Ateneo - UPO

The course is made up of two parts, the first entitled "Triumph and Crisis of the European Model: an introduction to European history from 1945 to 2025" and the second entitled "Art in Italy and in western civilization from 1870 to 1945".

For the first part of the course all students will prepare for the exam by reading: 1. Tony Judt, Postwar. A History of Europe Since 1945, London, Penguin, 2005. 2. One monograph of your choice from the two following titles: - Philipp Ther, Europe Since 1989. A History, Princeton, Princeton UP, 2016. - Kiran Klaus Patel, Project Europe. A History, Cambridge, Cambridge UP, 2020. For the second part of the course: Giulio Carlo Argan, L’arte moderna 1770-1970, Florence 1970 or later editions, chapters from Impressionism to the Second World War; to be integrated, if possible, with Anty Pansera and Maurizio Vitta, Guida all'arte contemporanea, Casale Monferrato 1986. For further consultation, the monographs on XIX- and XX-century artists from the Rizzoli Classici dell’arte series, Milan 1966-1981. More literature will be given during the lessons. An additional text to read will be suggested to non-attending students.

Educational objective A: Knowledge • Knowledge and understanding: at a basic level, provide students with an overview of the historical evolution of Europe between the end of the Second World War and the present day, and illustrate the historiographical categories through which this period has been interpreted. They will also provide knowledge of the major artists, stylistic currents, and artistic movements between the last third of the 19th century and the central decades of the 20th century. At an advanced level, they will provide in-depth knowledge of the historiographical debate on European history and the concept of applied history, of the work and personality of even less prominent artists and movements, as well as of the fundamental relationships between the figurative arts and contemporary culture in general and the motivations underlying artistic creation. Educational objective B: Skills • 1. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: at a basic level, to place single works of art in time, placing place them in the context of an artistic and cultural movement; • 2. Autonomy of judgement: at an advanced level, to evaluate the role and importance, within European culture between the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, of a single work of art, of the general production of a given artist and of an artistic movement as a whole, independently making connections with their geographical and cultural contexts; • 3. Learning skills: at a transversal level, to elaborate critically the notions and essential concepts learnt, in order to cope with in-depth study of any further personalities and artistic movements characterising the late-nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. Educational objective C: Communication • Communication skills: at a basic level, to describe the personality of a given artist in general and the fundamental characteristics of art works with essential properties of language; at an advanced level, to be able to explain, with clarity and full mastery of terminology, the style and the various levels of interpretation of a single work of art or of an entire movement.

A basic knowledge of world political and cultural history from 1848 to 1945.

Oral lessons and, if possible, one or more visits to museums, for instance, the Modern Art Gallery in Turin, and/or temporary exhibitions. Some time will be devoted to innovative teaching methods, including search of visual, documentary and literary materials on the internet and an introduction to the use of most common databases. The first part of the course will be carried out entirely in English.

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services- students-physical-or-learning-disabilities Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

For the first part, the exam will consist of an oral exam lasting approximately 20 minutes, during which students will answer 2-3 questions. This part of the exam will be entirely in English. For the second part of the course, the exam will be an oral exam, c. 20/30’ long, consisting of four questions, at least one of which will be a general one on the course contents and at least two will concern the analysis and commentary of single works of art, through the observation of digital images on the computer or transmitted via whatsapp on the mobile phone. For the purposes of the learning objectives, the following will be assessed in particular: Educational objective A: Knowledge • Knowledge and understanding: to know basically the most important painters, sculptors and architects from the years of Impressionism to Abstract Expressionism, also in relation to other cultural expressions of the time and, more generally, to contemporary thought (this aspect will be awarded 40% of the overall assessment). Educational objective B: Skills • 1. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: to recognise and relate a work of art to a specific author and cultural context (20% of the overall assessment); • 2. Autonomy of judgement: to analyse and evaluate critically art works of the studied period, making independent critical observations (20% of the overall assessment). Educational objective C: Communication • Communication skills: being able to use a clear, appropriate and correct terminology (20% of the overall assessment). An exam demonstrating a knowledge of the programme limited to a brief exposition of the main topics, without personal critical evaluations and using essential and only partially appropriate and correct terminology, will be considered sufficient. The exam will be judged excellent if it demonstrates an articulate, detailed and precise knowledge of the programme and the topics discussed along the course, excellent judgement and synthesis skills, a full command of terms and fluency of language.

