00932 - Contemporary History

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide a critical knowledge of the historical evolution of Europe and the main non-European countries in the period from the Congress of Vienna (1815) to the fall of the Berlin wall (1989). At the end of the course the student is able to know and understand the main historical events and the development of the economic, social, cultural and political phenomena that have characterized the last two centuries, in order to have a reference grid for his studies. , in particular in the field of conservation, protection and enhancement of cultural heritage.

Course contents

The main objective of the course is to provide some tools for critical analysis of the main events of contemporary history, especially in European history. More specifically, the course aims to offer students some means of analyzing and understanding the origins and dynamics of some key moments of the political, economic and social history of the contemporary age, in order to promote critical knowledge of the past and our present. The course will be divided into two parts, an institutional part and a monographic part.

The first part, of a more institutional nature, intends to provide a critical rereading of some great themes of contemporary history. This part will be structured on some historiographical paths related to the great themes of contemporary history. We will analyze some concepts and key events of this period, above all as regards the economic and social development of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century; scientific and technological development, revolutions, the rise of the bourgeoisie, the birth of nation states, nationalisms, liberalism, imperialism, colonialism, world wars, the birth of totalitarian states, until the second post-war period and economic miracle.

The second part, will have a monographic character and will be dedicated to the theme of universal exhibitions from 1851 to 2015. Through the phenomenon of universal exposures, considered by the recent historiography at the basis of the globalization processes of the contemporary world, the module will analyze some related phenomena: universal exposures represent in fact a privileged place to read some dynamics of the great social, economic and political transformation, which it started already in the first half of the nineteenth century and that goes up to the present day: from the Industrial and Transport Revolution, to the role of art and industrial arts, from international relations between states to the phenomenon of colonialism and imperialism, from the birth and development of a cultural industry, to the birth of cinema, from the emergence of new forms of consumption, to the birth of department stores, from the development of mass tourism, to the origins of Fordism, etc.

Readings/Bibliography

 

For attending students :

1) It requires the preparation of a manual to choose from those indicated in Part A (Manuals), to be integrated with the study of materials distributed by the teacher during the lessons.

2) The study of a monograph on a great theme of contemporary history to choose from those listed in the B (monographs).

3) An oral exercise or report, in the form of seminars during the second part of the course on a volume or a source agreed with the teacher on the specific part of the course concerning the universal expositions (the search of the source will be carried out on the online archives together with the help of the teacher).For non-attending students: the study of a work chosen from those listed below in point A) (manuals) is required; of a work chosen from those of group B (monographs), of two works chosen from those of group C (specific texts for the monographic part of the course).

A) Manuals :

1) S. Lupo, A. Ventrone, L'età contemporanea, Milano, Mondadori education, 2018.

2) A.M. Banti, L'età contemporanea. Dalle rivoluzioni settecentesche all'imperialismo, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2009; A.M. Banti, L'età contemporanea. Dalla grande guerra a oggi, Roma, Laterza, 2010.

B) Monographs:

S. Lupo, Il passato del nostro presente. Il lungo Ottocento 1776-1913, Bari, Laterza, 2010.

H. Hobsbawn, Il secolo breve. 1914-1991: l’era dei grandi cataclisimi, Milano, Rizzoli, 1994.

F. Engels, La situazione della classe operaia in Inghilterra, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2021.

S. Ciriacono, La rivoluzione industriale: dalla protoindustrializzazione alla produzione flessibile, Milano, Mondadori, 2000.

J. Kocka, Borghesie europee dell’Ottocento, Venezia, Marsilio, 1989.

E.J. Hobsbawn, Nazioni e nazionalismi dal 1870. Programma, mito, realtà, Torino, Einaudi, 1990.

G. L. Mosse, La nazionalizzazione delle masse, Simbolismo politico e movimenti di massa in Germania (1815-1933), Bologna, Il Mulino.

A.M. Banti, Il Risorgimento italiano, Bari, Laterza, 2009.

C. Pinto, La guerra per il Mezzogiorno: italiani borbonici e briganti 1860-1870, Bari-Roma, Laterza 2019.

R. Romanelli, L’Italia Liberale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1990.

N. Labanca, Oltremare: storia dell'espansione coloniale italiana, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2007.

E. Leed, Terra di nessuno. Esperienza bellica e identità personale nella prima guerra mondiale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1985.

A. Gibelli, L'officina della guerra: la grande guerra e le trasformazioni del mondo mentale, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 1991.

E. Collotti, Fascismo, fascismi, Firenze, Sansoni, 1989.

E. Gentile, Il culto del littorio. La sacralizzazione della politica nell’Italia fascista, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2009 (ed. or. 1993).

J. Bourke, La seconda guerra mondiale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2005.

G. L. Mosse, Le guerre mondiali. Dalla tragedia al mito dei caduti, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2014 (5a ed.)

C. Pavone, Una guerra civile. Saggio storico sulla moralità nella Resistenza, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2006.

S. Peli, Storia della resistenza in Italia, Torino, Einaudi, 2014.

P. Ginsborg, Storia d'Italia dal dopoguerra ad oggi. Società e politica, Torino, Einaudi, 1989.

Federico Romero, Storia della guerra Fredda. L'ultimo conflitto per l'Europa, Torino, Einaudi, 2009.

