13723 - History of Contemporary Europe (1)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will have mastered the broad outline of European continental history, its political, social and cultural transformations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as relations within Europe and vis-à-vis extra-European countries. They will be able to describe such interactions in terms of dominion as well as reciprocal exchange of knowledge, goods and individuals. They will have grasped the complex criteria for periodization, possess an initial knowledge of issues debated by international historians, and have realised for themselves the welter of sources pertaining to contemporary European studies. They will be able to describe and illustrate specific instances of cultures meeting within and outside Europe (links, hybridization, conflict) understanding the multicultural contexts; they will know how to listen, understand and debate respectfully with different cultures and viewpoints, spotting the tie-ups among different disciplines.

Course contents

The first part of the course is introductory and provides the general outlines of European historical development: political, economic and social of the continent, as well as of the interaction and circulation of peoples and of the international relations between multinational  and nationional states, from the end of  1800th  century to today,  focusing also on the processes of European institutional and economic unification.

It also includes a monographic part on European society and fascisms, 1919-1945, focusing on the Italian and German cases, but extending its attention to other national realities, such as the French and Spanish ones, and studying the Nazi-fascist “New European Order” project to which European fascist and “collaborationist” movements did adhere during World War II. The course gives an attention  to those forces and ideas opposing fascisms and developing European alternatives to totalitarianisms; and a  final attention is  brought to European neo-fascisms after World War II.

Readings/Bibliography

For an overview, students can refer to the textbooks used for the study of a previous course on Contemporary History. 

For the bibliography, see the Italian version. Some of these books are translated into Italian. Students can also read them in their original languages.

Teaching methods

Front classes and discussion of documents and books' chapters during the course, and eventualy vision of media.

Assessment methods

The final exam is written  for those attending the course  and only oral  for those not attending. Students who have attended the course have to prepare 4 readings from books and sets of chapters or journal articles; 4 readings  for those who did not attend,  to be chosen from a list of books.

Those who have taken at least 70 percent of the course are considered to be attending (22 hours).

The first written appeal at the end of the course is reserved for frequent attendees, on a date to be determined during the two last weeks of the course: it will include questions on the topics discussed during the course.Subsequent appeals are reserved for attending  and nonattending students and will be only oral.

 See the Italian version for the evaluation.

Teaching tools

Front lessons, analysis and reading of documents, vision of media.

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 Patrizia Dogliani