CONTEMPORARY HISTORY 1

The course provides students with a good degree of knowledge of the main dynamics of the history of contemporary international politics. It therefore provides students with the basic elements of knowledge of the methods of historical research and of the main categories for the interpretation of the 20th century, as well as with the knowledge of the fundamental facts concerning proceeses such as the imperialistic expansion of Europe in the world and the birth of anti-colonial movements, World War I, the Great Crisis of the 1930s, fascism and World War II, US-Soviet bipolarism, decolonization, European integration, global economic integration, the crisis and collapse of the Soviet Union, specific regional and local conflicts.

The course contributes to the acquisition by the students of the ability to articulate a coherent historical picture of the events that gave rise to the development of the contemporary world, with an emphasis on their international dimension. It contributes to the acquisition by the students of the ability to consciously employ the main historiographical categories of contemporaneity and to initiate autonomous studies on historical subjects, also in relation to the topic of their thesis.

At the end of the course, and through the careful study of the suggested reading materials, students will have acquired a good degree of knowledge of the main dynamics of the history of contemporary international politics and of the methods of historical inquiry connected to them. In particular, students will have acquired:

a) a good degree of knowledge of the main facts, protagonists and processes of world politics of the 20th century, with basic references to the 19th and with a particular emphasis on the international relations of the period (conflicts, cooperation, exchanges);
b) a good degree of knowledge of the main interpretative schools relating to the historical processes of world politics of the twentieth century;
c) a good basis of knowledge to formulate autonomous judgements on the main facts and processes of 20th-century international politics;
d) the fundamental methodological tools for the organization of autonomous research paths in the field of contemporary history;
e) a good level of linguistic competence aimed at the communication of ideas about contemporary history.

The course assumes that students possess a basic degree of knowledge of Modern and Contemporary History, as from High School programs.

Basic notions about international relations in the 19th century (interstate politics in Europe and the global expansion of the European empires); the politics of WWI and the Russian revolution; the rise of the US and the USSR; the global economic crisis of the 1930s and the rise of fascism; the politics of WWII and US-Soviet bipolarism; international relations in the second half of the 20th century (US hegemony and dominance, US-Soviet relations, decolonization, third-worldism, European integration, specific regional and local conflicts); the end of bipolarism and international relations in the early 21st century.

Students attending classes:

1) Guido Formigoni, Storia della politica internazionale nell'età contemporanea, Bologna, 2018 (Terza edizione)
2) Appunti delle lezioni

Students who do not attend the classes:

1) Guido Formigoni, Storia della politica internazionale nell'età contemporanea, Bologna, 2018 (Terza edizione)
2) Ennio Di Nolfo, Prima lezione di storia delle relazioni internazionali, Roma.Bari, Laterza, 2008 (o edizioni successive)

ATTENTION - UPDATE 29.4.2020

The final exam for this course was originally supposed to be a written exam. However, due to the "coronavirus emergency", all the remaining exam sessions of the academic year 2019-20 will see oral exams replacing the written ones. Individual oral exams will have an average duration of 20-30 minutes and will be held in videoconference mode, with technical arrangements that will be specified in due time.

The oral exam consists of two questions (plus possible punctual requests for more information) focusing on topics covered in the program. It aims at verifying the students' preparation, their ability to communicate their knowledge (completeness, synthesis, consistency, clarity, precision), as well as their ability to link together, where relevant, different themes of contemporary international political history.

In carrying out the exam the student must demonstrate a) to be able to give a coherent historical picture of the events that marked the main stages of the development of contemporary international political life; b) to know how to properly frame the origins and dynamics of the main international historical processes of the twentieth century (imperialism, globalization of European capitalism, World War I, rise of the United States and the Soviet Union, economic crisis, rise of fascism and World War II, US-Soviet bipolarism, decolonization and third worldism, European integration, global economic integration, crisis and dissolution of the USSR, regional and local conflicts); c) to be able to use the main historiographic categories for adopted for the interpretation of contemporary international politics; d) to be able to conduct original reflections on the topics of the course; e) to be able to use the appropriate language for the communication of the answers to the exam's questions.

Frontal lectures. Questions and critical comments in class are warmly welcome.

Italian

This syllabus is subject to changes before the beginning of the courses.

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "International cooperation" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development