C) Specific texts for the monographic part of the course:

G.L. Fontana, A Pellegrino, Esposizioni Universali in Europa. Attori, pubblici, memorie tra metropoli e colonie, 1851-1939, atti del convegno tenutosi a Padova dal 13 al 15 novembre 2014, numero monografico della rivista Ricerche Storiche, 1-2, 2015.

D. Pozzi, Expo. Il lungo viaggio del progresso da Londra 1851 a Milano, 2015, Milano, Rizzoli, 2015.

C.T. Geppert, M. Baioni, Esposizioni in Europa fra Otto e Novecento. Spazi, organizzazione, rappresentazioni, numero monografico di “Memoria e Ricerca”, 2004, n. 17.

L. Aimone, C. Olmo, Le esposizioni universali, 1851-1900. Il progresso in scena, Torino, U. Allemandi, 1990.

Italian national and international exhibitions

G. Bigatti, S. Onger, Le esposizioni d’industria in Italia prima dell’Unità, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2007.

I.M.P. Barzaghi, Milano 1881: tanto lusso e tanta folla. Rappresentazioni della modernità e modernizzazione popolare, Milano, Silvana Editoriale, 2009.

A. Pellegrino,“Operai intellettuali”. Lavoro Tecnologia e progresso all’Esposizione di Milano (1906), Manduria-Bari- Roma Lacaita, 2008.

P. Audenino, M.L. Betri, A.G. Marchetti, C. G. Lacaita, Milano e l’esposizione internazionale del Sempione, La rappresentazione della modernità, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2008.

P. Redondi, Milano e l’Esposizione del Sempione. La scienza, la città, la vita, Milano, Guerini e associati, 2007.

Exhibitions: political and propaganda

F. Evangelisti, A. Pes, Le esposizioni: propaganda e costruzione identitaria, numero monografico della rivista, numero monografico di “Diacronie”, n. 18. 2014 (https://journals.openedition.org/diacronie/1151).

Exhibitions and colonialism

G. Abbattista, Umanità in mostra. Esposizioni etniche e invenzioni esotiche in Italia (1880-1940), Trieste, EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, 2013.

V. Domenici, Uomini nelle gabbie. Dagli zoo umani delle Expo al razzismo della vacanza etnica, Milano, Il Saggiatore, 2015.

P. Blanchard, N. Bancel, G. Boetch, Eric Deroo (a cura di), Zoo umani. Dalla Venere ottentotta al realyty show, Verona, Ombrecorte, 2005.

Exhibitions : media and communication

L. Massidda, Atlante delle grandi esposizioni universali. Storia e geografia del medium espositivo, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2011.

A. Abruzzese, Forme estetiche e società di massa, Arte e pubblico nell’età del capitalismo, Venezia, Marsilio, 1992

Exhibitions : art and architecture

P. Colombo, Le Esposizioni Universali. I mestieri d’arte sulla scena del mondo, Venezia, Marsilio, 2012.

I. Marino, Expo! Arte ed esposizioni universali, Firenze, Giunti, 2015.

A. Baculo, S. Gallo, M. Mangone, Le grandi esposizioni nel mondo, 1851-1900: dall’edificio città alla città di edifici, dal Crystal Palace alla White city, Napoli, Liguori, 1988

Exhibitions : social question and role of the world of work

P. L. Bassignana, Le feste popolari del capitalismo. Esposizioni d’industria e coscienza nazionale in Europa, 1798-1911, Torino Allemandi, 1997

A. Pellegrino, Macchine come fate. Gli operai italiani alle esposizioni universali 1851-1911, Milano, Guerini e associati, 2011.

Exhibitions and birth of the consumer society

Walter Benjamin, I “passages” di Parigi, a cura di Rolf Tiedmann, Torino, Einaudi, 2000 [1982], vol. I., pp. 5-211.

Vanni Codeluppi, Lo spettacolo della merce. I luoghi del consumo dai passages a Disney World, Milano, Bompiani, 2000.

P. Capuzzo, Culture del Consumo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2006.

A. Pellegrino, Viaggi fantasmagorici. L'odeporica delle esposizioni universali, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2018.

G. Ritzer, La religione dei consumi. Cattedrali, pellegrinaggi e riti dell'iperconsumismo, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2012.

Teaching methods

From a methodological point of view, we will proceed with the reading of historiographic, literary texts and the analysis of first-hand documents, the projection of documentary materials, films, images. 

Assessment methods

For attending students : in addition to forms of participation throughout the course, there will be an oral exercise in seminar form (to be held during the second part of the course) on a volume (to be agreed with the teacher) on the specific part of the course.
The final examination will cover the knowledge acquired during the first part of the course, related to the institutional part, to be prepared on one of the recommended manuals. The exam will consist of an oral exam consisting of at least three questions on some episodes events and phenomena of contemporary history whose knowledge was acquired during the course.
The score of the exam is given by the average of the scores obtained in the oral exercise during the course and by the final examination.
For non-attending students: the knowledge of contemporary history for the manual part provides the ability to correctly frame in their historical context the events, remember the protagonists and the most important moments, know how to place them in a correct diachronic scale. For the part relating to monographic works it is necessary to highlight the essential issues addressed in the volumes and the main historiographical issues that emerge from reading.

 

 

 

Teaching tools

Basic equipment will be used for the presentation of slides, illustrations and short films to support teaching.

Office hours

See the website of Anna Pellegrino