11850 - Social History (1)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student is able to understand the "world visions" in the "long-term" perspective, he knows the concept of history as "context science" and has the critical and cognitive tools to interpret the past on the basis of social and cultural issues. He has methodological knowledge and cultural skills that make it possible to process documentary sources of different genres (written, iconographic, etc.), especially with regard to anthropological transformations, customs, fashion and consumption in Italian and European society between the XVIII and the XXI centuries.

Course contents

The course aims to study the history of European societies between the end of the nineteenth century and the age of totalitarianism. An era of enormous changes and even great violence that has altered the balance of world equilibrium and the living conditions of the populations, largely before 1914, little involved with the policies of their respective national states. Europe was the hegemonic continent on most of the globe, at least until the Great War, and in the twentieth century, it has experienced extreme events that have completely altered the lives of its inhabitants. Understanding how these traumas and evolutions have changed the way of thinking and acting of European populations, but also of those that came into contact with the powers of the continent, is the underlying purpose of the course.
 In order to establish the knowledge of the basic prerequisites of Contemporary History, all the students of the first year will have to do with Prof. D. Calanca, a compulsory written test even if they choose to follow the course of Social History (A. Malfitano).

Readings/Bibliography

Non attending students will choose two texts from the following list; attending students only one:

- D.R. Headrick, Il predominio dell'Occidente. Tecnologia, ambiente e imperialismo, Bologna, Il mulino, 2011;
- L. Villari, Bella e perduta. L'Italia del Risorgimento, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2010;

- E. J. Hobsbawm, L'età degli imperi 1875-1914, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2005;

- M. Flores, Il secolo mondo. Storia del Novecento, vol. I (1900-1945), Bologna, Il Mulino, 2002;
- A. Gibelli, L'officina della guerra. La Grande guerra e le trasformazioni del mondo mentale, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2007;
- L Gorgolini, A. Malfitano, Memorie italiane. Dalla guerra al miracolo economico (1940-1963), II edizione (ebook), 2016.;
- I. Kershaw, Hitler e l'enigma del consenso , Roma, Laterza, 2000;
- P. Sorcinelli, 8 settembre, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2013.
- P. Dogliani, Il fascismo degli italiani. Una storia sociale, Torino, Utet, 2008.

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons.

Teaching tools

The exam is an oral interview that means to evaluate the critical and methodological skills acquired by the student, who will be invited to deal with the texts in the program. Particularly evaluated will be the student's ability to move within the sources and the bibliographic material in order to find useful information in them to illustrate the aspects and cultural domains of the discipline. The student's achievement of an organic vision of the themes - dealt with in conjunction with their critical use demonstrates possession of a mastery of expressive and specific language - will be evaluated with excellence marks. Mostly mechanical and / or mnemonic knowledge of the material, synthesis and non-articulation skills and / or a correct but not always appropriate language will lead to discrete evaluations; Inadequate formative and / or inadequate language - though in a context of minimal knowledge of the exam material - will lead to not sufficient evaluation. Lack of training, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the bibliographic materials offered during the course can only be evaluated negatively.

Office hours

See the website of Alberto Malfitano