1 |
| Wednesday 20.11.2024 | 16.00-18.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 1 |
| Wednesday 27.11.2024 | 12.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 1 |
| Wednesday 04.12.2024 | 12.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 1 |
| Wednesday 11.12.2024 | 12.15-14.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 2 |
| Wednesday 11.12.2024 | 14.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 1 |
| Wednesday 18.12.2024 | 12.15-16.00 | Departement Geschichte, Seminarraum 1 |
| Modules |
Modul: Einführung in das Geschichtsstudium (Bachelor's degree program: Eastern European Studies) Modul: Einführung in das Geschichtsstudium (Bachelor's degree subject: History) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Aktive Teilnahme. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Departement Geschichte |