OVERVIEW

The classes aim at presenting an overview of the fundamental events in the history of the twentieth century and at providing students with the basic tools to get acquainted with the methods and sources of historical work. Specific attention will be paid to historical theories and methods of historical research concerning the contemporary era.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By way of a reflection on the scientific status of the subject in its relationship with other historical and social disciplines, the course aims to foster the acquisition of critical awareness of the analytical categories of historical knowledge.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The classes have two main purposes. On the one hand, they intend to offer students a few basic clues concerning the most relevant methodological and theoretical tools for the knowledge of contemporary history, with specific attention to the acquisition of skills about the analytical categories as well as about a number of sources characterizing the discipline and their availability along with their use and interpretation. On the other hand, they will provide a brief overview of the most important events and historiographical issues related to the twentieth century. They will also suggest possible periodizations to define the major historical trends of this century. By the end of the classes the students will have the knowledge and the most relevant methodological and theoretical tools to master the most important analytical categories, events and historiographical issues related to the twentieth century. They will also acquire skills about the availability, use and interpretation of sources and will be able to discuss the most significant interpretative paradigms. They will eventually be successful in drawing upon a wide range of factual information in order to identify the turning points and the ensuing possible periodizations, for a better understanding of the major historical trends of this era

PREREQUISITES

None.

TEACHING METHODS

Frontal teaching with the support of audio-visual equipment.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The twentieth century as the epicenter of the contemporary era. The classes have two main purposes. On the one hand, they aim at offering students a few basic clues concerning the most relevant methodological and theoretical tools for the knowledge of contemporary history, with specific attention to the acquisition of skills about the analytical categories as well as about a number of sources characterizing the discipline and their availability along with their use and interpretation. In particular, they will address the identification of the sphere of contemporary history, the legitimacy of this subject matter and its possible periodizations, the main features of the contemporary era starting with the multifaceted dimensions of mass society, the public use of history as opposed to public history, and deconstruction. They will also introduce students to a sample of sources that, in addition to more “conventional” kinds such as diplomatic records and newspapers, will also include some other typologies such as diaries and memoirs, oral, photographic, and iconographic sources along with the documentation available on the Internet. On the other hand, the classes will provide a brief overview of the main events and the most relevant issues in the twentieth century as the epicenter of the contemporary era. Specific attention will be paid to World War I, the 1917 Russian revolutions, the rise, consolidation and fall of the totalitarian regimes, the economic depression of the 1930s, World War II, the Shoah and other genocides, the dynamics of the confrontation between the blocs during the Cold War, the “golden age” and its decline, decolonization, the process of European integration, the unipolar moment in the world arena at the end of the century. A few classes will focus on the Italian experience with particular reference to the entry into World War I, the Red Biennium and the collapse of the Liberal regime, the Fascist regime, the participation in World War II, anti-Fascism and the Resistance, the coming of the Republic, the Atlantic choice, the coalition governments from the “national unity” to the “Pentapartito”, the economic miracle, the strategy of tension and the “years of the bullet”, and the end of the “first” Republic.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Giovanni De Luna e Chiara Colombini, Storia, Milan, Egea, 2014, ISBN 978-88-238-2724-0;

Giovanni Sabbatucci e Vittorio Vidotto, Storia contemporanea. Il Novecento, new and updated edition, Bari-Rome, Laterza, 2008, ISBN 978-88-420-8742-7;

Paolo Soddu, La via italiana alla democrazia. Storia della Repubblica, 1946-2013, Bari-Rome, Laterza, 2017, ISBN 978-88-581-2465-9

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

STEFANO LUCONI (President)

AUGUSTA MOLINARI

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Monday, February 18, 2019. Classes will take place in the second semester on Mondays (4:00-7:00 PM) and Tuesdays (4:00-7:00 PM) in room 5.

Class schedule

METHODOLOGY AND THEORY OF THE HISTORY

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam and written test, both rigorously individual and without any aid (except for students who are entitled to such support as, for instance, conceptual diagrams on the basis of specific prescription). The written test is for students attending classes only. The written test will be scheduled between the end of the classes and the date of the first oral exam session. The written test is currently scheduled on Tuesday, May 14, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM. Attendees taking the written test will have the opportunity to supplement its outcome by means of an oral interview during the scheduled oral exam sessions. The outcome of the written test will be valid until the last exam session of the academic year 2018-2019.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Oral exam and written test, both rigorously individual and without any aid (except for students who are entitled to such support as, for instance, conceptual diagrams on the basis of specific prescription). The written test is for students attending classes only. The written test – which will last no longer than two hours – will comprise twelve open-ended questions. Students not attending classes will be allowed to take the oral exam only. The length of each oral exam will be inversely proportional to the student’s knowledge. The oral exam will focus on the issues addressed during classes for students attending lessons and on the contents of the texts listed in the “recommended Reading / Bibliography” section for students not attending lessons. The questions – for both the written test and the oral exam – will aim at assessing students’ familiarity with the leading analytical categories and typologies of sources as well as the knowledge and understanding of the historical trends, the turning points in the twentieth century and the ensuing possible periodizations, the most important phenomena, the main events, and the most relevant historiographical interpretations. The final grade will result from the combination of the assessment of all these factors. Clarity in expressing one’s ideas and arguments will be a further element of evaluation that will affect the final grade. Students are advised not to prepare the written test and the oral exam by learning names and dates by heart.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students attending at least 65 percent of frontal-teaching classes will be regarded as “studenti frequentanti”. Attendance will be noted at the beginning of each class. The students who are unable to attend the classes are requested to contact the instructor by email to agree upon an alternative program with at least two additional readings supplementing the lack of attendance. The alternative program must be agreed upon within the first week from the beginning of the classes and, in any case, in reasonable advance of the date of the exam.