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 history of mass communication from the 1880s to the 1980s. Rather than focusing on the technical evolution of media, it approaches mass communication as a historical process through which modern societies imagined themselves and the world around them. Combining cultural and social history, the course explores how the rise of mass communication transformed the ways modern societies experienced time, space, violence, and social belonging.

From the emergence of nationalism and imperialism during the long nineteenth century to the crises of the twentieth, newspapers, popular fiction, propaganda, cinema, television, and music helped shape shared perceptions of the nation, the empire, the enemy, and society itself. In this sense, the course examines mass communication not simply as a system for transmitting information, but as one of the main arenas in which modern fears, desires, identities, and social tensions became visible and culturally meaningful.

Particular attention is devoted to the relationship between media and social conflict. Crime and mystery fiction, invasion literature and the imagining of future wars, wartime and revolutionary propaganda, fascism, Italian colonial imaginaries, Cold War consumer culture and its critiques – from third worldism to the folk revival – youth movements, and music countercultures are analysed as historical forms through which modern societies negotiated social disorder, political violence, generational change, and the contradictions of consumer society. Moving between Europe – with a particular focus on Italy – and the United States, and closing with the crises and countercultures of the 1960s and 1970s, the course invites students to understand mass communication as a central dimension of modern cultural and political life, deeply intertwined with power, ideology, and the production of collective imaginaries.

Readings/Bibliography

Textbook (compulsory):

A. Briggs, P. Burke, Social history of the media, 4^th edition, Polity, 2020, pp. 360.

NB earlier editions may miss some chapters, it is your responsibility to make sure you study the right edition.

Monographs (compulsory, choose one group – each group is about 300 pp.)

1. A.M. Banti, The Nation of the Risorgimento. Kinship, Sanctity, and Honour in the Origins of Unified Italy, Routledge, 2020 + B. Anderson, Imagined communities, Verso, 1983, any edition;
2. D. Kalifa, Vice, Crime, and Poverty: How the Western Imagination Invented the Underworld, Columbia University Press, 2019 + U. Eco, The Role of the Reader. Explorations in the Semiotic of Texts Indiana University Press, 1979, any edition (introduction and chapters 4, 5, 6);
3. F. Casales, L’invasione immaginata. Futuro, guerra e conflitto sociale in Europa (1871-1914), il Mulino, 2025 [it] + E.J. Hobsbawm, Nations and nationalism since 1780, Cambridge University Press, 1991, any edition.
4. C.K. Melby, Invasions. Fears and fantasies of imagined wars in Britain, 1871-1918, Manchester University Press, 2025 [en] + E.J. Hobsbawm, Nations and nationalism since 1780, Cambridge University Press, 1991, any edition.
5. F. Casales, Raccontare l’Oltremare. Storia del romanzo coloniale italiano (1913-1943), Le Monnier, 2023 [it] + G. Giuliani, Race, Nation and Gender in Modern Italy: Intersectional Representations in Visual Culture, Palgrave McMillan, 2018, any edition (introduction and chapters 2, 3) [en].
6. R. Ben-Ghiat, Italian fascism’s empire cinema, Indiana University Press, 2015 [en] + G. Giuliani, Race, Nation and Gender in Modern Italy: Intersectional Representations in Visual Culture, Palgrave McMillan, 2018, any edition(introduction and chapters 2, 3) [en].
7. S. Patriarca, Race in Post-Fascist Italy: 'War Children' and the Color of the Nation, Cambridge University Press, 2022 + G. Giuliani, Race, Nation and Gender in Modern Italy: Intersectional Representations in Visual Culture, Palgrave McMillan, 2018, any edition (introduction and chapters 4, 5).
8. E. Leake, Fuori dal coro. Cultura pop femminile e mutamento sociale nell’Italia del dopoguerra, Donzelli, 2025 + G. Giuliani, Race, Nation and Gender in Modern Italy: Intersectional Representations in Visual Culture, Palgrave McMillan, 2018, any edition (introduction and chapters 4, 5).
9. A.M. Banti, Too Much to Dream. Giovani, musica e controculture nella California degli anni Sessanta, Carocci, 2025 + I. Chambers, Urban Rythms. Pop music and popular culture, MacMillan, 1985, any edition.
10. J. Tomatis, Bella ciao, Bloomsbury, 2023 + F. Fabbri, G. Plastino (eds.) Made in Italy. Studies in Popular Music, Routledge, 2013 (introduction and chapters 2, 6, 11) [en] + I. Chambers, Urban Rythms. Pop music and popular culture, MacMillan, 1985, any edition.

