OVERVIEW

The teaching aims to provide tools and critical skills for a knowledge of history of the United States and Canada, bringing the student closer to the use of documentary sources and the complexity of historiographic interpretations.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The teaching deals with the history of North American in its formative period, from 1492 to 1791. North America is the region that originated  Canada and  United States of today. It gives large space to Afro-Americans people and their African origins. The course is organized on lectures held by the teacher and oral presentations of the students. The teaching objective is to provide students with a general knowledge of the first three centuries of North American history.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The teaching aims to provide students with an introduction to the political, economic and social issues of North America (Canada and the United States).history. The teaching  also offers a basic knowledge of the history of this sub-continent with particular reference to the specific cultures that have made it so peculiar. The aim of it will therefore be to provide the skills to make thematic and cultural links between the historical dynamics dealt with, also considering the mutual influence in the developing process.

PREREQUISITES

In addition to a good knowledge of written and spoken Italian it is mandatory to be able to read papers and books  in French and English.

TEACHING METHODS

36-hour teaching equivalent to 6 CFU and 54 hours equivalent to 9 CFU, through classroom lectures with audio and video supports. Attendance is required but not compulsory.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The teaching assigns from 6 to 9 credits according to the program of each student.

For  6 CFU teaching

The teaching (36 hours of lessons) illustrates the history of North America from the colonial age until the beginning of the 21st century up to the attacks of September the 11th 2001. It is about the historical evolution of the region that gave rise to today Canada and United States . The aim of the teaching is to provide students with a general knowledge of the first three centuries (18th,19th and 20th sec.) of North American history. Attendance at lessons is required. To pass the exam it is necessary to study the books listed in the bibliography.

For 9 CFU teaching

In addition to what is indicated for the 6 CFU teaching, the second part of the teaching (18 hours of lessons) will deepen the history of slavery in the South of the country and the American Civil War (1861-1865) as a turning point of U.S history.

Syllabus

1. Overview; the colonial era: varous colonization of North America (sec. XV-XVIII);
2. The Age of Independence (1756-1775);
3. The Declaration of Independence and the War against Motherland (1776-1783);
4. From Confederation to Constitution (1777-1788) and the shaping of the New Republic (1789-1800);
5. Expantion, developement and political changing (1800-1850);
6. The ordeal of Union (1850-1865);
7. Reconstruction and the Gilded Age (1865-1896);
8. Foreign policy and the Imperial Developement (1865-1917);
9. The Progressive Era(1896-1917);
10. World War One (1917-1919) and the Twenties
11. The Big Crash and the New Deal;
12. World War Two and the Roots of Cold War
13. The Fifties between Better Living and the Fight for Civil Rights
14. The long lasting Sixties
15. The Seventies: crisis and the reborn of Conservatorism
16. The Eighties: Ronald Reagan and the end of Cold War
17. From the Nineties to September 11th, 2001
18. Canada: geographical and morphological features; end of 6 CFU.
19. Canada:  historical stages 
20. Civil War (CW): slavery,  economical changes and the political crisis of Union (1850-1860);
21. CW: the Divided House and  Abraham Lincoln;
22. CW: Secession and the outbreak of war
23. CW: the War: first part
24. CW: the war: second part
25. CW: a new kind of war
26. CW: The hard war and the end of South
27. Final consideration; End of  9 CFU;

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography for the 6 cfu program

Point 1. a volume chosen from the following :

- Stefano Luconi, La "nazione indispensabile". Storia degli Stati Uniti dalle origini a oggi, Le Monnier, Firenze, 2016;
- Arnaldo Testi, La formazione degli Stati Uniti, Bologna, il Mulino, 2013;
- Arnaldo Testi, Il secolo degli Stati Uniti, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2014;

Point 2: in addition to the study of one of the volumes listed in point 1, the student must also deepen a volume chosen from the following:
- Tiziano Bonazzi, Abraham Lincoln. Un dramma americano, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016;

- Tiziano Bonazzi, La rivoluzione americana, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2018;

  - Ferdinando Fasce, I presidenti USA. Due secoli di storia, Roma, Carocci, 2008;

  - Tania Groppi, Il Canada, Bologna, il Mulino, 2006;

  - Bruce Levine, La Guerra civile americana. Una nuova storia, Torino, Einaudi, 2015 (for those who prefer, it’s also available in original version: Bruce Levine, The Fall of the House of Dixie. The Civil War and the  Social Revolution that Transformed the South, New York, Random House, 2013);

  - Raimondo Luraghi, La guerra civile americana. Le ragioni e i protagonisti del primo conflitto industriale, Milano, Rizzoli, 2013;

- Aram Mattioli, Mondi perduti. Una storia dei nativi nordamericani, 1700-1910, Torino, Einaudi, 2019;

- Kiran Klaus Patel, Il New Deal. Una storia globale, Torino, Einaudi, 2018.

Bibliografy for the 9 cfu program

Point 1: to read the two volumes indicated below

- Arnaldo Testi, La formazione degli Stati Uniti, Bologna, il Mulino, 2013;

-  Arnaldo Testi, Il secolo degli Stati Uniti, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2014;

Point 2: in addition to the study of one of the volumes listed in point 1, the student must deepen a volume chosen from the following:
- Tiziano Bonazzi, Abraham Lincoln. Un dramma americano, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016;

-Tiziano Bonazzi, La rivoluzione americana, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2018;

  - Ferdinando Fasce, I presidenti USA. Due secoli di storia, Roma, Carocci, 2008;

  - Tania Groppi, Il Canada, Bologna, il Mulino, 2006;

  - Bruce Levine, La Guerra civile americana. Una nuova storia, Torino, Einaudi, 2015 (per chi preferisce anche nella versione in lingua originale: Bruce Levine, The Fall of the House of Dixie. The Civil War and the  Social Revolution that Transformed the South, New York, Random House, 2013);

  - Raimondo Luraghi, Storia della Guerra Civile Americana, Torino, Einaudi, 1966;

  - Raimondo Luraghi, La guerra civile americana. Le ragioni e i protagonisti del primo conflitto industriale, Milano, Rizzoli, 2013;

- Aram Mattioli, Mondi perduti. Una storia dei nativi nordamericani, 1700-1910, Torino, Einaudi, 2019;

- Kiran Klaus Patel, Il New Deal. Una storia globale, Torino, Einaudi, 2018.

Students who can’t find the volumes listed above should contact the teacher in advance.for further information.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ROBERTO MACCARINI (President)

LARA PICCARDO

CHIARA VANGELISTA

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Tuesday, September 17th, 2019, 9.00 a.m.

Class schedule

HISTORY OF NORTH AMERICA (CANADA, UNITED STATES)

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam at the end of the teaching  in the scheduled dates. Depending on the number of the attending students, there could be a written test during the teaching that will be worth one half of the final evaluation.

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.

- According to the number of students, thematic insights and individual presentations in oral form are required.
- Final Test: in oral form on the main issues discussed in the teaching and on the readings indicated.  The committee, presided by the teacher, verifies the achievement of the formative objectives, considering the knowledge of the discipline, the readiness, precision of responses, clarity of exposition

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Please always pay attention to any further information that can be given during the teaching.