CONTEMPORARY HISTORY 2

The course of Contemporary History 2 deals with the historical genesis of the modern State across the late 19th and the 20th century, up to the present, reckoning with the ongoing change of the State’s functions and the attributes of its sovereignty.
It aims to extend the student’s knowledge of the historical development of statehood, bearing in mind the current crisis and transformation of its features, concerning contemporary European and global history from a political perspective.
The course is part of the LCSL degree course, especially of the political-international curriculum and shares its overall aims. It virtually develops the course of contemporary history mod. 1 and contributes to developing the student's ability to understand the dynamics of historical change related to the topic of contemporary statehood;
In this perspective, the course contributes to developing the student's ability to form a critical knowledge of the historical factors that are at the origin of the contemporary world, to discern the different aspects of this historical development and of today's globalized modernity. The course promotes access to primary and secondary historical sources, presenting, where possible, topics that could be explored in the final dissertation.

At the end of the course students are expected to have improved their ability to:
Place in time and space the the topic of contemporary statehood and its historical roots;
Outline the above mentioned topic in different national contexts, and where possible in a transnational and extra-European perspective;
Follow its development in a diachronic perspective;
Understand the causal relationships between the crisis and transformation of society and the forms of statehood,
Conceptualize main historical phenomena, in relation to the main historiographic theses addressed
In terms of practical and communicative skills, students are expected to have perfected:
The ability to actively follow the lectures, taking notes, formulating questions, comparing notes with the assigned study texts;
The ability to present in a coherent, clear and distinct way the topics covered by the oral test.
The identification of subjects of particular interest is encouraged, which can be explored in the final dissertation

The course assumes that students do possess a degree of knowledge of 19th and 20th century history in line with the knowledge and competence acquired at the end of the courses of Contemporary History 1. An honest self-assessment of one's preparation is therefore recommended

The expansion, crisis and transformation of the European State, from the colonial and imperial expansion connected to the construction of Nation-states in mid- and late 19th century;
The acquirement of new functions in the protection of society which led to the Welfare states, then the dismantling of welfare systems and the affirmation of neoliberal policies.
Particular attention will be devoted to the warfare-welfare nexus emerged during the interwar period, to the extension of mass consumption systems, to the forms of civil, social and political citizenship.

Charles S. Maier, Leviatano 2.0. La costruzione dello Stato moderno, Einaudi, Torino, 2018 (a selection of chapters will be indicated during classes)
Valeria Deplano-Alessandro Pes, Storia del colonialismo italiano, Carocci, Roma, 2014 (a selection of chapters will be indicated during classes)
All chapters and texts uploaded onto the Moodle platform.

The examination is oral, is intended to test the acquisition of the contents and abilities above indicated, and consists of at least three questions to be developed in about 30 minutes.
In particular, the first question aims to verify the ability to frame the topic of contemporary statehood in one of the spatial and temporal contexts addressed in the course, along with the mastery of precise content and the ability to articulate it in clear and effective terms;
The second question aims to verify the ability to make connections and conceptualizations, to identify links of relationship and causality between the phenomena addressed, and to orient oneself in the historiographic literature mentioned in the;
The third question aims, with the support of the teaching materials presented, to exemplify the ability to read and contextualize a historical source

Lctures, with the support of teaching materials (images, texts, maps). Presentation and commentary of primary sources, both textual and iconographic. Questions and critical comments by the students are appreciated

Italian

Students are welcome who find of interest the topics covered in the course and wish to develop them in their dissertation

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