OVERVIEW

The course wishes to provide interpretative knowledge and means of the current transformations in the european societies of the twentieth century. Particularly, the role undertaken by wars will be analyzed as a catalyzing agent of the processes of geopolitical, social and cultural changes. All forms of war that hit Europe in the '900 will be analyzed: world wars, colonial wars, civil wars, wars for freedom and decolonization, revolutionary wars, global wars.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The module aims to provide students with notions and tools to understand the dynamics of the transformation experienced by European societies between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Attendance and active participation in the proposed educational activities and individual study will enable the student to acquire useful knowledge and an effective ability to understand the main issues of the contemporary age, analyzed through popular writing, iconographic and audiovisual sources. At the end of the course the student must:

- learn about the main periodic historical events in contemporary history

- know the main historiographical theories

- know the main methods of historical research

- know and know how to use historical sources

- being able to critically analyze contemporary historical events

TEACHING METHODS

The course consists of lectures for a total of 36 hours. The use of multimedia supports is foreseen. Specific lessons with a workshop approach will be dedicated to the sources useful for a social approach to contemporary history

For students with disabilities or specific learning disorder (SLD).

Students with disabilities or DSA are reminded that in order to request adaptations in the exam, they must first enter the certification on the University website at the page servizionline.unige.it in the “Students” section. The documentation will be verified by the University's Services for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and DSA Sector (https://rubrica.unige.it/strutture/struttura/100111).

Subsequently, significantly in advance (at least 10 days) of the examination date, an e-mail must be sent to the teacher with whom the examination will be taken, including in the knowledge copy both the School's Teacher Contact Person for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and with DSA (laura.traverso@unige.it) and the above-mentioned Sector using one of the following addresses (disabili@unige.it; dsa@unige.it). The e-mail should specify:

    the name of the teaching
    the date of the call
    the student's last name, first name and roll number
    the compensatory tools and dispensatory measures deemed functional and required.

The contact person (Prof. Laura Traverso) will confirm to the lecturer that the applicant is entitled to request adaptations in the examination and that these adaptations must be agreed upon with the lecturer. The lecturer will respond by informing whether the requested adaptations can be used.

Requests should be sent at least 10 days before the date of the call in order to allow the lecturer to evaluate the content. In particular, in the case of intending to make use of concept maps for the exam (which must be much more concise than the maps used for study) if the submission does not meet the deadline there will not be the technical time needed to make any changes, which may be requested by the lecturer.

For more information regarding the request for services and adaptations see the document: Guidelines for requesting services, compensatory tools and/or dispensatory measures and specific aids

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The program of the course provides for the deepening of the history of some key events and phenomena of the twentieth century, such as wars and migrations. Attention will also be given to some propaganda tools in the context of totalitarianisms.

Teaching contributes to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 of the UN 2030 Agenda (provide quality, equitable and inclusive education and learning opportunities for all)

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

In addition to the texts listed below, the slides used during the lessons and other didactic material inserted on the web are an integral part of the examination program. The notes taken during the lessons and the material on aul @ web are essential for the preparation of the exam as a attendant (ie those who have attended at least 75% of the lessons):

E. Hobsbawm, The Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century, 1914–1991, 1994

Non-attending students are also required to study:

F. Caffarena, Scritture non comuni. Una fonte per la storia contemporanea, Unicopli, 2016

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

 february 2026

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

For attending students the exam consists of a paper written on the topics of the module. The exam is exclusively oral for non-attending students (ie for those who have not attended at least 75% of the lessons).

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Further details and clarifications on how to prepare for the exam will be provided during the lessons. The written paper (for attending students) and the oral interview (for non-attending students) have the task of verifying that the student has acquired the basic notions and interpretative tools of the dynamics of transformation that European societies have undergone between the 19th century and the twentieth century.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students are invited to consult the teaching page (http://www.aulaweb.unige.it/) where all the information and teaching materials will be published

For international students, texts and articles in English are available on request. The exam can be taken in English in the prescribed manner