13724 - History of Contemporary Italy (1)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will have a general knowledge of Italian contemporary history and the main interpretations of it. They will be able to transmit the knowledge acquired, adopting the appropriate vocabulary and being versed in the historiographical debate. They will be familiar with the methodologies used by the research on social classes, and will understand basic mass culture and consumption phenomena. They will be aware how sources and choice of methodology bear on the ultimate result. They will have acquired self-criticism and an ability to learn from mingling with others; they will also know how to choose the learning tools best suited to their own skills and purposes.

Course contents

The course presents the main themes of Italian history from 1943 to 2001: political, economic, social, cultural and international. The main objective of the course is to present students with sources and methods for investigating the history of Italy in the second half of the 20th century according to a critical framework, without however neglecting the study of the clichés that often influence the popular narrative of republican Italy. The course, in fifteen lessons, will develop the following topics:

Introduction: Why start from here. The origins of the Republic between the Resistance and the 1948 Constitution
The Degasperian Age: Reconstruction and Italy's international position (1947-1953)
Getting to know the country. The Misery Inquiry and Guido Piovene's Journey through Italy
How the Republic of Parties Worked
The economic boom and the victory of Italian speakers
The first centre-left (1962-1968)
Workers, students and women. The multiple protagonists of the ‘68 turning point
The Italy of terrorism
1968-1978: a reforming decade
The oil crises and their effects
The Pentapartite party season and television reform
Italy in the revival of European institutions
The darkest hour: between the Mafia's military offensive and Tangentopoli (1992-1993)
The 1994 elections and the success of Silvio Berlusconi
Italian bipolarism at the test between globalisation and the Euro system (1994-2001)

Readings/Bibliography

For attending students:

1. Guido Formigoni, Storia essenziale dell'Italia repubblicana; Bologna, Il Mulino, 2021;

2. Emanuele Felice, Ascesa e declino. Storia economica d'Italia, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2015, pp. 229-369;

3. articoli o saggi o fonti scelti per ciascuna lezione.

For non-attending students:

1. Guido Formigoni, Storia essenziale della Repubblica italiana; Bologna, Il Mulino, 2021;

2. Emanuele Felice, Ascesa e declino. Storia economica d'Italia, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2015, pp. 229-369;

3. Chiara Giorgi, Ilaria Pavan, Storia dello Stato sociale in Italia, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2021, pp. 209-503;

4a. a book of your choice:

Claudio Pavone, Una guerra civile. Saggio storico sulla moralità della Resistenza, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 1991;

Pietro Scoppola, La Repubblica dei partiti. Evoluzione e crisi di un sistema politico, (1945-1996), Bologna, Il Mulino, varie ed.;

Antonio Varsori, Dalla rinascita al declino. Storia internazionale dell'Italia repubblicana, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2022;

Guido Crainz, Il paese mancato. Dal miracolo economico agli anni Ottanta, Roma, Donzelli, 2003;

4b. or two books of your choice:

Giovanni Orsina, Il berlusconismo nella storia d'Italia, Venezia, Marsilio, 2023;

Guido Panvini, Ordine nero, guerriglia rossa. La violenza politica nell'Italia degli anni Sessanta e Settanta (1966-1975), Torino, Einaudi, 2009;

Albertina Vittoria, I luoghi della cultura. Istituzioni, riviste e circuiti intellettuali nell'Italia del Novecento, Roma, Carocci, 2021;

Federico Paolini, Un paese a quattro ruote. Automobili e società in Italia, Venezia, Marsilio, 2005;

Barbara Curli, Il progetto nucleare italiano (1952-1964), Soveria Mannelli, Rubbettino, 2000;

Storia delle donne nell’Italia contemporanea, a cura di Silvia Salvatici, Roma, Carocci, 2022;

Paolo Carusi, Gioachino Lanotte, Cantagiro! Storia e musica di un decennio fra tradizione e modernità (1962-1972), Milano, Mondadori Education - Le Monnier, 2023;

Sandro Bellassai, La legge del desiderio. Il progetto Merlin e l'Italia degli anni Cinquanta, Roma, Carocci, 2006;

Giulia Guazzaloca, Una e indivisibile. La RAI e i partiti negli anni del monopolio pubblico (1945-1975), Milano, Mondadori Education - Le Monnier, 2011.

Teaching methods

Lectures and discussion of texts

Assessment methods

The exam is oral. There will be a debate on the books. Secondly, knowledge of the course contents will be tested (lessons).

Sufficiency will be achieved if the student is able to articulate a chronological and critical exposition of the principal phases of the discipline, adequately displayed.

An intermediate grade will be assigned to students who demonstrate, in addition to a good chronological and critical preparation, an adequate competence in relation to the sources.

In order to achieve excellence in the assessment, the student must demonstrate an organic vision of the topics addressed in class and in the texts on the syllabus, combining it with expressive mastery and specific language. This organic vision must integrate knowledge of manuals, historiography, and exegesis of the sources.

A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he displays significant errors in his understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending.

Exam sessions are scheduled for the following months of the academic year:

april, june, july, september, october, november

 

for all students; oral mode.

 

Teaching tools

A PPT will be at disposal in the teaching material on the website with the lessons discussed during the course.

Students who require specific services and adaptations to teaching activities due to a disability or specific learning disorders (SLD), must first contact the appropriate office: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students .

Office hours

See the website of Roberto Balzani