93588 - History of the Balkans

Learning outcomes

The course is dedicated to the history of the Balkan peoples and of one of the most complex and diversified regions of Europe. The Balkans have always been the meeting point and sometimes the space for a clash between cultures, languages and religions: a land of many peoples and minorities enclosed by borders that have changed over time. The many dominations have left a profound trace on all the peoples who inhabit the penninsula, who despite their diversity show some common traits so as to justify the definition of the Balkan Region. During the course, the student will acquire a general knowledge of the region from a historical perspective and a specific knowledge of the individual peoples currently present taking into consideration their cultural, political and economic relationships as well as their interaction with other countries of Europe, the Mediterranean and the Near East.

Course contents

The course offers an introduction to the contemporary history of the Balkans after the collapse of the empires (with the end of the First World War) to the present day. The most important themes of historical research on the Balkans will be discussed, with an interdisciplinary approach focused on the cultures and common history of the Balkan peoples. The complex cultural and historical landscape of the Balkans of the Twentieth century will be investigated to arrive at current issues such as the role of the Balkans in the contemporary European cultural panorama and the project for the enlargement of the European Union to the Balkan area. Memory policies and a critical reading of traditional approaches towards this region will also be analyzed. Frontal lessons and seminar activities will be carried out in hybrid mode (10 classroom lessons and 5 online lessons) - see the Teaching methods section.

Week 1 The Balkans as a historical region of Europe

The Balkans after the empires

The first post-war period

Week 2 Modernity in the Balkans

The history of the Balkans during the Second World War

The second post-war period in the Balkans

Week 3 The history of Balkan communisms

The Cold war in the Balkans

1990s and the Yugoslav wars

Week 4 Post-Communism in the Balkans

Politics of memory in the Balkans

Minorities in the Balkans

Week 5 The Balkans and the Mediterranean

The European Union and the Balkans

The Balkans after the transitions

Readings/Bibliography

For Erasmus students reading in English:

Two books out of the following:

Lampe, John. Balkans into Southeastern Europe, 1914-2014: a century of war and transition. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014.

Mazower Mark. The Balkans: from the end of Byzantium to the present day. London: Phoenix, 2001.

Wachtel, Andrew Baruch. The Balkans in World History. Oxford University Press, 2008.

 

Also one elective book (for attending students) or two additional elective books (for non-attending students) from the following:

Drakulić, Slavenka. They would never hurt a fly: War criminals on trial in the Hague. New York: Viking, 2004.

Greble, Emily. Sarajevo, 1941–1945. Cornell University Press, 2011.

Mazower, Mark. Salonica, city of ghosts: Christians, Muslims and Jews 1430-1950. Vintage, 2007.

Mazower, Mark. Dark continent: Europe's twentieth century. Vintage, 2009.

Stavrianos, Leften S., The Balkans since 1453, New York: New York University Press, 2000.

Todorova Maria. Imagining the Balkans. Oxford University Press, 2009.

Wolff, Larry. Woodrow Wilson and the reimagining of Eastern Europe. Stanford University Press, 2020.

 

For attending students (reading in Italian)

- Contents of the lessons

- Two books:

Franzinetti, Guido. I Balcani: 1878-2001. Carocci, 2001.

Wachtel, Andrew Baruch. Storia dei Balcani. Controluce Nardo. 2016.

- Optional (choose 1 book):

Bianchini, Stefano. La questione jugoslava. Giunti Editore, 1999.

Ivetic, Egidio. Storia dell’Adriatico. Il Mulino. 2019.

Mazower, Mark. Le ombre dell'Europa. Garzanti, 2013.

Todorova, Marija. Immaginando i Balcani. Argo, 2002.

- To understand methodology:

Mustè, Marcello. La storia: teoria e metodi. Carocci. 2006.

- Other books:

Castellan, Georges. Storia dei Balcani (XIV-XX secolo). Argo, 1996.

Ivetic, Egidio. Le guerre balcaniche. Il Mulino. 2006.

Mazower, Mark. Salonicco, città di fantasmi. Cristiani, musulmani ed ebrei tra il 1430 ed il 1950. Garzanti, 2007.

