The aim of the course in Contemporary History is to provide students with basic and essential knowledge of the main events that have shaped the contemporary world and to enable students to judge critically the social, political and economic development of the present-day world. The course will address some crucial historical nodes, the characters and historical interpretations of which will be examined in detail.
No particular pre-requisites needed. The course of Contemporary History will be held in the first semester.
Classes will take the form of lectures, during which audiovisual materials will be regularly presented (documentaries, movies, television debates) dealing with events of historical interest and focusing on the themes presented in the course. The open discussion of those audiovisual materials will be promoted.
The examination generally consists of a two hours written test. Students who wish to take an oral test as an alternative to the written one are required to contact the lecturer via email one week before the date of the exam.
The written test will include five open-ended questions, where clarity, synthesis, and the relevance of the answers will be particularly appreciated. All students are invited to read the entire questions carefully before answering. It will be very important, also, to write clearly, as poor spelling and syntax hinder comprehension, which may lead to a negative assessment. The final aim is to assess basic knowledge of contemporary history. The results will be published on the course website following standard procedures.
The course focuses on general topics relating to the World history of the last two centuries. Much attention will be dedicated to the study of United States's history, of their role in the contemporary world, especially from the perspective of social history and political history. Euro-American relations will be observed by paying close attention to migration dynamics and their consequences.
Office hours on Monday, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 309, Piazza Rosate 2.
The reference books for the examination, the knowledge of which is fundamental for passing it, are three: two mandatory books for all students and one book chosen from the list indicated by the lecturer.
The two mandatory books are:
- Francesco Barbagallo, “Storia contemporanea. Dal 1815 a oggi”, Carocci, Roma, 2016, solo i capitoli da 6 a 24.
- Oliviero Bergamini, "Storia degli Stati Uniti", Laterza, Roma Bari, 2023, pp. 300.
The third book must be chosen from this list:
- Ferdinando Fasce, "I presidenti USA: due secoli di storia", Carocci, Roma, 2010, pp. 259.
- Mario Del Pero, "Era Obama: dalla speranza del cambiamento all'elezione di Trump", Feltrinelli, Milano, 2017, pp. 218.
- AA.VV, "Verso l'america: l'emigrazione italiana e gli Stati Uniti", Donzelli, Roma, 2005, pp. 318.
