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ITAL20240

Academic Year 2024/2025

Italian history 1815-1945 (ITAL20240)

Subject:
Italian
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
Languages, Cultures & Linguis
Level:
2 (Intermediate)
Credits:
5
Module Coordinator:
Dr Marco Bellardi
Trimester:
Autumn
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module explores how modern Italy was created and developed. It starts with Napoleon’s invasions in 1796 and the consequences for Italy of the subsequent Restoration in 1814-15. We will then explore the different phases leading to the Italian Risorgimento, the process of unification that brought together an archipelago of regional states in 1861 and created modern Italy. However flawed, the Risorgimento is often read as one of the great achievements of European History. We will then move to examine the many challenges faced by the new Liberal state after the Unification, such as the so-called Southern Question and massive migration phenomena at the turn of the century. World War One broke out in 1914 as the country was deeply divided. In 1922, Mussolini marched on Rome and took power, turning the State into a totalitarian regime for the next twenty years. The final classes focus on the collapse of Fascism, the Nazi occupation and Italian Resistance until the end of the Second World War in 1945. The module is made up of weekly lectures plus seminars and provides an overview of Italian modern history, while also introducing to ideological issues, linguistic aspects and specific case studies (e.g. the role of women during the Risorgimento).

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

Assuming you attend all or most lectures, complete assignments and engage in independent learning, at the end of this module you should be able to:
• give a succinct account of Italian history between 1796 and 1945 

• reflect on what you have learned 

• read, comprehend and assimilate a selection of short texts in Italian 

• present your knowledge in essays that display a basic understanding of critical and historical approaches. 


Indicative Module Content:

Weeks 1-3: THE RISORGIMENTO
Week 1: Introduction and reasons for the delay in the unification in Italy.
Week 2: Phases of the Risorgimento.
Week 3: Problems left unsolved by the Risorgimento.
Week 4-6. THE LIBERAL STATE
Week 4: The social question. Depretis and Crispi. Italian colonialism.
Week 5: Italy at the turn of the century. The Giolitti era.
Week 6: Mussolini the socialist. D’Annunzio. The First World War.
Week 7-11. THE FASCIST STATE
Week 7: The advent and consolidation of Fascism
Week 8: Reading week
Week 9: The totalitarian State and the Ethiopian war
Week 10: From the Racial Laws to the Second World War
Week 11: The Resistance and the end of war
Week 12: Writing about history

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

12
Specified Learning Activities

12
Autonomous Student Learning

86
Total

110

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures integrated by seminars; formative assessment to be developed in each seminar with class discussion, with a mid-term class test and a final quiz to assess the students' understanding of the main developments in Italian history. A short research essay at the end of the module, on a topic chosen by the student, completes the assessment for this module.
Note that students must not use generative AI in any assignment for any purpose.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Requirements:

A reading ability in Italian is necessary.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Quizzes/Short Exercises: 1-hour in-class test (open-ended questions) Week 9 Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No
30
 No
Quizzes/Short Exercises: 1 end-of-term online quiz Week 12 Alternative linear conversion grade scale 40% No
20
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): written essay of 2,000 words (excluding bibliography) Week 14 Graded No
50
 No

Carry forward of passed components
No
 

Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Class test results will be discussed in class in the last part of the module, without identifying individuals but focusing on important issues like common misperceptions, difficult concepts, problems with written expression. In addition, further individual feedback can always be obtained upon request.


Mandatory: 

• Christopher Duggan, The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy since 1796 (London, Penguin, 2008). 


Further reading: 

• Further preparatory readings and materials will be provided by the lecturer in advance of seminars.

Name Role
Assoc Professor Paolo Acquaviva Lecturer / Co-Lecturer

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Autumn Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Thurs 16:00 - 16:50
Autumn Lecture Offering 1 Week(s) - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 Tues 15:00 - 15:50
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