06929 - History of Contemporary Europe

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student acquires a knowledge of the general lines of the history of the European continent, of its political, social, economic and cultural transformations during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and domestic relationship with European countries and with countries outside Europe , both in terms of domination and mutual exchange of knowledge, goods and individuals. S/he also achieves an awareness of the complexity of the periodization criteria, a first knowledge of the international historiographical debate and s/he experiments also the multiplicity of sources for the study of contemporary Europe.

Course contents

The first part is introductory and provides the general lines of the historical development: political, economic and social of the European continent and of the interaction and circulation of peoples and international relations between multinational states and nation-states, from the second half of the Nineteenth to the end of the twentieth century, focusing in the final part on the processes of European institutional and economic unification

The second part is monographic and in the current Year is devoted to the study of  the post Great War, 1919-1922, a period of revolutions and conter-revolution, defined by the birth of communist parties and the Italian fascism. Starting from the advent to the power of Italian fascism, this part will address also  the history of contemporary Europe from the point of view and the comparison between different models of fascist movements and regimes, their social and consensus policies, international alliances and collaborationism with Nazism in the New European Order designed during the Second World War. It will also address the forms of opposition to fascisms by governments and movements in the the European Resistance to Nazi-fascism, with particular attention both to the practices of struggle and to the political programs that prefigure the democratic reconstruction of the Europe after World War II. A final attention will be given to the European society during WW2.

A third part is dedicated to the deepening of European history through the works and historiographical interpretation of one or more major European historians. This year the historical work and testimony of the French historian Marc Bloch  and the German-American George Mosse are examined.

Readings/Bibliography

For everyone:

L. Rapone ( a cura di) L'Europa del Novecento, Carocci, 2020

Dogliani, Il fascismo degli italiani. Una storia sociale, ed. del 2014.

Marc Bloch, La strana disfatta. Testimonianza del 1940, and alcune parti a scelta di Apologia della storia o il mestiere di storico (it would be possible to read them in the original version or in the Italian translation by  Einaudi)

George Mosse, L'uomo e le masse nelle ideologie nazionaliste, Laterza, 1982(5 chapts, in original language or translated).

One book in Italian or in original language:

P. Dogliani, Storia dei giovani, Bruno Mondadori, 2003

P. Dogliani, L’Europa a scuola. Percorsi dell’istruzione tra Ottocento e Novecento, Carocci, 2002

Marcello Verga, Storie d’Europa, secoli XVIII-XXI, Carocci, 2004

E. Hosbawn, Nazioni e nazionalismo, Einaudi, 1991

Gerd Hardach, La prima guerra mondiale 1914-1918, (storia economica) Etas

Sheila Fitzpatrick, La rivoluzione russa, Sansoni, 1997

Aldo Agosti ( a cura di) La stagione dei Fronti popolari, Cappelli, 1989.

Enzo Collotti, Fascismo, fascismi, Sansoni, 1989

Elena Papadia, La forza dei sentimenti. Anarchici e socialisti in Italia (1870-1900), il Mulino, 2019

Nicholas Stargardt, La guerra tedesca. Una nazione sotto le armi, 1939-1945, Neri Pozza, 2018

Johann Chapoutot, La legge del sangue. Pensare e agire da nazisti, Einaudi, 2016

Peter Fritzsche, Vita e morte nel Terzo Reich, Laterza, 2010

Detlev Peukert, Storia sociale del Terzo Reich, Sansoni, 1989

Christopher Duggan, Il popolo del Duce. Storia emotiva dell’Italia fascista, Laterza 2013

Alan S. Milward, Guerra, economia e società 1939-1945, Etas, 1983

Timothy Snyder, Terra nera. L’olocausto tra storia e presente, Rizzoli (ed. inglese dal titolo Bloodlans- Europe between Hitler and Stalin, 2011).

Gustavo Corni, Il sogno del “grande spazio”. Le politiche d’occupazione nell’Europa nazista, Laterza, 2005

Jean-Marie Le Breton, Una storia infausta. L’Europa centrale e orientale dal 1917 al 1990, il Mulino, 1997

Tony Judt, Postwar. Europa 1945-2005, Laterza, 2017, parti prima e seconda, sino al 1971

F. Focardi-B. Groppo ( a cura di) L'Europa e le sue memorie. Politiche e culture del ricordo dopo il 1989, Viella, 2013

E.Acciai-G.Panvini-C.Poesio-T. Rovatti, Oltre il 1945. Violenza, conflitto sociale, ordine pubblico nel dopoguerra europeo, Viella,2017

P. Dogliani- V. Galimi ( a cura di), L’Italia del 1946 vista dall’Europa, Viella, dicembre 2020

Enzo Collotti, Dalle due Germanie alla Germania unita, Einaudi, 1992

Gabriele Ranzato, Il passato di bronzo: L'eredità della guerra civile nella Spagna democratica, Laterza, 2006

Guy Hermet, Storia della Spagna nel Novecento, il Mulino, 1999

Eugenio Biagini, Storia dell’Irlanda dal 1845 ad oggi, il Mulino, 2014

Peter Clark, Speranza e gloria. L’Inghilterra nel XX secolo, il Mulino, diverse edizioni

Teaching methods

Lectures, reading and analysis during the course of texts and sources. In the limit of time and number of attending students, space will be given to individual and group interventions for the selection and discussion of specific topics to be developed in the final assessment.

Assessment methods

See the Italian Test for more details.

The final exams is written (with a final writen test  on the basis of  open questions) at the end of the Course and oral for the students have attended the Course itself for at least the 70% of time. It's only oral for the no-attending students.

After passing the first test (writen or  oral ones) on the general history of Europe  with at least 23/30, the student can present and argue his/her own topic related to a monographic theme of the course.

Office hours

See the website of Patrizia Dogliani