56611 - History And Politics Of The United States

Learning outcomes

The aim of the course is to present a comprehensive overview of the key historical events in the United States history, spanning from the Revolution through the 1990s. By the conclusion of the course, students will have a solid understanding of the fundamental aspects of American history from political, social, economic and cultural perspectives. They will also be equipped to critically analyze significant periods of the American historical development, identify the most important events, and to contextualize them accordingly.

Course contents

The course will explore significant issues in American political and social history, with particular focus on the transatlantic and global dimensions of American historical events. The structure will consist of lectures and in seminars that delve into specific topics related to the US history and politics. Special attention will be given to the complex issue of the citizenship rights within the historical context of the United States, addressing variations by race, ethnicity, class and gender.

The contents and syllabus of the seminar will be presented in class. For further information, please check the Virtuale web platform.

Attendance is mandatory and students are expected to participate in at least 80% of all classes. Those who attend will be required to pass an oral exam during the winter session. The final session availabe for attending students will be the February 2026 session. After this date, students will be classified as non-attending. Further details will be provided in class, but students are also refer to the information sheet uploaded on the Virtuale platform.

For non-attending students, an oral exam will be required.

The course will primarily consist in in-person lectures.

The course is organized with lectures taught in presence. 

Readings/Bibliography

Readings assigned to attending students

 Stefano Luconi, La “nazione indispensabile”. Storia degli Stati Uniti dalle origini a Trump, II edizione, Le Monnier 2020.
Essays discussed in class; lecture notes.

Readings for non-attending students.

Mandatory readings:

Stefano Luconi, La “nazione indispensabile”. Storia degli Stati Uniti dalle origini a Trump, II edizione, Le Monnier 2020,.

Two books to be chosen in the following list:

Raffaella Baritono, Eleanor Roosevelt. Una biografia politica, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2021, capitoli 1,2 e 3.

Raffaella Baritono e Elisabetta Vezzosi, a cura di, Oltre il secolo americano? Gli Stati Uniti prima e dopo l'11 settembre, Roma, Carocci, 2011.

Matteo Battistini, Una Rivoluzione per lo Stato. Thomas Paine e la Rivoluzione americana nel Mondo Atlantico, Soveria Mannelli, Rubbettino, 2012

Matteo Battistini, Storia di un feticcio. La classe media americana dalle origini alla globalizzazione, Milano, Mimesis, 2020

Duccio Basosi, Finanza e petrolio. Gli Stati Uniti, l'oro nero e l'economia politica internazionale, Venezia, Edizione Studio LT2, 2012

Claudia Bernardi, Una storia di confine. Frontiere e lavoratori migranti tra Messico e Stati Uniti (1836-1964), Roma, Carocci, 2018.

Tiziano Bonazzi, Lincoln. Un dramma americano, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016.

Tiziano Bonazzi, La rivoluzione americana, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2018.

Alessandra Bitumi, La Comunità atlantica. Europa e Stati Uniti in età contemporanea, Roma, Carocci, 2023

Bruno Cartosio, I lunghi anni Sessanta, Milano Feltrinelli, 2012

M. Cento, L’ideologia atlantica. La delegittimazione politica dalla Guerra fredda culturale al neoconservatorismo (1936-1967), Mondadori Education, Milano, 2023

Alice Ciulla, La cultura americana e il PCI, Roma, Carocci, 2021

Angela Davis, Blues e femminismo nero, Roma, Alegre, 2022

Mario Del Pero, Henry Kissinger e l'ascesa dei neoconservatori. Alle origini della politica estera americana, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2006.

Ferdinando Fasce, Le anime del commercio. Pubblicità e consumi nel secolo americano, Carocci, 2012

Daniele Fiorentino, Il pluralismo culturale. Un dibattito americano (1915-1916), Roma, Viella, 2021

Stefano Luconi e Matteo Pretelli, L'immigrazione negli Stati Uniti, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2008

Stefano Luconi e Matteo Pretelli, ‘Nazione di immigrati’ o ‘fortezza America’? Gli Stati Uniti e le minoranze etniche nel XXI secolo, Milano, Mondadori Università, 2024

Marco Mariano, L'America nell'Occidente. Storia della dottrina Monroe (1823-1963), Roma, Carocci, 2013

Marco Mariano, Tropici americani. L’impero degli Stati Uniti in America Latina nel Novecento, Torino, Einaudi, 2024

Serena Mocci, Donne e impero nell’Ottocento americano. La cultura politica di Lydia Maria Child e Margaret Fuller, Roma, Viella, 2023,

Jacopo Perazzoli, «Per la pace del diritto». Woodrow Wilson e la sua eredità, dalla Grande Guerra allo shock della globalizzazione, Carocci, 2022

Angela Santese, La pace atomica. Ronald Reagan e il movimento antinucleare (1979-1987), Le Monnier, 2016

Marco Sioli, All’ombra di Mao. W.E.B. DuBois un afroamericano tra Urss, Cina e Africa, Roma, Teti edizioni, 2021

Arnaldo Testi, I fastidi della storia. Quale America raccontano i monumenti, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2023

Walter Bruno Renato Toscano, Pantere nere America bianca, Verona, Ombre Corte, 2023

Nadia Venturini, La strada per Selma. La mobilitazione afroamericana e il Voting Rights Act del 1965, Milano, FrancoAngeli, 2015

Teaching methods

Lectures and seminars

Assessment methods

For students attending the course, the final examination will consist of an oral test scheduled in the winter session and not later than February 2026 session. This oral assessment will center on the text by Stefano Luconi, La “nazione indispensabile”. Storia degli Stati Uniti dalle origini a Trump, II edizione, Le Monnier 2020, the topics covered in class, as well as the materials discussed in the monograph section.

The oral test will focus on the text by Stefano Luconi, The “indispensable nation”. History of the United States from Origins to Trump, 2nd edition, Le Monnier 2020, the topics covered in class, as well as the material discussed in the monograph section. The final evaluation will consider the mastery of essential concepts, critical thinking abilities, the capacity for coherent logical and analytical connections, as well as active participation and contributions made during class.

 

Students who do not attend will be required to take an oral examination based on Stefano Luconi's book, La “nazione indispensabile”. Storia degli Stati Uniti dalle origini a Trump, II edizione, Le Monnier 2020, along with two additional volumes selected from the listed bibliography. A through analytical understanding of all chosen texts is essential, as is the ability to navigate the various phases of U.S. political history. Students should be adept at identifying logical and theoretical connections and situating the analyses presented by these texts within the significant turning points that have shaped political and social history from its origins to the 21st century.

Teaching tools

power point presentations

Office hours

See the website of Raffaella Baritono