OVERVIEW

The course  provides tools and critical capabilities for a knowledge of European and Extra- European history of the twentieth century, bringing students closer to the use of documentary sources and  complexity of historiographic interpretations.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course consists of an introduction to the history of 19th and 20th Centuries  with the aim of providing students, in a global and comparative perspective, a picture of the great economic, political, social, cultural and costume transformations that took place from the industrial Revolution to the Twin Towers,with a special highlight on the most significat processes in some areas of Europe, America, Asia and Africa

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with an introduction to  political, economic and social issues of Western history with particular reference to Europe and the United States. The course also offers a basic knowledge of contemporary history of the 20th century with highlights on the cultures related to foreign languages chosen by the students. The course will therefore provide the skills to make thematic and cultural links between historical dynamics, cultures, languages  and other disciplines subject of the chosen curricula.

PREREQUISITES

A good knowledge of written and spoken Italian is necessary to pass the exam

TEACHING METHODS

Course of 36 hours, equivalent to 6 CFU, through classroom lectures. Attendance is not compulsory but warmly recommended

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SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Program:

1. Presentation of the course; Europe between the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries: Belle époque, mass-corporations and transnational empires.

2. The First World War (I part).

3. The First World War (part II) and the Russian Revolution.

4. From the Biennio Rosso period to the Fascist regime.

5. Consolidation of the Fascist regime; Stalinism and Nazism.

6. The Liberal Democracies between the two wars: France and Great Britain.

7. The Liberal Democracies between the two wars: the United States; the new European crisis and the Second World War.

8. The Second World War and Italy: The Fall of Fascism, the Resistance and the birth of the Republic.

9. The new world order and the outbreak of the Cold War.

10. The unfolding of the Cold War and decolonization.

11. The Golden Age and the start of the European integration process (part I).

12. The Golden Age and the start of the European integration process (part II).

13. Italy from post-war reconstruction to the economic miracle.

14. Triumph and crisis of the liberal state in the United States: John F. Kennedy.

15. Triumph and crisis of the liberal state in the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson.

16. Western countries between culture and social crisis: 1968

17. The 1970s: from the age of  malaise to neoconservatism.

18. The years of lead in Italy.

19. Italian politics and society in the 1980s.

20. The crisis of  USSR and the end of  Cold War.

21. The crisis of the First Republic in Italy.

22. Globalisation and fulfilment of European economic integration.

23. The end of the century and the attacks of September Eleven.

The course also aims to offer students methods and tools for a critical knowledge of contemporary history bringing them closer  to actual most  relevant historiographic issues.

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RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

For ATTENDING students:
students must study, in addition to the notes taken in class, the following book:

- Alberto M. Banti, L’età contemporanea. Dalla Grande Guerra a oggi, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2009;

Students must also choose and study one of the following books 

- V. Castronovo, L'Italia del miracolo economico, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2010;

- G. Di Febo, S. Julià, Il franchismo, Roma, Carocci, 2008;
- F. Fasce, I Presidenti USA. Due secoli di storia, Roma, Carocci, 2008;

- F.Fasce, La musica nel tempo. Una storia dei Beatles, Torino, Einaudi, 2018;
- E. Gentile, Il fascismo in tre capitoli, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2004

For NON-attending students:
- P. Viola, Storia moderna e contemporanea, IV. Il Novecento, Torino, Einaudi, 2000

plus one of the following books at student's choice:

- V. Castronovo, L'Italia del miracolo economico, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2010;

- G. Di Febo, S. Julià, Il franchismo, Roma, Carocci, 2008;
- F. Fasce, I Presidenti USA. Due secoli di storia, Roma, Carocci, 2008;

- F.Fasce, La musica nel tempo. Una storia dei Beatles, Torino, Einaudi, 2018;
- E. Gentile, Il fascismo in tre capitoli, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2004.

Foreign students can also study the general aspects  in a foreign language (English, French, etc.), only if agrreed with the teacher. However, a reading in Italian choosen among the above list is mandatory.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ROBERTO MACCARINI (President)

STEFANO LUCONI

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Tuesday October 2nd, 2018, 1,00 p.m., room #15, Albergo dei Poveri.

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Class schedule

CONTEMPORARY HISTORY B

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam either at the end of the course  or at all the scheduled dates. 

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ASSESSMENT METHODS

The test consists of an interview of varying duration that will allow to verify the student's skills. The evaluation parameters are: quality of the exposure; the correct use of the historiographic lexicon; the critical reasoning skills with respect to the program.

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Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Depending on the number of the attending students , there could be a written test during the course (about half of the didactic program) that will be worth one third of the final evaluation.

Always pay attention to the information that will be progressively communicated in the classroom during the course.

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