History of Contemporary World

The course aims to offer the intellectual elements of the history of the modern world and the guidelines and historiographical language related to the period under review. The course also aims to provide lexical and conceptual tools suitable for historical communication.

The course aims to introduce participants to the historical reflection on the modern world, through the deepening of three themes corresponding to the three teaching units: 1) Total wars in the twentieth century; 2) The modern world from the end of the Cold War to the present day; 3) Italy from 1992 to the present day: the history of the "second republic". Students will be opened to the use of published and unpublished sources and the printed and online bibliographic tools essential for the study of the period. Through the analysis of concrete examples, students will be introduced to different historical survey methods. At the end of the course students will be able to critically read primary sources and scientific texts relating to the historical period under consideration and develop independent reflections on the main historical and historiographical issues related to the Mediterranean in the early-modern era. These skills will be acquired through a direct and continuous meeting with the instructor in the classroom. Students opting not to attend the lessons will be able to make use of the educational tools provided by the instructor on Ariel, deepen their knowledge of main topics through special readings with the agreement with the instructor, and of course contact the instructor either by e-mail and during office hours.