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Academic Year 2026/2027 - Teacher: LORENZO COCCOLIExpected Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
By the end of the course, students will have acquired a sound understanding of key issues in the history of governmental institutions, with particular reference to the long history of petitioning as a form of interaction between rulers and the ruled, institutions and private citizens. They will also be familiar with E.P. Thompson’s concept of “moral economy” and with its potential use as an interpretive category for the analysis of political and institutional practices in different historical contexts.
Applying knowledge and understanding
Students will be able to apply the knowledge acquired during the course to the reading, contextualisation and critical interpretation of primary sources relating to petitioning practices, with particular attention to the heuristic value of the concept of “moral economy” in the analysis of petitions addressed to Mussolini. They will also gain an initial understanding of archival research and of the basic procedures involved in locating, selecting and using documentary sources.
Making judgements
Through the close reading and seminar discussion of primary sources, students will be encouraged to assess critically interpretive categories, documentary practices and forms of interaction between institutions and citizens, relating documents to their historical and political context and reflecting on the strengths and limitations of the analytical tools employed.
Communication skills
Students will be able to present both the knowledge acquired and the results of their source analysis clearly, accurately and persuasively, using appropriate historical and institutional terminology.
Learning skills
The course is designed to develop students’ ability to approach historical and institutional sources independently and to use conceptual and historiographical tools critically in further study and research. It also provides a first methodological introduction to archival research.
Course Structure
The course combines teacher-led instruction and interactive learning activities.
Teacher-led sessions will consist of lectures on the history of political institutions, the history and characteristics of the via supplicationis, E.P. Thompson’s concept of “moral economy”, and the historical and institutional context of petitions addressed to Mussolini.
Interactive activities will take the form of seminar-based work centred on the close reading, contextualisation and collective discussion of archival sources. Students will be actively involved in analysing documents and in assessing both the possibilities and the limitations of applying the concept of “moral economy” to the sources under examination.
The course will also include a study visit to the State Archive of Catania, designed to provide students with an initial introduction to archival research and direct familiarity with the ways in which documentary sources are preserved, described and consulted.
Lectures will primarily support the acquisition of historical and conceptual knowledge; seminar activities and the archive visit will foster the ability to apply that knowledge to source analysis, while also developing independent judgement and oral argumentation skills.
Required Prerequisites
Attendance of Lessons
Detailed Course Content
The course opens with a general introduction to the history of governmental institutions and then focuses on the ways in which petitioning, from the early modern period to the contemporary age, functioned as a channel of communication and negotiation between those exercising authority and those subject to it.
By using and testing the interpretive scope of E.P. Thompson’s concept of “moral economy”, and through direct engagement with archival sources, the course aims to explore the political stakes involved in petitioning as a long-standing form of interaction between rulers and the ruled, institutions and private citizens.
The course will cover the following topics:
- The history of political institutions: key issues, categories and approaches.
- The via supplicationis: historical and formal features of petitioning and its role in relations between rulers and the ruled.
- E.P. Thompson and the concept of “moral economy”: the origins of the concept and its potential as an interpretive tool.
- Petitions addressed to Mussolini and the Segreteria particolare del duce: analysis, contextualisation and discussion of archival sources.
- An introduction to archival research: basic approaches to locating, selecting and analysing documentary sources, including a study visit to the State Archive of Catania.
Textbook Information
For attending students:
G. DE LUNA, L. GIUVA, Un monumento di carta. La Segreteria particolare del Duce, 1922-1943, Feltrinelli, Milan, 2024.
E.P. THOMPSON, “The Moral Economy of the English Crowd in the Eighteenth Century”, Past & Present, no. 50, February 1971, pp. 76–136. Students who experience difficulties in obtaining the text are invited to contact the instructor.
Further readings and primary-source materials will be provided by the instructor throughout the course and, whenever possible, made available on the Studium platform.
For non-attending students:
In addition to the texts listed above:
- L. COCCOLI, Fascismo in ginocchio. Suppliche di poveri catanesi a Mussolini in prospettiva storico-istituzionale, Editoriale Scientifica, Naples, 2025, pp. 7–76.
Course Planning
| Subjects | Text References | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The history of political institutions: key issues, categories and approaches. | |
| 2 | The via supplicationis: historical and formal features. | |
| 3 | E.P. Thompson and the concept of “moral economy”. | E.P. Thompson, “The Moral Economy of the English Crowd in the Eighteenth Century”, Past & Present, n. 50, 1971, pp. 76–136. |
| 4 | Petitions addressed to Mussolini and the Segreteria particolare del duce. | G. De Luna, L. Giuva, Un monumento di carta. La Segreteria particolare del Duce, 1922-1943, Feltrinelli, Milano, 2024. |
| 5 | Seminar-based reading, contextualisation and discussion of archival sources. | |
| 6 | Introduction to archival research and study visit to the State Archive of Catania. |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
Assessment will take the form of a final oral examination, divided into two parts.
The first part will assess students’ knowledge and understanding of the topics covered in the course, with particular attention to the history and characteristics of the via supplicationis, E.P. Thompson’s concept of “moral economy”, and the ability to establish connections between the different themes addressed.
In the second part, students will present and interpret an archival source selected from the materials provided by the instructor. They will be expected to contextualise the source historically, identify and analyse its main features, and discuss it in relation to the issues and interpretive tools introduced during the course.
Assessment will take into account: knowledge and understanding of course content; relevance and accuracy of answers; the ability to connect different themes and problems; the ability to analyse and contextualise the selected source critically; the ability to use the interpretive categories discussed in the course in a reflective and informed manner; appropriate use of historical and institutional terminology; clarity and quality of argumentation.
To ensure equal opportunities and in compliance with current legislation, students may request an individual meeting in order to arrange any appropriate compensatory and/or dispensatory measures in accordance with the learning objectives and their specific needs. Students may also contact the Department’s CInAP representative.