06396 - History of Contemporary Society

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will have the required knowledge of historical research methodology in order to relate the history of the Italian welfare state with general features of Italy's institutional, political and educational systems. At the exam, the student will be able to put forward his/her assessments and conclusions regarding historical studies and analyses. In addition, the student will be able to use the means and methods acquired in the historical field to widen his/her knowledge and apply effective critical thinking.

Course contents

The course will address the history of contemporary society, identifying long-term and comparative thematic paths, with a focus on social and cultural history and with particular attention to a gender perspective, starting from some questions that are addressed to us by the present.

Given a general overview of the formation of constitutional nation states in the 19th century and global historical trends of the 20th century, the course focuses in particular on Italian civil life.

The aim is to clarify, with specific reference to the Italian case, the extent of the transformations and persistences; to understand the historical depth of the issues that appear to us today the most relevant to the collective existence and life of each of us; to reflect, finally, on how you can make history. We will deal with some thematic issues that we feel are relevant today: modernity and progress, the great social struggles, the relationship between memory and history, access to wider forms of citizenship, the processes of participation, decision and reform, the historic issue of the Republican Constitution up to the hairpin turn represented by the 1970s, the complex relationship between state and civil society and the issue of political violence and terrorism.

To give students the capacity for long-term transformations in the contemporary dimension, to be able to make sense of historical transformations in work situations in kindergartens or elementary schools, methods of investigation through oral history will also be presented and attention will be paid also on fundamental changes in material culture, which can then be used in group historical research in the said schools.

For students "Erasmus": students are invited to contact the teacher to specify the program and study the texts.

The exam will take place in Italian.

Readings/Bibliography

Students will cure their preparation for the exame on the following texts:

Two obligatory texts:

• Marco Meriggi, Storia dell'Europa tra Otto e Novecento, Roma, Carocci, 201

• Umberto Gentiloni Silveri, Storia dell'Italia contemporanea. 1943-2019, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2019, chapters 1 to 6

 

A text of your choice between the following:

a) On the great mutations of the 20th century:

    • Eric Hobsbawm, Il secolo breve, Milano, Rizzoli, 2018.

b) On civil life and political culture in Italy:

• Marilisa D’Amico, Una parità ambigua. Costituzione e diritti delle donne, Milano, Raffaello Cortina Editore, 2020, capitoli dall’1 al 6 e dall'8 al 9 compresi.
• S. Salvatici (a cura di), Storia delle donne nell'Italia contemporanea, Roma, Carocci, 2022 (Including chapters 1 to 6).

• Mario Isnenghi, L'Italia in piazza. , Bologna, Il Mulino, 2003 (or in the previous edition Mondadori, 1997).
• Santo Peli, La Resistenza italiana. Storie e critica, Torino, Einaudi, 2004.
• Simona Colarizi, Un paese in movimento. L'Italia negli anni Sessanta e Settanta, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2019.
• Marica Tolomelli, L'Italia dei movimenti. Politica e società nella prima Repubblica, Roma, Carocci,2015.
• Cinzia Venturoli, Storia di una bomba. Bologna 2 agosto 1980: la strage, i processi, la memoria, Roma, Castelvecchi, 2020.

• Simona Colarizi, Passatopresente. Alle origini dell'oggi 1989-1994, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2022.

c) On customs and material culture:

• Daniel Roche, Storia delle cose banali. La nascita del consumo in Occidente, Roma, Editori riuniti, 2002.

• Norbert Elias, La civiltà delle buone maniere. la trasformazione dei costumi nel mondo aristocratico occidentale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009

• Raffaella Sarti, Vita di casa. Abitare, mangiare, vestire nell'Europa moderna, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1999

• Emilio Sereni, Storia del paesaggio agrario italiano, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 19, capitoli VII, VIII e IX

• Luoghi quotidiani nella storia d'Europa, a cura di Heinz-Gerhard Haupt, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1993

d) On oral culture:

• Giovanni Contini, Alfredo Martini, Verba manent: l'uso delle fonti orali per la storia contemporanea, Roma, NIS, 1993

• Bruno Bonomo, Voci della memoria. L'uso delle fonti orali nella ricerca storica, Roma, Carocci, 2013.

Teaching methods

Lectures with discussion and source presentations. During the course seminars may be promoted on topics and texts related to the course contents.

Assessment methods

The exam consists of a oral test (evaluated out of thirty), mainly on the topics of the 2 compulsory texts indicated in the program and only secondarily on general problems indicated in the elective texts. The test is intended to evaluate the student's ability to orient him/herself within texts in order to identify the information that will enable him/her to illustrate aspects strictly related to the discipline. The achievement by the student of an organic vision of the topics discussed during the course, together with their critical use, and the possession of a mastery of expression and specific language, will be assessed and awarded a grade of ‘excellence'. A mechanical and/or mnemonic knowledge of the topics, a limited skill of synthesis and analysis and/or the correct but not always appropriate use of language will lead to ‘a discrete' assessment. Gaps in learning and/or inappropriate language – although within the context of minimal knowledge in the exam subject – will lead to a grade no higher than ‘sufficient'. In cases of the presence of significant gaps in knowledge, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the texts, the exam will not be passed. A negative assessment for one of the two texts included inthe program will not allow the student to pass the exam successfully.

Teaching tools

Videoprojector, Interactive whiteboards, PC The lectures will take advantage of a PowerPoint presentation that is uploaded and made available to students in the " Teaching materials " of the course

Office hours

See the website of Marco Fincardi

See the website of Cinzia Venturoli