U.S.: INTELLECTUAL HISTORY
- Academic year
- 2018/2019 Syllabus of previous years
- Official course title
- U.S.: INTELLECTUAL HISTORY
- Course code
- LMJ210 (AF:254487 AR:157184)
- Modality
- On campus classes
- ECTS credits
- 6
- Degree level
- Master's Degree Programme (DM270)
- Educational sector code
- SPS/05
- Period
- 1st Semester
- Course year
- 2
- Moodle
- Go to Moodle page
Contribution of the course to the overall degree programme goals
Expected learning outcomes
Besides the emphasis on the specific subject, the course will provide critical insight into the making of historiographical research. In particular, through the readings, the lectures, and the class discussions, the students will acquire:
a) a good capacity to treat various kinds of primary and secondary sources;
b) the basic methodological tools for the elaboration of autonomous research work in the field of intellectual history;
c) a good degree of knowledge of the lexicon of the intellectual history of US foreign policy, finalized at the communication of historical and political contents also beyond the scope of the course itself.
Pre-requirements
Arnaldo Testi, Il secolo degli Stati Uniti, Il Mulino, 2006 (or later editions)
Mario Del Pero, Libertà e impero, Laterza, 2008 (or later editions)
Eric Foner, Give Me Liberty! An American History, vol 2, Norton, 2004 (or later editions)
Contents
Referral texts
B. Kuklick, "Blind Oracles", Princeton, 2006 (Chapp. 1, 2, 7, and 10)
M. Cox and D. Stokes (eds.), "US Foreign Policy", Oxford, 2012 (Chapp. 4, 5 and 21)
J.F. Drolet and J. Dunkerley (eds.), "American Foreign Policy", Manchester, 2017 (Chapp. 5 and 7)
K. Young, "Revisiting NSC 68", Journal of Cold War Studies, vol. 15, n. 1, 2013, pp. 1-33
T. Borstelmann, "The Cold War and the Color Line", Cambridge MA, 2001 (Chap. 2)
L. Ribuffo, "What is still living...", Diplomatic History, vol. 25, n. 2, 2001, pp. 309-316
G. Marcus and W. Sollors (eds.), "A new literary history of America", 2009, pp. 895-899 and 904-908
M. Del Pero, "The eccentric realist", Ithaca, 2011 (chap. 3)
H-Diplo Roundtable, "Joan Hoff", Vol. IX, n. 23, 2008,, pp. 1-25
Joan Hoff, A Faustian foreign policy, Cambridge, 2008, (Epilogue)
X [G. Kennan], “The sources of Soviet conduct”, Foreign Affairs, 1947 (excerpts)
US Government, "NSC-68", 1950 (excerpts)
Arthur Miller, “The crucible”, 1953 (excerpts)
W.E.B. Du Bois, "An Appeal to the world", 1947
US State Department, "Foreign Relations of the United States 1961-63", vol. VIII, doc. 62
J. Kennedy "Inaugural speech", 1961
W.A. Williams, "The tragedy of American Diplomacy", 1972 (Introduction)
J. Heller, "Catch 22", 1961 (Chap. 5)
B. Dylan, "With god on our side", 1964
US State Department, "Foreign Relations of the United States 1969-74", vol. I, doc. 3
Ronald Reagan, “Evil empire speech”, 1983
Project for a New American Century, "Statement of Principles", 1997
Students who do not attend the class regularly can add the following readings (all available at Ca' Foscari's libraries):
J.F. Drolet and J. Dunkerley (eds.), "American Foreign Policy", Manchester, 2017 (Introduction and chap. 4)
B. Kuklick, "Blind oracles", Princeton, 2006 (Chapp. 3 and 4)
Perry Anderson, "American Foreign Policy and Its Thinkers", London, 2014 (Chapp. 3, 4, 5 and 10)
Assessment methods
The written exam is a short essay on a question provided by the teacher, asking students to use various parts of the program in the construction of their answers. The written exam is "open notes, open books", that is students may consult their study material and refer to it (provided that they cite it appropriately). It has a duration of three hours. It aims at verifying the preparation of the students on the topics of the course (facts, dates, names, definitions, concepts), their capacity to organize and communicate their knowledge (completeness, synthesis, consistency, clarity, precision) and their ability to link, where pertinent, different themes among those raised by the analysis of the intellectual history of US foreign policy-thinking in the US. In the written exam the students will have to display their:
a) ability in rendering a coherent picture concerning the evolution of US foreign-policy thinking during the 20th century;
b) ability in linking the changing interpretations of US foreign policy in the years 1945-63 with the changing intellectual and political contexts in the US;
c) ability to make use of the different types of sources available to the historian for the development of an original interpretation of historical facts;
d) ability to make use of the historical categories adopted in the readings and in class;
e) ability to discuss critically the different interpretations of specific events and processes as they result from the program readings;
f) ability to develop their own reflections on the topics of the course.
The oral exam has an average duration of 20 minutes and aims at discussing any critical point emerging from the written exam. If needed, the oral exam can also be the occasion to verify the student's knowledge of the basic facts and concepts of US history.
Please note #1: the inability to locate the specific events discussed in the course in the broader context of US 20th century history (as from the Requirements section above) constitutes a reason for not passing the exam.
Please note #2: Around the 10th week of the course, during the regular class time the teaching activity foresees a non-mandatory written test of the duration of 90 minutes, open to all students, in order to enable students to familiarize with the type of work that will be demanded at the final written exam (same kind of question, same rules). The date of the test will be communicated in advance on the teacher's announcements page. The test will receive a score between 0 and 3 and the score will be added, in case, to the grade obtained in the final exam.
Teaching methods
Teaching language
Further information
2) Ca’ Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). If you have a disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it.
Type of exam
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals
This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "International cooperation" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development