Archive and Library Theory and Management

ANTONELLA MENICONI

The purpose of the course is to provide the appropriate tools to understand the history of political institutions, and in particular the history of justice, especially in relation to the specific sources of the discipline both bibliographic and archival. New research perspectives will also be presented, as well as the plurality and diversity of interest fields within which disciplinary skills can be applied.
At the end of the course the student will possess:
1) a broad and in-depth knowledge of the history of justice from a historical-institutional point of view and of some significant foreign experiences, as well as of relevant archival and bibliographical sources;
2) the ability to critically analyze problems related to the subject from the historical-institutional perspective, having been confronted with the most recent historiography;
3) the ability to autonomously interrogate bibliographic and archival sources in relation to various themes in the history of political institutions.

The purpose of the course is to provide the appropriate tools to understand the history of political institutions, and in particular the history of justice, especially in relation to the specific sources of the discipline both bibliographic and archival. New research perspectives will also be presented, as well as the plurality and diversity of interest fields within which disciplinary skills can be applied.
At the end of the course the student will possess:
1) a broad and in-depth knowledge of the history of justice from a historical-institutional point of view and of some significant foreign experiences, as well as of relevant archival and bibliographical sources;
2) the ability to critically analyze problems related to the subject from the historical-institutional perspective, having been confronted with the most recent historiography;
3) the ability to autonomously interrogate bibliographic and archival sources in relation to various themes in the history of political institutions.

A basic knowledge of Contemporary History is helpful.

History of Italian Justice (1946-2006)
The course is monographic and focuses on the history of justice in the Italian Republican (1946-2006).
The structure is mainly chronological.
The course will introduce students to the workshop of research, exploring significant issues of contemporary and international debate, such as the relationship between politics and the judiciary, the length of the judicial machine, the so-called "predictive" (or digital) justice, the language of justice, the relationship between the arts (literature, painting, film, photography) and justice.
In the first part of the course will be illustrated, as an introduction, the historical premises, i.e. the historical precedents during fascism and the transitional phase (1943-1945), with particular reference to transitional justice and the theme of the anti-fascist purge of magistrates and lawyers, with extensive references to other international experiences.
The second part will focus on the different phases of the history of justice:
- The Justice “Machine” and the Italian reconstruction (1946-1958);
- Between the fifties and the sixties: a slow change (1959-1968)
- The new role of justice (1969-1976)
- The challenges of terrorism and mafias (1977-1991)
- Justice at the center of the scene (1992-2006)
In the third part, practical exercises will be carried out at the Archivio centrale dello Stato or other public archives.

Antonella Meniconi, Storia della magistratura italiana, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2013.
L'epurazione mancata. La magistratura tra fascismo e Repubblica, a cura di A. Meniconi e G. Neppi Modona, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2022.

Recommended readings:
E. Bruti Liberati, Magistratura e società nell'Italia repubblicana, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2018.

The course will be structured in classroom lessons, enriched by some practical exercises to bring students closer to the specific archival and sources.
Seminars of high-profile experts will present original research in the field.
There will also be visits to important archives of public institutions.

Optional.

At the end of the course, the final evaluation will be based on an oral exam with open answer. The exam will evaluate the full ownership of language; the full command of the scientific vocabulary used in the field; the ability to contextualise the distinct phases of the history of Italian public administration; the ability to analyze the specific archival sources.
Attendance and active participation in the classroom lessons and in the workshops, including the writing of reports, will contribute to the overall evaluation. Grades will correspond to the evaluation of all the above aspects.