Arts and humanities

The Story

The study of history is divided into 4 main periods, so that students approach the discipline over the course of their 3-year undergraduate degree through the centuries and civilizations. These periods are treated from different angles: political, economic, social, religious or cultural.
4 main periods :

Ancient history

Archaeological approaches to ancient worlds (from the Sumerian Near East through the fall of Troy to the Mediterranean of the Phoenicians); From city to empire: Athens in the 5th century BC and the Augustan Empire from 31 BC to 14 AD; Greek religion; Greece in the 4th century; Rome and its Empire, 218 - 30 BC; North Africa at the end of the Punic Wars to Septimius Severus; Societies and cultures of the Hellenistic world; Archaeology of the spaces of the Hellenistic world. Rome and its Empire, 218 - 30 B.C.; North Africa from the end of the Punic Wars to Septimius Severus; Societies and cultures of the Hellenistic world; Archaeology of sacred spaces in the Greek world; Latin epigraphy (Reading, translation and commentary of Latin inscriptions); Sources of Roman history. (introduction to reading inscriptions and analysis of Roman coins).

Medieval history

Western Europe in the Middle Ages; Economic and social history of the medieval West (5th-15th centuries); The Caliphate in Islamic lands (7th-21st centuries); Political and religious history of the West in classical times (11th-13th centuries); The kingdoms of France and England during the Hundred Years' War; Italy's cities; Medieval Christianity; History of the book: writings and the practice of writing in the medieval West; Medieval diplomatic paleography.

Modern history (16th-18th centuries)

Revolutions in Europe and the Americas (1776-1802); Political ideas and practices in modern Europe (15th-18th centuries); France in the modern era (16th-17th centuries); Religious and cultural history of modern France (16th-18th centuries); History of Enlightenment Europe; Powers and cultures in the Western Alps (16th-18th centuries); History of Italy; History of science and knowledge in Europe from the Renaissance to the Enlightenment; Information, advertising and propaganda; From the margins to the elite. Sources de l'histoire sociale; Paléographie moderne; Archéologie moderne.

Contemporary history (19th and 20th centuries)

Europe in the 19th century; Migrants, foreigners and sedentary people: the history of social and geographical mobility in France (19th - 21st c.); Workers in France and Europe (19th - 20th c.); The history of intellectuals in France and Italy in the 20th century; The history of globalization (1880 - 2000); Violence and passion in contemporary Italy, Garibaldi and Berlusconi.); History of intellectuals in France and Italy in the 20th century; History of globalization (1880 - 2000); Violence and passion in contemporary Italy, from Garibaldi to Berlusconi (1860 - 2006); Contemporary economic and social history: consuming and producing in the 20th century, a history of capitalism; History and memory, introduction to oral sources in history; Images, media, history (19th - 20th c.); Cinema and history; International relations from one war to the next 1914 - 1945: techniques of document explanation; History of genocides.

Social geography

Teachers in the Social Geography Department offer courses in within the History degree and the SHA (Applied Human Sciences) degree, where geography is one of the three areas of study, along with history and philosophy.
Social geography is a field of the humanities and social sciences that examines the role of space - the 'where' question - in shaping social processes. Space, associated with time and therefore also with historical studies, is a major dimension of organizations, governmentalities and social, political and economic transformations.
In relations of power and production, space can be a commodity, a resource, a tool for control and surveillance... Divided up, demarcated, privatized, commodified or made common, space is as much at stake in conflicts and competition as in solidarity. We propose to study these issues at different spatial and temporal scales, using a variety of documents borrowed from geography (cartography, for example), the humanities, social sciences and philosophy.

In particular, we offer geography courses:

• urban: cities in the contemporary world
• tourism
• of food
• the environment
• migration, migration and border policies
• geopolitics
• regional, in particular France, Europe (especially with a view to preparing for secondary school teaching competitions)
• methods courses related to the discipline and the social sciences: essay, document commentary, map reading and sketching

Art history and archaeology

Studying art history means studying works of art from their creation to their use and reception. Every work of art is the result of work that requires the mastery of materials (paint, glass, concrete, etc.) and varied techniques.
The periods studied range from prehistory through antiquity and medieval times to modern and contemporary times (industrial heritage).

Archaeology looks at civilizations through the traces and remains left behind: rock paintings, monuments, ceramics and even pollen...

Unlike the visual arts, art history is a historical and literary discipline, in that its aim is to produce a discourse on works of art.
The practice of visual arts is not incompatible, however; it can even be a plus in the sense that creation can provide a better understanding of processes and techniques. But it is not indispensable to the acquisition of knowledge specific to Art History.

Musicology

Musicology is the scientific study of music in all its aspects: musical creation (semiology, theory and analysis), its history (styles, movements) in relation to the history of ideas, sociology and ethnology. It therefore calls on other disciplines, such as the human sciences (history, linguistics, psychology, etc.), mathematics, acoustic physics and computer science.

At the UFR Arts et Sciences Humaines, throughout the musicology curriculum, constant musical practice is combined with the acquisition of scientific knowledge.
Indeed, to understand the evolution of musical language and its contemporary manifestations, we need to study the progress of science, in parallel with the evolution of the concepts used in music and which have marked its history.
Analyzing musical composition from a historical perspective will enable us to understand the place that music occupies in society, and how it reflects the different periods that people go through in society and in their history.

Philosophy

Since its beginnings in antiquity, philosophy has taken many different forms.
But it can also be defined as the effort to freely question the truth and value of discourse, which in law can relate to any area of human experience or activity. It's about learning to think for oneself: not to flatter one's own opinions, but to practice rational criticism and discussion, questioning the meaning, justification and inadequacies of common or learned ideas.
This is why the study of philosophy is divided into different fields or domains organized around fundamental notions (art, science, political power, the mind, language, justice...) and problems. As the historical dimension is also important, these studies include a study of the history of philosophy and its great authors (Plato, Descartes, Hume, Spinoza, Kant, Wittgenstein...).