B5211 - Historiography of Contemporary Age (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be aware of interdisciplinary methodologies and international developments in historiography. Students will be able to identify the main historiographical schools, read the relevant literature critically and evaluate the main historiographical approaches on the basis of their epistemological paradigms. They will be able to evaluate changes in categories and concepts in relation to research orientations and contemporary debates. Students will also be able to use their knowledge for professional purposes (communication, teaching, dissemination, conservation).

Course contents

The course focuses on the historiography on 1970s, providing both a global and a national approach (centred on Italy). No other decade evokes such contradictory images as the 1970s: reform and emancipation on the one hand, crisis and malaise on the other. The study of the incredibly complex and diverse nature of historical transformations in this decade provides an excellent perspective on historiography’s recent developments (cultural history, global history, gender history, media studies, history of consumption). After a general course introduction, students (guided by the teacher) will be asked to read, and comment in depth on, articles and chapters focused on some of the most significant shifts in Italian politics, culture, and society, in close connection with the global context.

Readings/Bibliography

- N. Ferguson, C. Maier, E. Manela, D. Sargent (a cura di), The Shock of the Global. The 1970s in Perspective, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, London 2010 (introduction, chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 13, 14, 16, 17, 21)

- F. Balestracci, C. Papa (a cura di), L’Italia degli anni Settanta. Narrazioni e interpretazioni a confronto, Rubbettino, Soveria Mannelli 2019

- The 1970s and 1980s as a Turning Point in European History?, forum with contributions from G. Therborn, G. Eley, H. Kaelble, P. Chassaigne and A. Wirsching, edited by A. Wirsching, in «Journal of Modern European History», vol. 9, 2011, n. 1, pp. 8-26 (Download using J STOR in SBA UNIBO with proxy)

- B. Keys, J. Davies, E. Banna, The Post-Traumatic Decade New Histories of 1970s, in «Australasian Journal of American Studies», vol. 33, 2014, n. 1, pp. 1-17 (Download using J STOR in SBA UNIBO with proxy)

- L. Raphael, The 1970s—a Period of Structural Rupture in Germany and Italy?, in M. Baumeister, B. Bonomo, D. Schott (eds.), Cities Contested. Urban Politics, Heritage, and Social Movements in Italy and West Germany in the 1970s, Campus Verlag, Frankfurt-New York 2017, pp. 31-50

- C. Spagnolo, Il postmoderno come categoria storiografica. Osservazioni sul passaggio all’età del debito, in T. Grossbölting, M. Livi, C. Spagnolo (a cura di), L’avvio della società liquida? Il passaggio degli anni Settanta come tema per la storiografia tedesca e italiana, Il Mulino, Bologna 2014, pp. 19-54

- P. Pombeni, Moderno/postmoderno. Riflessioni su un dibattito alla luce della problematica della storia politica dell’età contemporanea, T. Grossbölting, M. Livi, C. Spagnolo (a cura di), L’avvio della società liquida? Il passaggio degli anni Settanta come tema per la storiografia tedesca e italiana, Il Mulino, Bologna 2014, pp. 55-82

* Teaching materials not present in the department library will be available online on Virtuale

Teaching methods

After a few introductive lessons, the course will be articulated through lectures and seminars discussions. Students are expected to participate actively by attending all lessons, reading the assignated texts and take an active part in class discussions.

Those unable to do so can always opt for an oral exam at a later stage, as foreseen by the programme

 

Assessment methods

Students who attend at least 12 lessons are considered to be attending.

ATTENDING STUDENTS will read and discuss the assignements every lesson. At the end they will write a paper (10.000 signs).

Evaluation will be based on three elements: a) written review; b) study of F. Balestracci, C. Papa (a cura di), L’Italia degli anni Settanta. Narrazioni e interpretazioni a confronto, Rubbettino, Soveria Mannelli 2019; c) participation in the seminar discussion, speeches and presentations.

For NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS the exam will be oral. They will study the texts listed in the bibliography

 

Exam sessions are scheduled for the following months of the academic year:

- January
- March
- June
- July
- September
- November

 

Teaching tools

Readings, analysis and discussion of articles and book chapters

 

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

 

Office hours

See the website of Alessio Gagliardi