HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL AND MODERN LAW M - Q

Knowledge and understanding
Students have to prove to be able to orient themselves in the secular European legal experience, and to understand continuity and turning points that mark the “times” of Western history. From Middle Age to the rediscovery of Justinian’s texts, from the Absolutist State to the age of codification, to get to the major themes of the "crisis of law" in the age of globalization.
Applying knowledge and understanding
The course aims to stimulate students’ critical reflection on the intersections of legal dimension with other institutional frameworks (economy, politics, religion, mentality, routines, etc.) that contribute to structure social life within the same context. Students will be challenged to develop the understanding of historical and legal sources, and to cultivate the comparison between legal systems of Civil Law and Common Law tradition.
Autonomy and independence of judgement
During the lessons, the teacher will ask students to speak on specific points to verify, refine and increase critical and judgmental skills. For example, during the lessons, with regard to a historical period, or to a legal institution from the past, or to an important point of the legal experience covered by the course, students will be asked to create links with the present or with other contexts to explane the differences.
Communication skills
Organized in small groups, students will present posters, wordclouds or powerpoints on topics covered in class.
Learning ability
To proceed independently in the study, the student will be provided with information on the use of the main research tools: databases; libraries; magazines; collections of sentences; archives.

Lectures. In the event that the course should follow restrictive rules of health prevention, the lessons could be held in remote or mixed mode.

The course aims to provide students with conceptual tools for a historical understanding of the discursive practices of lawmakers, judges and jurists, from the early Middle Ages until the beginning of the nineteenth century. The course will introduce students to the study of different types of legislation, customary, legal doctrine and jurisprudence, studied for each age in their specific relevance and considered in their interweaving.

Antonio Padoa Schioppa, Storia del diritto in Europa. Dal medioevo all'età contemporanea, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2016², pages 13 - 494.

Students in years subsequent to the first are required to update the program.