Learning objectives
The course aims to provide basic knowledge of contemporary history in the intertwining of political, social, cultural and economic aspects. Furthermore, specific attention will be on the history of Republican Italy, to understand the role of political parties and the response of civil society. Students will gain the critical knowledge necessary to interpret the main issues and the most relevant topics, which during the assessment will present with a correct argument.
Prerequisites
No.
Course unit content
The course intends to present the main problems and the most relevant processes of the contemporary age, from Congress of Vienna to the end of the Cold War. The reconstruction of the history of republican Italy will follow. It will be interpreted in political and institutional aspects with links on a social, cultural and economic level.
Full programme
The course will be divided into two parts.
In the first part, focused on the nineteenth century, the following topics will be addressed:
- The Concert of Europe and the crises after Congress of Vienna
- The revolutionary movements of 1848
- The Italian and German unification
- The age of Imperialisms
- The Second Industrial Revolution and The Mass Society
- The Liberal Italy
- Europe in the early 1900s
- The Great War
- The age of totalitarianisms
- The Second World War
- The Cold War
- The Sixties and the Seventies
- The end of the bipolar system
In the second part, focused on the history of Republican Italy, the following topics will be addressed:
- The origins of the Italian Republic
- The age of centrismo
- The centro-sinistra
- The Seventies
- The Pentapartito
- The crisis of the Republic
- A "second" Republic?
Bibliography
1) A. Canavero, Storia contemporanea, Pearson Italia, Milano-Torino 2019 (except chapters 23, 27 and 28);
2) G. Vecchio - P. Trionfini, Storia dell’Italia repubblicana (1946-2018), Monduzzi, Milano 2019 (chapters 1, 2, 3, 4).
Teaching methods
The teaching consists of lectures, presented with Power Point slides. Slides presented in class will be posted online at the end of each part. Slides do not replace the study of the recommended readings. Students will be involved in the activities through questions and discussions.
Assessment methods and criteria
The oral exam consists of a verification of the basic knowledge of the contemporary history. The questions will be both general and specific in order to respond to the training objectives indicated. An insufficiency assessment is determined by the lack of knowledge of the minimum contents of the course; the inability to express themselves adequately to the topic; from the lack of autonomous preparation; moreover, by the inadequacy to formulate judgments independently.
A sufficient evaluation (18-23 / 30) is determined by an acceptable level of performance by the student of the evaluation indicators listed above.
The average scores (24-27 / 30) are assigned to the student who proves to have a more than sufficient (24-25 / 30) or good (26-27 / 30) level of the assessment indicators listed above.
The highest scores (from 28/30 to 30/30 with honors) are awarded on the basis of the demonstration of an excellent to excellent level of the evaluation indicators listed above.
Other information
The exam program is the same for all students, without difference between attending and non-attending students. The Erasmus students have to contact the professor at the beginning of the course.
