96813 - International History of the Contemporary Era (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

The course aims at providing an adequate knowledge of contemporary political-institutional history and at analyzing major historical changes of contemporaneity that took place at European and extra-European level, starting from the French Revolution up to the fall of Berlin wall (1989). The acquired analytical tools will allow to improve the understanding of the relations existing between domestic and foreign policies of the concerned countries as well as to consolidate the knowledge of major international processes and their interconnection with national histories. The study of the main events of XIX and XX centuries in a diachronic perspective will allow acquiring key elements for interpreting current events.

Course contents

The course will explore key developments in contemporary political history, spanning from the revolutions of 1848 to the 1990s. It will involve a comparative analysis of significant historical events that shaped both Europe and major non-European regions. Initially, we will provide an overview of the political, economic, and social processes that led to the emergence of the contemporary era, culminating in the First World War. Following this, the focus will shift to the political history of Europe and non-European areas during the interwar period, and continue through the evolution of the bipolar system and the Cold War on a global scale.

Readings/Bibliography

All students, whether attending classes or not, must study the compulsory textbook and choose one monograph from the suggested list.

Compulsory textbook:

Giovanni Sabbatucci, Vittorio Vidotto, Il mondo contemporaneo, Laterza, Bari-Roma, 2019. 

Attending students: from p. 3 to p. 614;

Not attending students: from p. 3 to 711.

A monograph selected from the following options: 

Banti, Alberto Mario, Il Risorgimento italiano, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2008 (escluse le pagg. 145-222)

Baritono, Raffaella; Fiorino Vinzia, Il voto alle donne. Una storia globale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2025.

Cavazza, Stefano, Pombeni, Paolo (a cura), Introduzione alla Storia contemporanea, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2020.

Corni, Gustavo, Breve storia del nazismo 1920-1945, Bologna, Il Mulino 2015.

Ertola, Emanuele, "Il colonialismo degli italiani. Storia di un'ideologia" Carocci, 2022.

Ferguson, Nial, Impero. Come la Gran Bretagna ha fatto il mondo moderno, Mondadori, Milano 2009

Goldstein, Erik, Gli accordi di pace dopo la Grande guerra (1919-1925), il Mulino, 2005

Musiani, Elena; Guerra, Elda, Il movimento politico delle donne.Una storia internazionale (XIX-XX secolo), Le Monnier, Milano, 2025.

Judt, Tony La nostra storia (Dopoguerra. Come è cambiata l’Europa dal 1945 a oggi), Laterza 2017, disponibile anche in e-book (anche edizione Mondadori 2007)

Kennedy, Dane, Storia della decolonizzazione, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2016

Kennedy, Paul, Ascesa e declino delle grandi potenze, Garzanti, Milano 2016

Lupo, Salvatore, La mafia. Centosessant’anni di storia tra Sicilia e America, Roma, Donzelli

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

Testi, Arnaldo, Il secolo degli Stati Uniti, Il Mulino, Bologna.

Teaching methods

The course "International History of the Contemporary Era" is designed as an introductory class for the first year of a degree program and typically attracts a large number of students. The professor will lead lectures while providing opportunities for student interaction through questions and discussions. PowerPoint presentations will be used to highlight key points of historical analysis, along with historical images and films.

Assessment methods

Attending students

During the course, students will take two graded written tests, designed to assess learning in relation to both individual study and the work carried out in class, as well as a final oral examination. These assessments are reserved for students who have actually attended the classes (the instructor reserves the right to collect students’ signatures to verify attendance). The two written tests will each consist of 10 semi-open questions. Students will have 45 minutes to complete each test.

Assessment criteria for the written tests: the tests will be graded on a scale of 30. Each test will be considered passed if the student obtains a minimum score of 18/30.

If both written tests are passed, students will be admitted to the oral examination, which must be taken during one of the three examination sessions scheduled for January–February. The oral examination will assess students’ ability to engage in historical reasoning, as well as their knowledge of the textbook and the selected monograph.

Grades obtained in the partial assessments during the course will remain valid until the September 2027 examination session.

Make-up procedures for intermediate tests – attending students

Case A:

If a student fails one of the written tests, they must retake and pass the test during the first January examination session before being admitted to the oral examination. Once the written test has been passed, the student will be admitted to the oral examination, which will take place on the same day as the written test or on the following day if the number of registered students is particularly high.

Case B:

If a student does not pass the written test during the first January examination session, they will have the opportunity to retake it during the September 2027 examination session. Once the written test has been passed, the student will be admitted to the oral examination, which will take place on the same day as the written test or on the following day if the number of registered students is particularly high.

Case C:

If a student fails both written tests taken during the course, they will be required to take the full written examination, consisting of a test with 10 semi-open questions covering the entire textbook/institutional component of the course. Students will have 45 minutes to complete the test. Once the written test has been passed, the student will be admitted to the oral examination, which will take place on the same day as the written test or on the following day if the number of registered students is particularly high.

The full written examination for attending students may be taken during one of the three examination sessions scheduled for January–February and, if failed, during the September 2027 examination session.

Important Information

Students cannot take the oral examination unless they have passed the required written test(s). In order to pass the examination, students must obtain a passing grade in both written tests; admission to the oral examination is always conditional upon successfully passing the written assessment.

Students cannot take the oral examination without prior online registration through AlmaEsami.

For the final oral examination, students are required to bring with them the textbook and the monograph they have studied.

Dates of the intermediate tests

27 October: First intermediate test

9 December: Second intermediate test

Material for the intermediate tests

First intermediate test: pages 3–345 of the textbook + material covered in class

Second intermediate test: pages 346–614 of the textbook + material covered in class

Oral Examination

Textbook + one monograph of the student’s choice (see the list provided).

Non-attending students

The examination for non-attending students consists of a written test with 10 open-ended questions covering the textbook/institutional component of the course, followed by an oral examination assessing students’ knowledge of the textbook/institutional component and of one monograph of their choice (see the list provided).

Textbook: from p. 3 to p. 710 (on this see the reading list)

Students will have 45 minutes to complete the written test.

Students cannot take the oral examination unless they have passed the written test.

The oral examination will take place on the same day as the written test or on the following day if the number of registered students is particularly high.

Students cannot take the oral examination without prior online registration through AlmaEsami.

For the final oral examination, students are required to bring with them the textbook and the monograph they have studied.

Students with DSA or temporary or permanent disabilities

It is recommended to contact the responsible University office in good time (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it): it will be their responsibility to propose any adaptations to the students concerned, which must however be submitted, with a 15-day notice, to the approval of the teacher, who will evaluate the opportunity also in relation to the educational objectives of the course.

Teaching tools

Power Point presentations, historical images, movies and guest lecturers.

The Syllabus with the list of the themes, the calendar and the dates of the written text will be available on Virtuale by the first day of the course

Office hours

See the website of Angela Santese