81778 - History of Mass Communication (LM)

Learning outcomes

Mass communication is defined as communication reaching large numbers of people through various media, especially since the beginning of mass society. The aim of the course is to study history and development of mass communication. The main topics will be the development and growth of media from the past to the present; the role of media under various political systems and the influence of communication on national building; the relationship between media and politics within different historical environments, in order to understand the importance of media to mass communication both past and present. Particular attention will be given to several case studies to explain the role of media in the states propaganda.

Course contents

The course offers a long-term historical introduction to the ways mass communication has shaped modern societies from the nineteenth century to the early twenty-first century. The course combines cultural and global history to explore how ideas, narratives, and information circulated on an increasingly large scale, contributing to the formation of nations, empires, political ideologies, and mass publics.

Starting with the rise of globalization and nationalism, the course examines imperialism, war, revolution, fascism, and the Second World War as key moments in the transformation of communication and propaganda. It then moves to the Cold War, decolonization, and the global upheavals of the 1960s, before concluding with the emergence of a new phase of globalization and mass-mediated politics. Throughout the course, students are encouraged to understand mass communication as a historical process closely intertwined with power, culture, and social conflict.

Readings/Bibliography

Textbook (compulsory):

• L. Gorman, D. McLean, Media and Society into the 21st Century. A Historical Introduction, Wiley Blackwell, 2009.

Monographs (compulsory – choose one if attending, two if not-attending) (any edition): 

• S. Bacchini, A. Brazzoduro, G. Fugazzotto, Nostra patria è il mondo intero. Per una storia sociale dell’antimperialismo in Italia, «Zapruder», n. 66, 2025 (free download here: https://storieinmovimento.org/2025/03/21/nostra-patria-e-il-mondo-intero/ ) or N. Srivastava, Italian Colonialism and Resistances to Empire, 1930-1970, Cambridge University Press, 2018.

• A.M. Banti, The Nation of the Risorgimento. Kinship, Sanctity, and Honour in the Origins of Unified Italy, Routledge, 2020;

• J. Burke, Fear. A cultural history, Virago, 2005;
  

• F. Casales, L’invasione immaginata. Futuro, Guerra e conflitto sociale in Europa (1871-1914), il Mulino, 2025 + F. Casales, Contagious fears. The invasion scare in liberal Italy (1872–1901), «Journal of Modern Italian Studies», 30, 5, 2025 (free download here https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1354571X.2025.2567112)  or A. Bulfin, Gothic Invasions: Imperialism, War and Fin-de-Siècle Popular Fiction, University of Wales Press, 2018;

• F. Casales, Raccontare l’Oltremare. Storia del romanzo coloniale italiano (1913-1943), Le Monnier, 2023 or C. Burdett, Journeys Through Fascism: Italian Travel Writing Between the Wars, Berghahn books, 2010;

• L. Di Fiore, E. Abignente (eds.), Spies in European Culture, 1815-1914. Representations, Networks, Practices, Palgrave, 2025;
  

• D. Forgacs, Italy's Margins: Social Exclusion and Nation Formation since 1861, Cambridge University Press, 2014;

• D. Kalifa, Vice, Crime, and Poverty: How the Western Imagination Invented the Underworld, Columbia University Press, 2019;

• A. Nadler, Making the news popular: mobilizing U.S. news audiences, University of Illinois Press, 2016;

• S. Patriarca, Race in Post-Fascist Italy: 'War Children' and the Color of the Nation, Cambridge University Press, 2022.

Additional readings (optional) will be provided on Virtuale or referred to in class.

Teaching methods

Lectures and guided discussion of primary sources.

Assessment methods

The final assessment consists of an oral examination.

Attending students are required to prepare the course textbook and one monograph selected from the list above.

Non-attending students are required to prepare the course textbook and two monographs selected from the list above.

 

Students with SLD (Specific Learning Disorders) or temporary or permanent disabilities: you are encouraged to contact the relevant University office as soon as possible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it ) and the course instructor, in order to jointly identify the most effective strategies for attending classes and/or preparing for the exam.

Any requests for accommodations must be submitted no later than 15 days before the exam date by emailing the instructor and copying disabilita@unibo.it (for disability-related conditions) or dsa@unibo.it (for students with SLD).

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Casales