98695 - INTRODUCTION TO HISTORY

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

The course aims at providing students with the basis of the 19th and 20th century political history in European and non-European countries, with particular reference to the political-institutional systems. At the end of the course, the student should know the main processes of political-institutional and socio-economic transformation occurring in Europe and outside Europe from the end of 800 to the end of the Cold War. In particular, students will be introduced to the historical reconstruction of the European integration process, starting from the fundamental questions on the birth and development of the European Communities, up to the transformation introduced by Maastricht.

Contenuti

This course is a survey of the history of Europe from the late early modern age to the end of the twentieth century. It is intended primarily to give students a deep understanding of the main ideas, events, aspects, and trends related to the topics of the classes.

The course will deeply address questions concerning the rise of modern Europe, such as why European cultures and societies, during the early modern age, increasingly relied on science and reason instead of religion. Students will learn about the transition from a Europe of composite monarchies. They will gain knowledge of how, at the end of the Wars of Religion, the legacy of the Treaty of Westphalia changed relations between European states by opening a new era in the development of an international legal system. In addition, they will learn about the rise of Absolutism and how another age in the continent's history was opened by revolution before this era ended with the rise of nationalism. Finally, students will study how social and political tensions and war shaped European history during the twentieth century and how the end of Communism, Capitalism, and the new global challenges changed European societies.

The course is divided into two modules (10 two-hour lectures each). The first one (by Prof. Andrea Guidi) concerns the period from the late early modern era to the end of the Nineteenth century. The second one (held by Prof. Nicola Sbetti https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/nicola.sbetti2/didattica ) covers the following period up to the end of the Twentieth century.

Testi/Bibliografia

Excerpts from: Merriman, John, A History of Modern Europe: From the Renaissance to the Present, 2 vols. (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 4^th edition 2019)

https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393667363 Vol. 1

https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393667387 Vol. 2

NON-ATTENDING students are required to study also the following texts:

Elliott, J.H., “A Europe of Composite Monarchies,” Past & Present, 137, 1992, 48-71. Full text available online on Virtuale for registered students only.

Swann, J., “The French revolution,” in P.M. Pilbeam, ed. Themes in modern European history, 1780-1830 (London: Routledge, 1995), 27-53. Full text available here:

https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.unibo.it/lib/unibo/detail.action?pq-origsite=primo&docID=178384

Cammarano, F. “Delegitimization: A Useful Category for Political History,” Ricerche di storia politica, special issue, 2017, 65-74. Full text available here: https://www.rivisteweb.it/doi/10.1412/87620

Romero, F., “Cold War historiography at the crossroads,” Cold War History Volume 14, 2014 - Issue 4, 685-703. Full text available here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14682745.2014.950249

Metodi didattici

The emphasis in the course will be on classroom lectures and critical discussion, but the course will consist also of a reading of selected pages of the main written sources of the period (provided in English translation), with the objective of developing the students’ critical skills. A study of the main visual sources of the time taken into consideration is a constituent component of the course. Excerpts from movies on historical topics will accompany some of the classes.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

Attending students

There will be one midterm (on the topics of the first module of the course) and one final in-class written test (on topics concerning the second module only), both of them with 12 open-ended questions, which require short responses (no more than three or four lines). The questions will focus on both the contents of the teachers’ lectures (of which you are warmly invited to take notes!) and the mandatory readings for attending students (please see the Required Readings section below for the texts to be studied).

(Please note: attending students will be required to sign in at the teacher’s desk at every course lecture – attendance of less than 2/3 of the lessons will change the student’s status to NON-attending)

Non-attending students

A written examination will be conducted on the required readings and the mandatory additional readings for non-attending students (please see the Required Readings section below).

FINAL GRADE FORMATION

For both the midterm and the final tests, one point less for each wrong response out of the total 12, counting backward from 30 to 18 (please note: several mistakes considered particularly bad by the teacher, may lead not to passing the exam). The final grade is given by the average grades obtained in the two tests.

In the case of an insufficient average or absence from one of the two tests, attending students will have to take a comprehensive written test again on the two fundamental parts of the program in one of the exam sessions of the summer/autumn session.

People with disabilities and SLD

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.

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Andrea Guidi

Consulta il sito web di Nicola Sbetti