13723 - History of Contemporary Europe (1)

Course contents

Course title:

 

The original characters of European  history and the problems of contemporary world

 

 

Course content :

 

After the trauma of the Second World War, it was necessary in several European countries to reconstruct democracy profoundly and reconsider it. In the following decades, the renewal was above all the result of the call for greater civil, political and social rights on the part of the working classes, women and other collective movements. The conflicts were often fierce and the outcomes incomplete, but that steadfast social and political dynamic ended up by favouring the forms and organisation of  society in many countries of the old continent.

It is principally from this point of view that one talks of original characters of European history, in order to distinguish it from that of the United States, Japan and emerging countries.

In the last twenty years, these original characters seem to have lost much of their importance, and their important aspects, such as workers' rights or welfare systems, have been openly questioned.

It may be useful to reconstruct the reasons and stages of this experience from an historical  viewpoint, and wonder whether it does not contain vital elements that are to be reconsidered and hence developed for the future.

 

 

Time and Place of Lessons

 

Lessons will begin on 2nd February 2009, and will be held on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,  from 11 to one, in Aula A, via Zamboni, 34 .

Readings/Bibliography

The following list comprises an initial, essential bibliography. It helps the students to choose the 2 or 4 texts useful in the preparation of the exam (see Assessment Methods). At the start of the course the list will be discussed and integrated on the basis of any other eventual choices, bearing in mind students' interests.

 

R. B. Reich, L'economia delle nazioni. Lavoro, impresa e politica nei paesi del capitalismo globalizzato, Il Sole 24 ORE, Milano, 2003;

S.N. Eisenstadt, Civiltà comparate. Le radici storiche della modernizzazione, Liguori, Napoli, 1990;

C. Crouch, W. Streek (eds.), Political Economy of  Modern Capitalism, Sage, London, 1997;

C. Crouch, Sociologia dell'Europa occidentale, il Mulino, Bologna, 2001;

J. Habermas, La costellazione postnazionale, Feltrinelli, Milano, 1999;

E. Balibar, Noi cittadini d'Europa? Le frontiere, lo stato, il popolo, Manifestolibri, Roma, 2004;

U. Beck, E. Grande, L'Europa cosmopolita, Carocci, Roma, 2006;

Z. Bauman, L'Europa è un'avventura, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2006;

I. Masulli, Welfare State e patto sociale in Europa. Gran Bretagna, Germania, Francia, Italia, 1945  – 1985, CLUEB, Bologna, 2003;

P. Taylor – Gooby, Welfare States under Pressure, Sage, London, 2002;

C. Daniel, B. Parlier (dir.), La protection sociale en Europe, La Documentation Fraçaise, Paris, 2001;

M. Bellet, Derive e destino dell'Europa, L'altra pagina, Città di Castello, 1999;

B. Amoroso (cur.), Ripensare l'Europa, ripensare il Mediterraneo, Università di Roskilde, 1995;

E. Rigo, Europa di confine. Trasformazioni della cittadinanza nell'Unione allargata,  Meltemi, Roma, 2007;

G. Vacca, J.L. Rhi-Sausi, I dilemmi dell'integrazione. Il futuro del modello sociale europeo, il Mulino, Bologna, 2006;

E. Morin, Culture e barbarie europee, Cortina, Milano, 2006;

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Critica della ragione postcoloniale, Meltemi, Roma, 2004;

W. Hutton, Europa vs. USA, Fazi Editore, Roma, 2003

G. Esping-Andersen (ed.), Welfare States in Transition, Sage, London, 1996;

A. Maddison, The World Economy: a Millenial Perspective, OECD, Paris, 2001;

A Ruberti (a cura di), Europa a confronto: Innovazione, tecnologia e società, Laterza, Roma-Bari, 1990;

K. Pomeranz, La grande divergenza: la Cina, l'Europa e la nascita dell'economia mondiale moderna, il Mulino, Bologna, 2004;

E. Parise, Democrazia, Europa, cosmopolitismo, Liguori, Napoli, 2008.

Teaching methods

The didactic approach, which will be discussed with students at the start of the course, foresees a first introductory part, during which the teacher will set out the main aspects of the topic proposed. This will be followed by a census concerning students' needs for clarification and/or deeper knowledge of the subject and also concerning the themes each of them found most interesting. On the basis of this, it will be possible to organise the second part of the course, with suggestions for an individual bibliography and the active participation of students in the discussion. The second part, therefore, foresees lessons that will leave ample room for students' comments and discussions. For those of them who so desire, this activity may give rise to a seminar, which will be complementary to the course and fully optional.

Assessment methods

For those students attending lessons the exam will consist in an oral presentation about one of the topics chosen by individuals or by any small groups that may have been constituted. In the case of participation in the seminar, the presentation will summarise the contribution made to it (see the indications given in the point above).

Students who do not attend classes can prepare the exam by studying two of the texts indicated in the reading list, in the case of a 6 credit course; if their course is a 12 credit one, they will have to study four of them.

Teaching tools

The computer will be mainly used to prepare the teaching materials that the teacher and the students consider useful, but may also serve to carry out a wider, more personal search for bibliography.

Links to further information

http://www.dds.unibo.it

Office hours

See the website of Ignazio Masulli