For the first part of the course lessons will take place according to the following outline: - Lesson 1: Introduction to the course and practical information. Europe at the end of the Second World War. - Lesson 2: The emergence of the Cold War 1947-1953. - Lesson 3: The European Project from Jean Monnet to De Gaulle. - Lesson 4: The economic boom of the 1950s-1960s. - Lesson 5: A Brief global history of the welfare state. - Lesson 6: The Revolutionary 1960s. - Lesson 7: A Turning Point: The Crises of the 1970s. - Lesson 8: The EEC from The Hague Conference to the Delors Commission. - Lesson 9: Towards the Velvet Revolutions. - Lesson 10: Old and New Rivalries. - Lesson 11: The European Union from Maastricht to Covid. - Lesson 12: The Neoliberalist Transition. - Lesson 13: The Two Waves of Neoliberalism. - Lesson 14: The 2008 Crisis. - Lesson 15: The Russian Empire versus the Ukrainian Nation. The topics of the second part of the course will be organized as follows: Teaching Units: Unit 1: Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Unit 2: The age of Symbolism. Unit 3: Expressionism. Unit 4: Cubism, Futurism and Abstract Art. Unit 5: Art between the First and the Second World War. Within the course, a lesson will be devoted to gender integration, considering the role of women artists in the frame of Twentieth-century art.

For the first part of the course: At the basic level: Knowledge and understanding: demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the issues related to the political, social and cultural history of Europe in the second post-war period. Demonstrate knowledge of the fundamental stages of the development of European history with particular reference to European economic and political development and international relations both among European states and with non-European countries. Know the fundamental stages of European political history both in the context of the Cold War and in that of the second hinge age. Applied knowledge and understanding: Demonstrate the ability to understand and discuss issues concerning the European history of the second post-war period with reference to the various historiographical interpretations and their main authors. At the advanced level: Knowledge and understanding: demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the historical development of a country of choice and compare it with the general European interpretative paradigm. Applied knowledge and understanding: demonstrate the ability to use the tools used in the seminar part to analyze the historical development of a country of choice and discuss it by comparing it with other cases studied by the other seminar groups. These learning outcomes are consistent with the provisions of the SUA of the Study Programme, framework A4.b2 (particularly for the Historical Area). For te second part of the course: Educational objective A: Knowledge • Knowledge and understanding: at a basic level, to know the main artists and movements of the last two centuries; at an advanced level, to navigate with ease in the relationships between the figurative arts and general contemporary culture, grasping in depth the motivations underlying artistic creation. Educational objective B: Skills • 1. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: at a basic level, to place individual works of art in time, placing them in the context of an artistic and cultural movement; • 2. Autonomy of judgement: at an advanced level, to elaborate critically the learned concepts connecting them to the age in which they were expressed, in order to consider how the interpretation of works and events of the past evolved with the passing of time, thus acquiring a deeper critical awareness of European history and culture of the late nineteenth and the twentieth centuries. • 3. Learning skills: at a transversal level, to acquire the critical and methodological tools needed to pursue studies on the period not only in art history, but also in any other field relating to cultural history. Educational objective C: Communication • Communication skills: at a basic level, to acquire a minimum mastery of art-historical terminology in relation to late-nineteenth- and twentieth-century art; at an advanced level, to apply with autonomy and ease the technical language of the discipline, modulating it appropriately according to the different movements and kinds of the artistic production of the period in question.