Additional texts and readings will be presented and discussed during classes and, whenever permitted by copyright regulations, made available through the Virtuale platform.

NB

All of the readings listed above can be found in the University of Bologna library system, in print or digital format. We encourage students to look them up on the OPAC SBA Bologna catalogue (https://sol.unibo.it/SebinaOpac/.do ), though of course purchasing is also an option for those who prefer it.

Teaching methods

The course is taught through lectures combined with the guided discussion of primary sources.

In each lecture, the instructor presents the historical context, the main themes, and the key interpretive questions of the topic at hand. Lectures are not limited to transmitting information: they aim to model how historians read and interpret mass communication, showing how a newspaper article, a novel, a poster, a film, or a song can be analysed as a historical source that reveals the fears, desires, and tensions of a given society.

Alongside the lectures, a substantial part of the course is devoted to the guided discussion of primary sources. These are original materials from the period studied—such as propaganda images, excerpts from popular fiction, advertisements, film clips, or song lyrics—that students examine collectively under the instructor's guidance. Rather than simply being told what a source means, students are invited to look closely at it, raise questions, propose interpretations, and connect it to the broader themes of the course.

Active participation is therefore strongly encouraged. Students are expected to attend regularly, engage with the materials discussed in class, and contribute to the conversation. This collaborative approach is intended to develop the analytical skills that are also central to the final oral examination: the ability to read sources critically, build arguments, and discuss ideas aloud.

Whenever permitted by copyright regulations, the primary sources discussed in class will be made available through the Virtuale platform, so that students can review them when preparing for the exam.

Assessment methods

The final assessment is an oral examination. This may be unfamiliar to students coming from systems based mainly on written exams, so here is what to expect.

An oral exam is a one-on-one conversation between you and the instructor, usually lasting around 15–20 minutes. There is no written test and no multiple-choice questions. Instead, the instructor asks you a series of questions out loud, and you answer out loud, explaining and discussing the material in your own words.

You will be examined on three things: the topics covered in class, the course textbook, and the one group of textsyou have chosen from the reading list. The instructor may begin with a broad question (for example, asking you to discuss a theme or a period) and then ask more specific follow-up questions to see how well you understand the connections between topics, not just isolated facts. You are expected to construct arguments, compare authors and ideas, and use the relevant concepts and terminology accurately.

The goal is not to recite memorized passages but to show that you have understood the material and can reason about it critically. It helps to prepare by reviewing your notes and readings, organizing the main themes in your mind, and practicing explaining key ideas aloud, perhaps with a classmate.

At the end, the instructor assigns a grade, expressed on the Italian scale from 18 to 30 (18 is the minimum passing grade; 30 is the maximum, with 30 e lode, "30 with honors," as the top distinction). If you do not pass or decline to accept the grade, you can take the exam again on a later date. Grades reflect the depth and quality of your understanding, not simply how many facts you can recall. As a general guide:

• A grade in the 18–22 range indicates that you have a basic grasp of the material. You can recall the main topics and summarize the readings, but your answers tend to stay descriptive, contain some gaps or inaccuracies, and you struggle to connect different themes or authors.
• A grade in the 23–26 range indicates a solid and reliable understanding. You know the material well, can explain the main concepts clearly and accurately, and can establish some connections between topics, authors, and historical periods, even if your analysis remains somewhat guided by the instructor's questions.
• A grade in the 27–30 range indicates a thorough and well-organized command of the material. You move confidently across the whole syllabus, build your own arguments, compare different authors and interpretations critically, use the relevant concepts and terminology with precision, and show that you can think historically rather than just reproduce content.
• The distinction of 30 e lode ("30 with honors") is reserved for exams that go beyond excellence: answers that are not only complete and accurate but also show genuine independence of thought, originality in connecting ideas, and a critical maturity that exceeds what is required.

In short, moving up the scale depends less on memorizing more and more on understanding better: the ability to reason, connect, compare, and critically discuss the material is what separates a sufficient answer from an excellent one.

You will be told your grade right after the exam.

The exam is conducted in English.

NB 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 [mailto:disabilita@unibo.it] (for disability-related conditions) or dsa@unibo.it [mailto:dsa@unibo.it] (for students with SLD).

NB* In accordance with the Guidelines on the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) provided by the University, exams will adopt Profile 1: "The use of AI tools during the exam is prohibited in any form, including chatbots, text generators, advanced translators, content synthesizers, and tools integrated into devices. Any use of AI is considered a violation of the principle of honesty and fairness set out in the Policy and may result in the annulment of the exam by the instructor, who remains responsible for ascertaining the validity of the exam."

Office hours

See the website of Francesco Casales