OVERVIEW

The course deals with the history of international relations during the XX century and in the new millenium, paying particular attention to the origins, the development and the end of the Cold War, as well as to the evolution of the post-Cold War international system.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The aim of the module is to provide students with adequate methodological and cultural knowledge on the main events of international history in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

At the end of the course ,the students will be able to:

- understand the historical origin and know how to orient themself in the problems of the contemporary international system;

- know how to make connections between present and past historical facts;

- elaborate papers on specific themes and historical periods.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Provide the students:

1) the ability to understand the dynamics that have characterized the international system in the XX century.

2) the ability to evaluate and interpret the debate on international issues using the knowledge of the historical past as a key to understanding.

3) the ability to develop a critical evaluation of the international dynamics of the XX century .

4) the development of communication skills, both in written  (written test for attending students) and in oral form (through seminars, paper presentations and class discussions).

5) Learning skills, developed through frontal lessons, classroom discussions and the study of reference books.

PREREQUISITES

Modern History and Contemporary History

TEACHING METHODS

The course will be provided through the Micsrosoft platform Teams and aulaweb and will use technological devices such as wooclap.

The code to register in the Teams channel named "Storia delle relazioni internazionali 2020-2021" is: ubogck0

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

 The course deals with the history of the international system from 1900 till the US presidential elections of 2008. The introductory part, devoted to the analysis of continuities and discontinuities from the XIX to the XX century, will be followed by the analysis of the main turning points of the so-called "short Twentieth Century": the end of World War I, the setting up of the Versailles system, the interwars period, the outbreak of World War II, the various phases of the Cold War, the decolonization process, the Middle East crisis, the end of the Cold War and the search for a new international order.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

A choice between: A. Varsori, Storia internazionale dal 1919 a oggi, Bologna il Mulino, 2019 or J. B. Duroselle, Storia diplomatica dal 1919 ai giorni nostri, Milano, LED, 1998.

Non-attending students will also study one of the following volumes: M. Del Pero, Era Obama. Dalla speranza del cambiamento all'elezione di Trump, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2017;  T.G. Fraser, Il conflitto arabo-israeliano, Bologna, il Mulino, 2004; M.E. Guasconi, Prove di politica estera: la Cooperazione Politica Europea, l'Atto Unico Europeo e la fine della guerra fredda, Milano, Mondadori Università, 2020; M.K. Hall, La guerra del Vietnam, Bologna, il Mulino, 2007; 

Erasmus students can study on the book: A. Best, J. Hanhimaki, J. A. Maiolo and K. Schulze, International History of the XX Century and Beyond, London, Routledge, 2015.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

MARIA ELEONORA GUASCONI (President)

DANIELA PREDA

GIORGIO GRIMALDI (Substitute)

GUIDO LEVI (Substitute)

LARA PICCARDO (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

I Semester Approx September 21, 2021

Class schedule

HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral

Attending students will have an oral test on the first part of the program: from the Paris Conference to the Potsdam Conference of 1945. The oral test will take place on the Teams channel "Storia delle relazioni internazionali".

The students can present a 5- pages paper on a case study agreed with the teacher.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The final exam will be oral and  will include questions on the course's program and, for non-attending students, the chosen text.

Foreign students can apply to take it in English.

The Commission is appointed by the Department and chaired by the Professor of the course.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

 The Professor will put the slides of the course on aulaweb.