Ateneo - UPO

The course will consider the origin and the evolution of the idea of Europe and the idea of European unity in the ancient, modern and contemporary age. Then it will focus on the contributions by authors discussing these issue during the modern and contemporary epoch, even with reference to the process of European integration after the II World War. In the final part, the course will examine the debate about the EU perspectives in the current historical period.

C. Malandrino, S. Quirico, L'idea di Europa. Storie e prospettive, Roma, Carocci, 2020.

The students will learn the main ideas and theories concerning the European identity and the idea of Europe and of the process of its unification from the ancient to the modern and contemporary age. Introduction to the political debate about Europe in the global age.

General knowledge of the history of modern and contemporary political thought

The course will be mainly organized on the basis of traditional lessons by the teacher, but it will also offer exercises and seminars. Attendance is suggested

The teacher will discuss with the students the opportunity of programming an intermediate or final written test. 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.

The final exam will be oral. Evaluation criteria: - 18-22: basic understanding of the texts; - 23-26: good understanding of the texts and oral exposure; - 27-30: excellent understanding of the texts, oral exposure and critical review of content.

After an overview on the development of the idea of Europe in the ancient and modern age, the course will focus on modern author as Machiavelli, Montesquieu and Voltaire, and on the peace issue theorized by Saint-Pierre and Kant. The ideal and institutional consequences of the XVIII-century American and French Revolution on the idea of European unity will be deeply examined. Particular attention will be even paid on the preparatory debate about the European unification and the related federal and confederal models from the XIX century to the first half of XX century, i.e. the political thought of the Italian Risorgimento (Cattaneo, Mazzini, Garibaldi), the Marxist stream (Bauer, Renner, Kautsky, Trockij, the Italian authors of the “Critica sociale”), the debate in the period between the I and the II World War (Einaudi, Agnelli, Cabiati, Coudenhove-Kalergi, Benda, Ortega y Gasset, Lord Lothian, Robbins), the Italian antifascist movement (Rosselli, Trentin, Spinelli, Rossi), after the II World War ((Monnet, Schuman, De Gasperi, Aron, Hallstein, De Gaulle, Spinelli, Thatcher, Delors, Kohl, Mitterrand), until the debate between XX and XXI century.

The learning of the main ideas and theories concerning the European identity and the idea of Europe