CONTEMPORARY HISTORY I

The course Contemporary History 1 [[FT0270] constitutes core learning activity [A] for the EGART curriculum of the Degree Course in Conservation of Cultural Heritage and Performing Arts Management. It also serves as a loan to the Philosophy Degree Course, [FT0269] as a related/integrative learning activity [C] for the Philosophy and History curriculum, of which it constitutes the first of two 6-credit modules [Contemporary History I, followed by Contemporary History II], as well as constituting a stand-alone course for the same curriculum. The course shares the overall objectives common to the two degree programs, as it provides an outline of historical knowledge relating to the last two centuries of Italian, European and global history.

Knowledge and comprehension:
Knowledge of the fundamental features of contemporary history, with reference to the related problems of periodization;
Knowledge of the development dynamics of European history through the last two centuries, and in a transnational perspective in relation to the most significant thematic nodes, with attention to the processes of colonial expansion and decolonisation, up to the main dynamics of globalisation;
Understanding of the distinctive features of historical knowledge in relation to the contemporary world;
Understanding of the dimension of temporality.
Ability:
Ability to identify and locate in time and space the historical roots of the main issues relating to the contemporary world dealt with in class;
Ability to reconstruct a coherent and synchronic framework of the main factual elements of Italian, European and global history;
Ability to understand the links between phenomena, their causal and multi-causal relationships, to operate an initial form of conceptualisation
With regard to practical and communication skills, the following is expected:
Ability to actively follow lectures, taking notes, formulating questions, comparing notes with assigned study texts;
Ability to establish connections between the iconographic and textual sources presented in the lecture and their temporal context;
Ability to expound in a coherent, clear and distinct manner the topics covered in the oral examination.

Basic knowledge of the outlines of contemporary history, as covered in high school

The course addresses the main issues of contemporary history. Reference is therefore made to the affirmation of democracies and the extension of suffrage, the redrawing of borders and national spaces, the dynamics of European imperialism and the processes of decolonisation, the parabola of empires and nations from the Congress of Vienna to the Peace of Versailles, the watershed of the Great War, the Thirty Years ‘European civil war’ , Fordism and the crisis of ‘29, the advent and defeat of Fascisms, the bipolar world reorganisation, the western “Golden Age” up to the 1970s. The themes are brought into focus through wide-ranging conceptualisations such as: citizenship, secularisation, war and fascism, emancipation, crisis.

Albertina Vittoria, Il Novecento. Dall'età dell'imperialismo alla globalizzazione, Carocci, Roma 2019.
Cammarano, Guazzaloca, Piretti, L'Età Contemporanea, Le Monnier, Firenze 2015, Chapters 1-4 (uploaded to Moodle)
The maps and images presented in class and uploaded to the Moodle platform constitute examination material.

The examination is oral, aimed at testing the acquisition of the contents and skills indicated in the objectives, and consists of three questions to be developed in approximately 20 minutes
In particular, the first question aims to test the ability to frame a broad theme in its spatial-temporal context, and to articulate the exposition in clear and effective terms; the second question aims to test the mastery of well-defined content and the ability to make connections, links of relationship and causality; the third question aims to test the mastery of more specific and in-depth knowledge.

oral

30 cum laude: excellent command of the knowledge related to the topics covered in the lecture and in the textbooks; excellent expressive and terminological skills.
28-30: excellent mastery of the topics covered in lecture and in textbooks; good ability to prioritise information; confident use of appropriate terminology;
25-27: adequate knowledge of topics covered in lectures and, to a lesser extent, in textbooks; fair ability to order information and present it orally; familiarity with appropriate terminology;
22-24: not always thorough or superficial knowledge of topics covered in lectures and textbooks; oral presentation not always orderly or sometimes unclear; use of appropriate terminology not always correct or lacking;
18-21: deficient knowledge of topics covered in lectures and textbooks; confused oral presentation; little or no use of appropriate terminology.
<18: very poor or absent knowledge of topics covered in lectures and textbooks; very confused oral presentation; no use of appropriate terminology. Examination failed.

The course is expected to be highly attended. Lessons will therefore be academic lectures. Each lecture is based on an image or series of images and maps organised in powerpoint and presented in class: within the limits imposed by the number of students attending, observations and questions are encouraged about what is presented and elaborated upon in class.
The powerpoints are uploaded in Moodle and constitute a study guide. It is important to point out that they do NOT contain summaries, bullet point lists, abstracts of any kind of what has been presented in class by the lecturer. This is because it is believed that the ability to follow an academic lecture, grasp its essential elements and summarise them in the notes is an absolutely crucial component of training at university level. Lecture notes supplement, not replace, the study of reference manuals.

Further information on how the course and examination will be conducted will be provided during the first lecture. Class attendance is strongly recommended. Students who plan not to attend the lectures are requested to contact the lecturer by email (laura.cerasi@unive.it).