Ateneo - UPO

Early modern, modern and contemporary history (XVIth-XXIst c.)

The course consists of 2 modules: A) “Modern history” (prof. Tigrino) and B) “Contemporary History” (prof. Bellezza). Two programmes are foreseen for attending and non-attending students.

The course aims to discuss the main themes of early modern and modern history, and to provide a basic knowledge of the political, social, economic and cultural dynamics in the time span ranging from the First World War to the present day.
In alignment with the Educational Objectives of the Degree Programme as outlined in the SUA-CdS, and with specific reference to the historical, geographical, and cultural heritage areas, the Course has the following objectives at a basic level: -ability to understand early modern, modern and contemporary history in its transformations through the time; -to be able to independently read scientific literature and sources related to early modern, modern and contemporary history; -to be able at least in an elementary way to evaluate and argue the dynamics related to early modern, modern and contemporary history; -to be able to convey sufficiently appropriately the specificity of early modern, modern and contemporary history.
The course has the following purposes at an advanced level: -to be able to comprehensively understand early modern, modern and contemporary history in its transformations through the time; -to be able to critically read the scientific literature and the sources related to early modern, modern and contemporary history; -to be able to consciously evaluate and argue the dynamics related to early modern, modern and contemporary history; -to be able to convey the specificity of early modern, modern and contemporary history with appropriate scientific terminology.
The 12 ECTS credits earned during the course are distributed as follows:
2.4 ECTS credits (30 contact hours) of direct teaching, including interactive sessions with and among students (see "Teaching Methods");
9.6 ECTS credits of independent study.

None.

The course will consist mainly of frontal lectures, although they will sometime involve the direct involvement of students in reading and analyzing some primary sources. The lectures are an integral part of the exam program: the lecturers will provide the slides of the lectures and other useful materials.

Students are advised to register on DIR (Didattica In Rete), where notices and communications will be posted, and where will be disposable some materials of the lectures. Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via reference office consulting the University webpage:
https://uniupo.it/it/servizi/servizi-studentesse-e-studenti-condizione-di-disabilità-e-dsa
Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the teachers in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

The course consists of 2 modules: A) “Modern history” (prof. Tigrino) and B) “Contemporary history” (prof. Bellezza); each course has its own specific assessment method (see the course descriptions). The overall assessment of the examination may also take into account the student’s ability to demonstrate improvement in their understanding of the topics studied.

The course consists of 2 modules: A) “Modern history” (prof. Tigrino) and B) “Contemporary history” (prof. Bellezza). The first module will focus on the main issues of early modern and modern history, and on the more recent debates in social, economic, political and cultural history, also with in interdisciplinary comparison. The topics of the course will be constantly analyzed in connection with the current applications in history research and teaching methodology.
Outline of the lectures:
• Historiography and the issues of social, economic, political and cultural history.
• Early modern and modern history: objects and sources.
• Society, economy and culture in early modern history.
• The European colonisation of the world.
• Political history.
• Religious history.
• Crisis and trasformation in early modern Europe.
• Reforms and revolutions.
• The Industrial Revolution.
In the lectures of the course dedicated to social and cultural history, extensive reference will be made to gender issues in historiography.
For the second module the lectures will be conducted according to the following outline: - Lecture 1: Introduction to the course: practical issues. What is history: methodological introduction. - Lecture 2: The general characters of the contemporary age. - Lecture 3: The First World War. - Lecture 4: The Russian revolutions. The USSR of Lenin and Stalin. - Lecture 5: Italian fascism and the category of totalitarianism. - Lesson 6: The 1929 crisis and the rise of Nazism in Germany. - Lesson 7: The Second World War: the Shoah. - Lesson 8: Cold War. - Lesson 9: Decolonization. - Lesson 10: The cultural revolution of the 1960s. Asia after World War II. - Lesson 11: The Middle Eastern conflicts and the crisis of the 1970s. - Lesson 12: Italian Republican history. - Lesson 13: The collapse of the USSR and the end of the Cold War. - Lesson 14: The European federal project from Ventotene to the European Union. - Lesson 15: Globalization, neoliberalism, the environmental crisis, and new wars in the multipolar world. Integration of the gender dimension.
This parte of the course dedicates ample space to the study of the gender dimension, in particular in lessons 3, 5, 10.

To achieve sufficient knowledge and skills, the student has to demonstrate: Knowledge: -to know chronology, themes and categories of early modern, modern and contemporary history. -to know the general features of the historiographical discussions on early modern, modern and contemporary history also in a global context. Competence: - ability to analyze issues of early modern, modern and contemporary history in a critical way. Transversal skills: -ability to clearly communicate issues discussed during the lectures, with a proper language and with a scientific terminology.
To achieve an advanced level, the student must also demonstrate that he/she has: -An organic vision of the topics; synthesis and analysis skills; -Capacity for personal and critical processing of the topics; -Ability to deepen theoretical and methodological issues of history in general, and in particular concerning early modern, modern and contemporary history.
These learning outcomes are consistent with the provisions of the SUA of the Study Programme, framework A4.b2.