OVERVIEW

The course of Contemporary History (unit A) is in line with the objectives of the degree course in Modern Languages ​​and Cultures (LCM), as it intends to provide the essential tools for understanding, in a transnational perspective, the dynamics, processes and events of the contemporary world, in a phase between the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of XXI century

The teaching is aimed at students with surnames M-Z

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The aim of the course is provide students with basic knowledge of 19th and 20th century history both from a political-institutional and social-economic point of view, in order to achieve four main targets: contextualize events, identify causes and effects; being able to undertake historical research through the correct use of sources; being familiar with various historiographical interpretations; efficiently communicate the contents learned.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Aims:

The course aims to provide basic knowledge of contemporary history and to provide methodological tools to establish thematic and cultural connections between the historical dynamics presented.

Learning outcomes:

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

• master basic notions on events and cultures in Italy, Europe and the world in the contemporary age
• understand the political, social, economic and cultural transformations that have characterized the 19th, 20th and early 21st centuries
• interpret the results of historical research with a conscious and critical approach
• have the methodological tools to present specific themes of contemporary history
• have direct knowledge of the historical sources presented

SDGs

Teaching contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN Agenda 2030.

16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

17. Partnerships for the Goals

PREREQUISITES

A good knowledge of written and spoken Italian is necessary to pass the exam

For foreign students a basic knowledge of the Italian language is sufficient, cf. the paragraph “C.II.10. Avvertenze per gli studenti stranieri”, of the “Guida ai Corsi di Studio in Lingue del Dipartimento di Lingue e Culture Moderne”, a.y. 2024-2025.

TEACHING METHODS

Course of 36 hours, equivalent to 6 CFU.

Attendance is not compulsory but warmly recommended.

The course, for the academic year 2025/2026, will take place through classroom lectures.

Distance learning will be used, through the TEAMS platforms, only in the case of a Red weather alarm when all the University offices are closed.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The program includes the presentation and discussion of the following topics:

1. The international context between the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries: Belle époque, mass-corporations and transnational empires

2. The Italian crisis at the end of the century

3. The premises of the First World War and the Russian Revolution

4. The First World War and the Russian Revolution

5. The new international order after the war

6.The Rise of Fascism in Italy

7.The Thirties and the Age of Totalitarianism

8.The Liberal Democracies between the two wars

9.The premises of the Second World War

10.The Second World War and the Resistance in Italy and Europe

11. The New International Context and the Origins of the Cold War

12. The Democratic Rebirth in Italy

13. The Age of Centrism in Italy

14. The start of the European integration process

15. Cold War Developments and Decolonization

16. The great changes of the Sixties

17. The World and Italy in the Seventies

18. The 1980s and 1990s: the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the End of the Bipolar System

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

For ATTENDING students:

- lecture notes

- material available in aulaweb

- reference manual: Alfredo Canavero, Storia contemporanea, Pearson, 2019 (and subsequent editions)

For NON-attending students will also have to prepare two (of their choice) of the following volumes on which they will report in written form:

• Agostino Giovagnoli e Elisa Giunipero (a cura di), Cina, Europa, Stati Uniti. Dalla Guerra fredda a un mondo multipolare, Milano, Guerini e associati, 2023
• La Conferenza internazionale di Genova del 1922, Genova, Istituto ligure per la storia della Resistenza e dell'età contemporanea Raimondo Ricci, 2022
• Paolo Pombeni, L'apertura. L'Italia e il centrosinistra (1953-1963), Bologna, Il mulino, 2022
• Guido Formigoni, I cattolici italiani nella prima guerra mondiale. Nazione, religione, violenza e politica, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2021
• Guido Levi, L’europeismo ai tempi dell’Assemblea Costituente, Milano, Wolters Kluwer; Padova, CEDAM, 2020
• Daniela Preda, Alcide De Gasperi: European Founding Father, Brussels, Peter Lang, 2017
• Lara Piccardo, Ai confini dell’Europa. Piccola storia della Crimea contesa, Bari, Cacucci, 2017
• Marco Impagliazzo, Il martirio degli armeni. Un genocidio dimenticato, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2015
• Maurizio Ridolfi (a cura di), I Presidenti: storia e costumi della Repubblica nell’Italia democratica, Roma, Viella, 2014
• Agostino Giovagnoli, Il caso Moro. Una tragedia repubblicana, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

first semester

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam either at the end of the course  and at all the scheduled dates. 

Furthermore, for attending students, there is an ongoing written test; the test is not mandatory.

Registration procedures for exams through University website are unchanged.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The assessment test consists of a discussion of variable duration depending on the student's presentation skills which demonstrates the achievement of the aims.

The evaluation parameters are:

- ability to present and organize speech

- correct use of historiographical vocabulary

- critical reasoning skills.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Prof. Sara Dickinson (sara.dickinson@unige.it), the Department’s disability liaison.