MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY HISTORY

Degree course: 
Academic year when starting the degree: 
2021/2022
Year: 
1
Academic year in which the course will be held: 
2021/2022
Course type: 
Supplementary compulsory subjects
Seat of the course: 
Como - Università degli Studi dell'Insubria
Language: 
Italian
Credits: 
6
Period: 
Second semester
Standard lectures hours: 
36
Detail of lecture’s hours: 
Lesson (36 hours)
Requirements: 

None

Final Examination: 
Orale

The final exam will be written and will last 75 minutes. It will consist of two parts: the first part (length: 30 minutes) will be a multiple-choice exam consisting of 30 questions (three answers for each question, only one correct; correct answer = 1 point, no answer = 0 point, incorrect answer = -0,2); the second part (lenght: 45 minutes) will be an open-question exam consisting of two open questions concerning some main themes of modern European history covered during the course. In this part will be evaluated: the capacity to organize knowledge in a coherent way; the ability to make connections between historical periods, events and turning points; the capacity to compare the historical, political, cultural and religious factors that contributed to the European diversities; the argumentative ability; the use of an appropriate language.
The exam is passed with a score of 18/30 minimum in both sections.
The final grade is derived from the average of the two scores.

Assessment: 
Voto Finale

The course is aimed at introducing students to the main events of the European History from the 15th to the end of the 18th century, and at providing them with methodological instruments which are necessary for a critical analysis of Europe’s political, cultural and economic development in this age.

The course addresses issues of historical methodology, such as sources, periodization, historical interpretation, and it investigates the core themes of modern European history. These include: Europe in the 15th and 16th century; the age of geographical discoveries and early colonialism; Humanism and the Renaissance; the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation; the expansion of the Ottoman Empire and its conflict with the European states; the “crisis” of the 17th century and The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648); the Scientific Revolution; Great Britain in 17th century; the age of Louis XIV; the Battle of Vienna (1683); European balances between the 17th and the 18th century; economy and society in 18th century; the Enlightenment; the Enlightened Despotism and the Age of reforms; the Industrial Revolution; the American Revolution.

R. Ago, V. Vidotto, Storia moderna, Editori Laterza, Roma-Bari, 2021 (chs.1-18).
R. Bizzocchi, Guida allo studio della storia moderna, Laterza,Roma, 2015, chaps. 1-3.
Additional readings will be uploaded in the course webpage.
A historical atlas is strongly recommended (for exalmple Atlante storico. Cronologia della storia universale, Milano, Garzanti, 2003 or following eds.; Il nuovo Atlante storico, diretto da P. Vidal-Naquet, Bologna, Zanichelli, 2004 or following eds.).

Convenzionale

The course consists of 36 hours of lecture delivered with the aid of PowerPoint slides. Occasionally, movies and documentaries will also be played.