North American History and Institutions

This course aims to provide a critical understanding of political and institutional developments and key turning points in the history of North America and the United States in particular. It examines the historical factors that gave rise to rivalries and territorial disputes among the colonial empires—Spanish, French and British—that dominated the region in the modern era, up until the foundation of the United States as a democratic republic. The course examines how this process has come to define the concept of the Western world as the product of identity negotiations involving race, ethnicity, gender, social class, migratory status and religion. Ultimately, the course seeks to offer, in a historical perspective and to supplement other parts of the academic programme, the tools required to understand and critically analyse the political and geopolitical dynamics of the United States today and how these dynamics interact with the broader international system.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- critically discuss different historical and political developments in the United States using appropriate conceptual tools to describe territorial transformation across different historical periods and to compare specific historical phenomena (e.g. encounters between Western and Native American cultures, the creation of new states, the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Progressive Era, the New Deal, etc.);
- establish connections between past events, exploring both historical continuity and change in the making of the American Republic and the evolution of the Democratic and Republican parties that have shaped its future;
- apply historical knowledge acquired during the course to address contemporary issues regarding U.S. domestic politics (e.g. presidential elections held every four years) and foreign policy;
- critically analyse historical sources, distinguishing between different types (direct, indirect, primary and secondary), selecting relevant information and interpreting the author's intent and the purpose of the source.