MoHu Projects

Silvia Bruzzi

The research project aims to examine human mobility phenomena that have crossed the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, from the late 19^th century to World War II, focusing on the histories and experiences of Eritrean and Libyan women. Adopting a gender perspective and crossing visual sources (postcards, family photographs, newsreels, ethnographic documentaries) and written sources (legal literature and judicial archives in Arabic and Italian), the research will show that female actors are essential to understand the circulation of ideas, images and subjects across Italy, Eritrea and Libya. The scopes of the research are twofold. On the one hand, the analysis will highlight the impact of mobility phenomena (of ideas, images and people) on the social and legal status of Eritrean and Libyan women in the colonial context. On the other hand, it will trace and reconstruct the transnational trajectories of “exceptional normal” women who have crossed this space, subverting or inhabiting the social and legal norms.

Ottavia Mazzon

The project «LiVE» studies the paradigms of mobility through two different but closely connected perspectives: mobility of physical objects (namely books) and mobility of texts. The aim is to map the impact that the Library of St Mark’s collection of Greek codices had on other European book collections in the 16th century, a crucial time for the affirmation of ancient Greek as part of the European élites’ cultural heritage and the formation of many Renaissance collections of Greek books. «LiVE» will provide the first critical edition and English translation of the earliest loan registers of the Library of St Mark, recording the book loans that took place between 1545 to 1559. Starting from the identification of the manuscripts that were effectively borrowed, the research will focus on tracing the copies that were produced, following the library loans with the objective of reconstructing their history, from the circumstances of their production to their present conservation site.

General William T. Sherman’s armies visit to Georgia and South Carolina during the American Civil War is well-known throughout the Southern states. His march is remembered primarily through the plundering and devastation by his five armies in Sherman’s quest to end the war. What has been poorly investigated is the relationships between the individual paths of the armies and the environment. This geohistorical research aims to create a detailed GIS reconstruction of the individual routes of the armies in relation to 1) existing transportation routes at the time of the Civil War, 2) the wetlands environment and 3) episodic meteorological events. Comparisons of the existing transportation routes and routes the armies traversed as strategic choices are conducted.

The research methods includes both qualitative and quantitative analysis of data gathered from different sources – historical maps, memoirs, newspapers, diaries, photos and field surveys

Margherita Cisani

Human mobilities change in close connection with landscape transformations, along different scales, speeds and with uneven patterns. This correlation is reciprocal: landscapes are produced by mobilities, reflecting political negotiations and workings of power, but mobilities are also affected by landscapes, in a complex process of landscape co-creation through motion, which involves place attachment, landscape awareness and enskillment. This research is devoted to the analysis of this dual relationship and it focusses specifically on low-carbon human mobility practices, such as bicycle tourism practices. Such landscapes in motion will be analysed through the integration and the analysis of direct experiences and digital information, in order to explore the multi-dimensional facets of landscapes in human mobilities.

Andrea Martini

Until now, historiography has underestimated the presence and the role played by women in the history of Italian universities. In particular, no comprehensive research has been conducted about the case-study of Padua. My project aims at filling this gap by conducting a survey of the female presence in the university (with the support of the open-access database Nodegoat) and by co-editing a book, with my tutor Carlotta Sorba, which offers the first women history the University of Padua. By combining a quantitative and qualitative approach, the research project will reconstruct the identity of female scholars of Padua university and their role in the European circulation of knowledge. Moreover, the research wants to scrutinize the biography of some female students, and, finally, observe how the so-called process of massification of the university education affected the female presence in Padua.

Alessandro Favatà

The research project investigates the trans-national networks existing between the Italian peninsula and the New World during the 17th century. The analysis of the diffusion and success of specific consumer goods appears to be one of the most appropriate and comprehensive methods for studying these phenomena. Combining a micro and macro-historical approach, the research will focus on the different moments of the sugar commodity chain, from its production to its consumption. A great importance will also be given to the flow of men, credit and information that accompanied and sustained the life of the crop. By analysing travel reports, correspondences, customs registers, culinary and medical recipes, account ledgers of merchants and Libri di commercio e di famiglia  [provide translation, e.g. Trade and family books], the project will investigate how the Italian peninsula and its inhabitants came in touch with this product and the evolving social impact that sugar had on consumption practices.

Francesco Catastini

The main objective of this research project is to trace the history and the transformation over time of Italian quality crafts, taking Veneto and Tuscany as case studies, and to explore how specific form of mobilities (trade flows and transfers) shaped these activities.
Italy appears to be the European country with the highest percentage of craft enterprises in total manufacturing activities. To understand this type of enterprise, its rootedness, and its territorial distribution in specialized districts of more or less longue durée, it is essential to use the historical perspective, combining it with the territorial, social and cultural dimension. My project focuses on a particularly significant territory for Italian craftsmanship of excellence, Tuscany, and on specific sectors (leather goods, jewellery, and footwear). These sectors represented, and still represent, reference points of excellence at a global level, whose practices (ideas, goods, and people) have been the subject of mobility phenomena. The aim of this research project will be to identify processes and procedures that led to the development of iconic products at a global level. In this sense, this work contributes to confer historical depth to the selected artisan production. To achieve these goals, the project combines an analysis of the existing scientific literature with statistical economic reconstructions and in-depth studies of individual business cases.