OVERVIEW

The course aims to provide students with a basic framework for the contemporary age, with particular attention to the links between history and memory, the socio-economic, political-institutional and cultural processes of the nineteenth-twentieth century.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The aim of this course is to provide a basic framework for the understanding of the main political, social, economic and cultural phenomena of the contemporary age (from the French Revolution to the end of the Cold War), setting them into a national as well as into a global perspective.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Specific objectives of the course are the knowledge and analysis of sources for the study of the contemporary age, the understanding of human phenomena and processes in the period under examination, the diachronic orientation and the ability to establish relationships between historical facts, the analysis of the relationship between event and representation, the acquisition of the basic tools and methodologies of historiographic investigation.

At the end of the course, students must:

- know the fundamental events of the discipline

- critically analyze historical processes

- understand the fundamental nodes of contemporary historical evolution

- be able to recognize and analyze sources for the study of contemporary history

- explain the contents learned with clarity and historical language properties

PREREQUISITES

General knowledge of the main historical periods; familiarity with key events and major historical processes; understanding of fundamental concepts such as primary and secondary sources, cause and effect, continuity and change; ability to place events, figures, and phenomena in chronological order.

TEACHING METHODS

Lessons will be in presence for a total of 60 hours. The use of multimedia resources and powerpoint presentations is foreseen. Interventions by expert teachers and researchers on particular topics of the course will be possible.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

For all modules (6 and 9 credits) the program is organized following the topics considered in the reference manual. The different modules are differentiated by the diverse level of historiographical understanding, connected with the study of specific monographs, in addition to the study of the manual that is common to all modules.

For the 6 cfu module, the student is required to be able to orientate himself/herself with respect to the main temporal articulations of the contemporary age; the student has also to prove an adequate understanding of causal links that determine the development of historical processes.

For the 9 cfu module, the student is required to be able to orientate himself/herself with respect to the main temporal articulations of the contemporary age; to prove an adequate understanding of causal links that determine the development of historical processes; to have learned the rudiments of the historical method and to be able to orientate with respect to the main historiographical debates.

Attending students:

6 credits = reference manual + lecture notes

9 credits = reference manual + lecture notes + 1 book chosen (list)

Non-attending students:

6 credits = reference manual + 1 book chosen (list)

9 credits = reference manual + 2 books chosen (list)

Reference Manual:

Salvatore Lupo, Angelo Ventrone, L’età contemporanea, Le Monnier-Mondadori, Firenze 2018.

List of books to choose from:

Graziano Mamone, I frati del popolo. I cappuccini alle elezioni del 18 aprile 1948, Le Monnier, Firenze 2025, 156 p.

Alberto Mario Banti, La nazione del Risorgimento. Parentela, santità e onore alle origini dell’Italia unita, Einaudi, Torino 2011 [2000], 224 p.

Carlo Spartaco Capogreco, I campi di Salò: internamento ebraico e Shoah in Italia, Einaudi, Torino 2025, 447 p. 

Claudio Pavone, Una guerra civile. Saggio storico sulla moralità nella Resistenza, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino, 2013 [1991], 825 p.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Attending students:

6 credits = reference manual + lecture notes

9 credits = reference manual + lecture notes + 1 book chosen (list)

Non-attending students:

6 credits = reference manual + 1 book chosen (list)

9 credits = reference manual + 2 books chosen (list)

Reference Manual:

Salvatore Lupo, Angelo Ventrone, L’età contemporanea, Le Monnier-Mondadori, Firenze 2018.

List of books to choose from:

Graziano Mamone, I frati del popolo. I cappuccini alle elezioni del 18 aprile 1948, Le Monnier, Firenze 2025, 156 p.

Alberto Mario Banti, La nazione del Risorgimento. Parentela, santità e onore alle origini dell’Italia unita, Einaudi, Torino 2011 [2000], 224 p.

Carlo Spartaco Capogreco, I campi di Salò: internamento ebraico e Shoah in Italia, Einaudi, Torino 2025, 447 p. 

Claudio Pavone, Una guerra civile. Saggio storico sulla moralità nella Resistenza, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino, 2013 [1991], 825 p.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

II semester (feb. 2026)

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam (for both attending and non-attending students) is oral. Optional midterm tests are scheduled.

The exam program changes according to the following scheme:

Attending students:

6 credits = reference manual + lecture notes

9 credits = reference manual + lecture notes + 1 book chosen (list)

Non-attending students:

6 credits = reference manual + 1 book chosen (list)

9 credits = reference manual + 2 books chosen (list)

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The examination committee verifies the achievement of the course’s objectives, taking into account the following factors: a) level of mastery of the fundamental notions; b) ability to apply knowledge (source analysis); c) ability of critical reasoning on the topics studies; d) ability to organize knowledge discursively, using a specific language appropriate for the discipline.

FURTHER INFORMATION

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

For students with disabilities or specific learning disorders (DSA).

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

Subsequently, significantly in advance (at least 10 days) of the exam date, it is necessary to send an e-mail to the teacher with whom you will take the exam, inserting in copy copy both the teacher in charge of the School for the inclusion of students with disabilities and with DSA (laura.traverso@unige.it) is the Sector indicated above using one of the following addresses (disabili@unige.it; dsa@unige.it).

In the email you must specify:
• the name of the course
• the date of the appeal
• the student's surname, name and student number
• the compensatory tools and dispensatory measures deemed functional and required.

The contact person (Prof. Laura Traverso) will confirm to the teacher that the applicant has the right to request adaptations during the exam and that these adaptations must be agreed with the teacher. The teacher will respond by communicating whether it is possible to use the requested adaptations.

Requests must be sent at least 10 days before the date of the exam in order to allow the teacher to evaluate the content. In particular, if you intend to use concept maps for the exam (which must be much more concise than the maps used for the study) if the sending does not respect the expected times there will not be the technical time necessary to make any changes that may be requested by the teacher.

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