HISTORY OF POWER IN THE CONTEMPORARY AGE

Università degli Studi
"G. d'Annunzio"

Chieti - Pescara

Single discipline educational activity

Course Sheet

Course code:

L00936

Academic Year of enrolment:

2022

Year of supply:

2022/2023

Type of Course:

Characterising

Degree:

Course of 2nd Cycle Degree in MODERN LANGUAGES FOR MANAGEMENT AND INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Disciplinary Sector:

CONTEMPORARY HISTORY

Location:

Credits:

Programme Year:

Professor and Collaborators:

FIMIANI Enzo

Cycle:

Second semester

Hours of classroom activity:

Individual study hours:

120

Prerequisites:

Although a good basic knowledge of the fundamental historical issues of the contemporary era is desirable, the course is aimed, among other things, at filling any gaps for attending students.

Objectives

The general educational objectives aim at equipping the attending students with some mental tools to:
a) understand the importance of historical knowledge
b) form a perspective that helps them think in a historical and critical way, over the long term
c) know at least some rudiments of the historian’s methods and profession
d) approach the most relevant issues of contemporary history, from the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 21st century, delving into, among other things, the links between the historical acceleration of the last two centuries or so and the current events that students find themselves living in these years.

Contents

Attending students will be equipped with the tools:
1) to understand the importance of History and historical knowledge
2) to form a mental perspective that helps them think more historically and critically, over the long term
3) to know the main methods, meanings, objectives of the historian's profession
4) to approach the most relevant issues of contemporary history, from the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 21st century, delving into, among other things, the links between the historical acceleration of the last two centuries or so and the current events that students find themselves living in these early years of the 21st century.
5) to know and understand the relations between Power and citizens in contemporary Europe from the end of the 18th century onwards, with particular reference to the plebiscitary phenomena that - of these relations - are a crucial factor, revealing many of the dynamics between democracy and anti-democracy

Extended Syllabus

The first part of the course will be devoted to helping students understand the importance of history as a vehicle not only for knowledge but also as a critical and civic tool for living the present in an informed way.

In the second part, an effort will be made to acquaint students with the tools and methods of historians' work, in order to understand what is "behind" the teaching.

The third part of the course will provide a brief but critical and interpretative overview of the most relevant issues in contemporary history, from the French Revolution at the end of the eighteenth century to the beginning of the twenty-first century, exploring, among other things, the links between the historical acceleration of the last two centuries or so and the current times that students find themselves living.

In the fourth part, the monographic section of the course will focus on one of the great historical issues of contemporary Europe: the (controversial) relationship between Power and the People, between political leaders and mass consensus, which, from the end of the 18th century to the present day, characterises political modernity and the clash/encounter between various models of democracy and anti-democratic regimes.
The historical evolution of this decisive path will be explained using a comparative method across different European realities (for example in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal). Particular reference will be made to the nature, theory and practices of the 'plebiscite', one of the main means by which Power, throughout contemporary Europe, comes into contact with its popular consensus base, i.e. with its indispensable constituent element stemming from the modern politics that started with the French Revolution of 1789 and emerged in both democratic and dictatorial (and even totalitarian) European historical experiences

Please note that non-attending students and students who are required to undertake 9 CFUs as elective courses must add the study of an additional essay
[for which see the "reference texts" section].

Recommended Bibliography

For attending students:

Enzo Fimiani, «L’unanimità più uno»: plebisciti e potere, una storia europea (secoli XVIII-XX), Florence, Le Monnier/Mondadori Education, 2017

https://www.mondadorieducation.it/catalogo/lunanimita-piu-uno-0048672/

Two types of students:
a) those not attending
b) those who take, as a course of their choice, n. 9 CFU [ECTS: European Credit Transfer System Credits] and not the 8 CFU of this course,
will have to read and study of the following essays [which will be provided by the teacher in pdf on the telematics platform]:

Enzo Fimiani, «Superare la democrazia con la stessa democrazia»: potere esecutivo, unanimismo e popolo nell’Europa tra le due guerre, in Laura Cerasi (edited by), Genealogie e geografie dell’anti-democrazia nella crisi europea degli anni Trenta. Fascismi, corporativismi, laburismi, Venice, Edizioni Ca’ Foscari, 2019, pp. 53-73

Teaching Methods

The course consists of 8 credits (equivalent to 48 hours of frontal classroom activity) and will be held in the second semester, between mid-February and mid-May 2023, with 5 hours of lessons per week over three days, from Monday to Wednesday (based on the academic calendar).

The lessons will be deliberately based on dialogue and interaction between lecturer and students.

Depending on the interests shown during the lessons, it will be agreed between the teacher and the students whether or not to use additional tools (such as the use of audiovisuals or the organisation of seminars led by historians or authoritative scholars, capable of broadening the educational horizon and cognitive stimuli).

Evaluation methods

Verification of learning:

The examination process consists of an oral exam.

The verification of learning will be based
1) for the attending students, both on the contents of the reference texts and on everything that will emerge from the frontal lessons
2) for non-attending students, on the contents of the reference texts.

The exam will aim to ascertain the level of preparation.

What is of most interest, however, is not the knowledge about the specific themes of the texts, but rather other aspects.

Among these, the development of the following skills:
(a) to think 'historically', with the critical tools to approach the more recent past and its complexities
b) to organise one’s knowledge in a comprehensive way
c) to use the enormous possibilities of the Italian language with a certain property of language.

Contacts/More Information

Class attendance is not compulsory.
The weekly reception will be used to clarify any doubts about the course.
Of course, the professor can be contacted on the institutional e-mail address: enzo.fimiani@unich.it (expecting a reply within a reasonable timeframe and not immediately)

Università degli Studi
"G. d'Annunzio"

Chieti - Pescara

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