Petrungaro, Stefano: Balcani. Una storia di violenza? Carocci editore, 2012.

Schmitt, Oliver Jens. Gli Albanesi. Il Mulino. 2020.

Other indications will be provided at the beginning of the course.

 

Non-attending students

- Two books:

Franzinetti, Guido. I Balcani: 1878-2001. Carocci, 2001.

Wachtel, Andrew Baruch. Storia dei Balcani. Controluce Nardo. 2016.

- Optional (choose 2 books):

Bianchini, Stefano. La questione jugoslava. Giunti Editore, 1999.

Ivetic, Egidio. Storia dell’Adriatico. Il Mulino. 2019.

Mazower, Mark. Le ombre dell'Europa. Garzanti, 2013.

Todorova, Marija. Immaginando i Balcani. Argo, 2002.

- To understand methodology:

Mustè, Marcello. La storia: teoria e metodi. Carocci. 2006.

- Other books:

Castellan, Georges. Storia dei Balcani (XIV-XX secolo). Argo, 1996.

Ivetic, Egidio. Le guerre balcaniche. Il Mulino. 2006.

Mazower, Mark. Salonicco, città di fantasmi. Cristiani, musulmani ed ebrei tra il 1430 ed il 1950. Garzanti, 2007.

Petrungaro, Stefano: Balcani. Una storia di violenza? Carocci editore, 2012.

Schmitt, Oliver Jens. Gli Albanesi. Il Mulino. 2020.

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons and seminar activities will be carried out in hybrid mode (10 in-classroom lessons and 5 online lessons).The structure of the course will be organized so that alongside 4 hours of face-to-face classical teaching, there will be 2 hours dedicated to innovative teaching around the analysis of images, visual and multimedia sources, and the discussion of primary sources and multimedia files related to the topic of the course discussed during that week. At the end of the 5 lessons dedicated to didactic innovation, students will be able to deal with the analysis of primary, visual and multimedia sources in a competent way, and will be able to contextualize these documents in the context of the historical events discussed during the lessons in-presence of that week. The use of technology will help to approach the program of the Balkan History course in an innovative and shared way, allowing it to be made current and engaging for students.

Assessment methods

For attending students, the exam consists of a written test covering the contents of the lessons and the two compulsory texts required by the program (and one book of your choice). The first part of the written test includes 20 multiple choice questions to assess basic historical knowledge. The second part of the written test asks for long answers to 2 questions (to be chosen from the 4 + 5 questions offered), and intends to evaluate the students' critical and arguing skills. The averaged grade of the two parts of the written exam will correspond to 80% of the final grade. The participation of the student during the five lessons dedicated to teaching with the hybrid model (online) will also be taken into account in the final evaluation. Specifically, the achievement of the learning objectives of the 5 lessons will be estimated through the evaluation of a presentation made by each student of a relevant multimedia source, previously agreed with the teacher. The evaluation of each presentation, together with the possible participation of the student in class discussions, will correspond to 20% of the final grade.

For non-attending students, the exam consists of a written test covering the two texts required by the program (and two books of your choice). The first part of the written test includes 20 multiple choice questions to assess basic historical knowledge. The second part of the written test asks for long answers to 3 questions (to be chosen from the questions offered), and intends to evaluate the students' critical and arguing skills. The final grade will be calculated on the basis of the marks of the two parts of the written exam.

Teaching tools

Power Points accompanying the lessons; materials available on the Internet: documents, films, music, literature. The planned methodology involves the use of multimedia / digital tools - of the platform Virtuale for sharing documents, audio or video files, but also other documents such as primary sources, maps, visual arts etc. The 5 lessons of didactic innovation will be held on Teams, using the already existing technological solutions, especially the audiovisual and multimedia solutions, which will allow the teaching dedicated to the analysis based on multimedia sources and the discussion of their historical significance. The shared space of the Virtuale will also be used to archive the documents to be analyzed and to ensure the effectiveness of the preparation of presentations.

Office hours

See the website of Sanja Kajinic