LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students an adequate knowledge, from the methodological and cultural point of view, of the international system, especially at the European level, focussing in particular on the transition from the international Cold war system to the new international order of the 21st century.

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 with an appropriate language (through seminars, paper presentations and class discussions).

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

6) Contribute to the achievement of the goal 4 of the UN 2030 Agenda for a Sustainable Development: ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. 

PREREQUISITES

 None.

TEACHING METHODS

 The course will be provided with lectures in class. 

Attending students can present a short paper, alone or in group, on a specific topic discussed  and agreed with the Professor.

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 interwas period, the causes and the outbreak of World War II, the various phases of the Cold War, the decolonization process, the origins and development of European integration, the Middle East crisis, the end of the Cold War and the search for a new international order.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

For all the students: A. Varsori, Storia internazionale dal 1919 a oggi, Bologna il Mulino, 2019

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.