Unit HISTORY AND GEOPOLITICS OF THE RUSSIAN BALKAN AREA
- Course
- International relations
- Study-unit Code
- A001432
- Curriculum
- Cooperazione internazionale e state building
- Teacher
- Francesco Randazzo
- Teachers
-
- Francesco Randazzo
- Hours
- 63 ore - Francesco Randazzo
- CFU
- 9
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2020
- Offered
- 2020/21
- Learning activities
- Caratterizzante
- Area
- Storico
- Academic discipline
- SPS/06
- Type of study-unit
- Obbligatorio (Required)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- italian language
- Contents
- This course will critically examine relevant topics of the history of Soviet Union and the relations with Asian regions throughout the twentieth century. During the course, we will deepen geopolitical implications and analyze international relations between neighboring states.
- Reference texts
- G. Cigliano, La Russia contemporanea. Un profilo storico, Carocci, Roma, 2013 (2Ed.)F. Randazzo-T. Shayeva, Storia del Kazakhstan, dalle origini all’indipendenza, Tricase, Libellula, 2015.
Additional teaching material will be provided during the course - Educational objectives
- In the final evaluation we expect the student to be able to elaborate logical and critical argumentations on the basis of what they learnt. Having to develop, in this way, an added ability to analyze the studied sources and correlations with other historic-scientific notions learnt in other courses. This level of maturity will allow to formulate rich and rigorously scientific argumentations in a logical and coherent manner in full autonomy (or through solicitations aimed at having such acquired competence emerge). The aim of teaching activity, has always been, to "develop" the students of new culture, and, but not less important, to be able to foresee for him a competitive-cultural advance where competition stands for "acquisition of intellectual awareness" and cultural for "scientific knowledge".
- Prerequisites
- The course, for its specific theme, calls for a good general knowledge of the nineteenth and twentieth century. Not limited, however, to the mere knowledge of important dates but more integrated knowledge of historical, political and ideological processes at the base of two contrasting ways of interpreting life in the twentieth century: The capitalist-bourgeois and the Marxist-communist model. The analysis of factors at the base of contrasts between Russia and western countries, mutating their volatile character into political dialectics, must be a fundamental prerequisite that each student must have in order to better understand the concept that will be expressed during the course.
- Teaching methods
- The teaching method is the typical direct method and provides that: use of PowerPoint during lessons, also the projection of geographical maps; showing of thematic DVD’s ; brainstorming related to “historical cases” of international relevance.
- Other information
- The course can be attended by students who have a solid basic background in contemporary history and that of international relations. The course is not recommended for those who do not have this necessary skills. Class attendance not is required.
- Learning verification modality
- The evaluation will take in consideration certain factors: capacity to tie events to each other through critical and comparative analysis of different political and cultural models; student’s capacity to synthesis in an appropriate manner the notions learnt during the studies; student’s ability to orient him/herself in the historic-geographic area during the analysis of international events. Know how to place historical events in the correct time and place represents the result of a good preparation. Reason for which the student’s preparation will be evaluated on this basis:
-up to 10 points for a synthesized response to a direct question (by synthesized, be aware, is not intended as “brevity” but at the EXHAUSTIVENESS of the answer without beating around the bush). Therefor it will be important to get the answer right away and complete the response promptly.
-up to 10 points for the capacity to place an event within its space-time dimension
-up to 10 points for the formal level of an oral presentation, capacity of making connections between historical events and to make additional analyses, even critical, if appropriate. - Extended program
- The program provide for the study of Russia (Soviet Union) mainly in the XX century and of its relations with other European and Asian states. The aims is to highlight how Russian-Soviet politics have impressed a decisive turn in international questions starting with the Bolshevik Revolution up to Gorbaciov’s era. In outlining the traits of this long period of forced “idolization” one will have to keep in consideration the system of international relations, which from the nineteenth century on, have conditioned alliances and have created a black-out in bilateral relations amongst countries that border with each other. Therefor the course, based on such premises, wants to clearly define how these historic processes have revolutionized the Euro-Asian life in the twentieth century and have brought on the historic “rift” in the midst of the Belle Époque period.