EUROPEAN POLITICAL HISTORY

European Political History contributes to the overall MA course goals as a "characterising" second-year course for the European Union Studies curriculum. As such, it expects students to have attended, in the first year, History of International relations and History of European constitution, as well as to possess a basic knowledge of Contemporary History (6 CFU) acquired in their BA course. Building on the above-mentioned basis, it approaches political history in terms of the history of political cultures and ideas; its subject matter is the genealogical investigation of some of the emerging political constellations in 21st-century Europe, such as the new nationalisms, the diverse populisms, as well as neoliberalism and its crisis. In this perspective, key political concepts will be understood in their historical context; their antecedents will be traced in history and their legacy traced across the decades; at the end of the course, students are expected to have fine-tuned their critical awareness of the historical roots, spanning the last two centuries, of some of today's major political issues.

At the end of the course the following learning outcomes are expected by students:
The ability to critically read a source analysed in class, and to connect it to the historical and cultural context;
The ability to understand the relationship between historical, political and cultural phenomena, and to operate a form of critical conceptualization;
The ability to critically locate in time and space the historical roots of the issues dealt with in class;
The critical knowledge of major historiographic interpretations of phenomena and the ability to compare them with reference to their context
As for practical and communicative skills, students are expected to have developed:
The ability to interact actively and profitably with the lessons and especially with the comments and analysis of texts;
The ability to present the topics effectively, in a personalized and appropriate way, during the oral exam.
The selection of topics of particular interest is encouraged, in order to be further researched for the final dissertation.

It is a pre-requisite for the course to have an adequate knowledge of the general features of European history of the last two centuries, as required for admission to RIC MA programme, which includes having passed an exam worth 6 credits in Contemporary History. It is also preferable to have attended History of International Relations and History of European Constitutionalism in the first year, and in general to harbour a particular interest in the historical temporal dimension of political issues.

The course provides a genealogical investigation of some of the emerging political constellations in 21st-century Europe, such as the new nationalisms, the various forms of populism, and neoliberalism and its crisis. The disciplinary approach is recognised in the history of contemporary political cultures. The topics of democracy and anti-democracy will be touched upon, from the French Revolution to the mid-20th century; organicism, imperialism, anti-Semitism, racism; nationalism, war and fascism; Catholic social thought, socialism and social democracy; individualism, inequality, neoliberal thought; neo-fascism and the radical right.

Referral texts (please note that they maybe subject to change)
- Zeev Sternhell, Introduction to The Anti-Enlightenment Tradition, Yale University Press, 2020;
- Martin Conway, Western Europe's Democratic Age, Princeton University Press, 2020
- J.W. Mueller, Contesting Democracy. Political Ideas in Twentieth Century Europe, Yale University Press, 2013.
All the articles, book chapters, and sources referred to during classes will be uploaded on Moodle and made available during the semester. Their use for the exam will be illustrated in class at the beginning of the course
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The exam consists of a 25-30 minute oral interview with three questions, to demonstrate the achievement of the learning objectives indicated in the previous sections. In particular, the first question tests the candidate's knowledge of a well-defined topic, their ability to place it in its historical context and to express themselves clearly and effectively; the second question tests the candidate's knowledge of advanced historical concepts, their ability to make connections between them and their ability to conceptualise. The third question tests the ability to analyse and comment on historiographical sources and documents. Instead of the third question, it is possible to choose to give a 10-15 minute oral presentation on a topic covered in class, based on texts agreed with the teacher at a meeting. The presentation, which is not compulsory, will take place at the end of the course and will count for about half of the final grade.

oral

Marking scheme:
30/30: excellent knowledge of the topics covered in class and in the manuals; excellent use of language and terminology.
28-30: excellent knowledge of the topics covered in class and in the manuals; good ability to prioritise information; confident use of appropriate terminology;
25-27: adequate knowledge of the topics covered in class and, to a lesser extent, in the manuals; fair ability to organise information and present it orally; familiarity with the appropriate terminology;
22-24: knowledge of the topics covered in class and in the manuals is not always in-depth or superficial; oral presentation is not always organised or sometimes unclear; use of appropriate terminology is not always correct or lacking;
18-21: incomplete knowledge of the topics covered in class and in the manuals; confused oral presentation; little or no use of appropriate terminology.
<18: very incomplete or absent knowledge of the topics covered in class and in the manuals; very confused oral presentation; no use of appropriate terminology. Exam failed.

The course consists of academic lectures combined with seminar-style lessons, to the extent that the number of students attending allows. All the sources and documents examined during classes will be uploaded to Moodle. Due to the importance attributed to text analysis, as well as the genealogical and non-linear configuration of the didactic path, attendance is strongly recommended.
Please consider that this is a "slides-free" course: that is, slides that summarise the main concepts dealt with in class will not be provided. One reason is that the skill of taking lecture notes is a highly specialised but underrated one, and MA students are thus encouraged to practise it. The other and consequent reason is that students are expected, rather than to rely on pre-assembled outlines, to formulate their own critical contribution, both by commenting on texts and sources during classes, and in preparing for exams.

At the beginning of the course, further information will be given on the lectures' content, materials, and methods. Students who do not plan to attend classes are kindly requested to contact the lecturer by email. At the end of the course, students interested in one of the topics addressed in class are welcome to ask for an appointment to agree upon a subject suitable for the MA thesis