HISTORY OF POLITICAL CULTURES IN THE CONTEMPORARY AGE

The course focuses on some of the main political families of the contemporary age from a genealogical and transnational perspective. It fits in with the objectives of the RIC in that it promotes and understanding of key topics in international political and cultural history such as:
knowledge of the processes of democratisation and their opponents;
knowledge of debates on the forms of state and representation in political thought;
the understanding of the connection between context and political ideas, and their change.
Particular reference will be made to topics that encourage critical questioning about the historical roots of the present

The following learning outcomes are expected at the end of the course:
The reckoning of different methods and fields of historical knowledge on political cultures
The ability to critically situate in time and space the historical roots of the issues dealt with in class, in particular: democracy and counter-democracy, state projects and political representation
The ability to critically read a source - analysed in class - and to critically connect it to the historical and cultural context;
The ability to understand the interrelationships between historical, political and cultural phenomena and to operate a form of critical conceptualisation;
With regard to practical and communication skills, students are expected to develop:
The ability to interact actively during lectures and especially during comments and analyses of texts;
The ability to expound effectively, personally and with propriety of language on the topics of the oral examination.
The identification of topics of particular interest, which can be explored in depth in the thesis work, is encouraged.

No prerequisites are required. However, it is preferable to have taken a course in modern and contemporary history in previous cycles.

The disciplinary angle of the course is the history of political cultures, within the field of contemporary history. The area of the history of political culture will first be addressed, placing it between intellectual history and the history of culture.
Three thematic clusters are planned: the genealogies of democracy and counter-democracy; state projects and political representation; and the impact of major crises on political projects, also from a transnational perspective.

Referral texts:

Martin Conway, L'età della democrazia. L'Europa occidentale dopo il 1945, Carocci, Roma, 2023;
Jan-Werner Mueller, L'Enigma Democrazia. Le idee politiche nell'Europa del Novecento, Einaudi, Torino, 2012
Zeev Sternhell, Introduzione a Contro l'illuminismo. Dal XVIII Secolo alla Guerra Fredda, Milano, Baldini e Castoldi Dalai, 2007

All the articles, book chapters, and sources referred to during classes will be uploaded on Moodle and made available during the semester. Their use for the exam will be illustrated in class at the beginning of the course

The examination is oral, aimed at testing the mastery of the indicated contents and skills. In particular, the first question aims to test the mastery of well-defined contents, the ability to place them in their spatial-temporal context and to articulate the exposition in clear and effective terms; the second question aims to deepen the mastery of more specific knowledge, to verify the ability to make relations and causal connections and to make appropriate conceptualisations; the third question aims to test the ability to analyse and reflect on sources and documents.
Each student is also encouraged to prepare, at the end of the course, an oral presentation on a topic dealt with in class or related to it, using the materials uploaded on Moodle or agreeing with the lecturer on further study. The oral presentation is optional, will last 15-20 minutes, will receive a provisional grade that will count for 50% of the final grade, and will result in a reduction in examination questions

Academic lectures combined with seminar lessons. Sources and documents analysed during classes will be uploaded on Moodle.
To promote the active contribution of students, an optional oral presentation on a topic covered during the course or related to it is also scheduled at the end of the course

Italian

Students are welcome who have formed an interest in a subject of the course and intend to develop it in their dissertation.

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