Unit CONTEMPORARY HISTORY

Course
Humanities
Study-unit Code
GP005973
Curriculum
Classico
Teacher
Luca La Rovere
Teachers
  • Luca La Rovere
Hours
  • 72 ore - Luca La Rovere
CFU
12
Course Regulation
Coorte 2020
Offered
2022/23
Learning activities
Base
Area
Storia, filosofia, psicologia, pedagogia, antropologia e geografia
Academic discipline
M-STO/04
Type of study-unit
Opzionale (Optional)
Type of learning activities
Attività formativa monodisciplinare
Language of instruction
Italian
Contents
An introduction to Contemporary history. Part I. The Nineteenth century and the rise of mass society: economy, politics, cultures. Part II. Wars,
totalitarianisms and democracies in the Twentieth century. Part III. The Republican Italy, 1943-2021: an historical profile.
Reference texts
Sabatucci-Vidotto, Il mondo contemporaneo dal 1948 ad oggi, Laterza, varie edizioni.
G. Formigoni, Storia essenziale dell'Italia repubblicana, Il Mulino, 2021.
Educational objectives
Students are expected to acquire a general knowledge of XIX and XX
century history, as an instrument to understand the reality in which they
live. Attending the lectures, students will learn to recognize the most
important events and the main trends of thought which marked the
process of modernization. Students are expected to shift from a trivial
view of the past, as a mere sequence of facts, to one based on the
interpretations of the events, as the main feature of the historiographic
knowledge.
Prerequisites
A general knowledge (high school level) of the main topics of
contemporary history is strongly recommended.
Teaching methods
Face-to-face lessons; photos, documentaries and films (DVD, Youtube,
etc.). Some of the multimedia materials used during the lessons will be
uploaded on unistudium.
Other information
Students are warmly invited to register to the website of the course
unistudium in order to receive information about the course and
keep in touch with the teacher.
https://www.unistudium.unipg.it/unistudium/
Learning verification modality
Written tests will be held at the end of the first and the second part of the course.
The written questionnaire consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 3 open-ended questions. The time available is 45 minutes. For multiple choice questions the student will get a point; for those with open answers 5 points, for a total of 30 points. The test aims to ascertain the level of knowledge of the topics covered in the course; to evaluate the student's ability to select and organize the information acquired according to a criterion of hierarchical relevance; to verify the ability to synthesize in the drafting of a short written text. The written test takes place online on the unistudium platform in the manner that will be indicated by the teacher.
The two written exemption tests, if passed with a sufficient score (18/30), give access to the final oral interview. This latter focuses
on module III and aims to verify the knowledge relating to the monographic part of the course, to ascertain the candidate's argumentative ability and language properties. The oral exam, at the request of the student, may integrate the written part if the marks obtained are not satisfactory. The duration of the oral exam, although variable, generally does not exceed twenty minutes. The final grade will be the result of the average score reported in the three separate tests.
Non-attending students will take the exam orally. For the purpose of a better outcome of the exam, it is strongly recommended to divide the program into two / three parts to be discussed in as many sessions.
Extended program
Part I: An introduction to the history of XIX century, intended to facilitate the understanding of Nineteenth century history. The following topics will
be afforded : the origins of mass politics: liberalism, democracy, socialism, nationalism. Industrial revolutions and the birth of mass society: ways of life, mentalities, values and forms of organization of the urban bourgeoisies and working classes. The “myth of progress”: science
and mass culture in XIX century. A fading of religious values (?): the secularization of Western societies. International relationships at the end
of XIX century: Imperialism and colonialism. Racism and anti-semitism.
Part II: Political and social history of XX century. The course will focuses on the following topics: war and modernity; the crisis of parliamentary
democracies; the crisis of ’29 and the “new deal”; the industry in the age of fordism; public interventionism: the age of welfare state; the arise of
totalitarian regimes (Fascism, Nazism, Stalinism); the second world war and the destruction of European jews; international relationships in the
age of the Cold war; decolonization and the “third world”; the “golden age”; the end of the cold war and the “new global order”.
Part III: the history of republican Italy will be examined, in its most relevant passages, in connection with the international context and taking into account the political, social, economic, cultural aspects: the transition to post-fascism, the constituent season and the phase of centrism , the opening of the center-left, the season of movements and "national solidarity", the crisis and the advent of the Second Republic and the search for a difficult balance, between economic crisis and political crisis.
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