MODERN HISTORY OF THE AMERICAS

Università degli Studi
"G. d'Annunzio"

Chieti - Pescara

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Single discipline educational activity

Course Sheet

Course code:

MM5007

Academic Year of enrolment:

2019

Year of supply:

2019/2020

Type of Course:

Characterising

Degree:

Course of 2nd Cycle Degree in PHILOLOGY, LINGUISTICS AND LITERARY TRADITIONS

Disciplinary Sector:

MODERN HISTORY

Language:

Italian

Location:

CHIETI

Credits:

Programme Year:

Professor and Collaborators:

PIZZORUSSO Giovanni

Cycle:

Second semester

Hours of classroom activity:

Individual study hours:

108

Prerequisites:

We assume the knowledge of the main lines of the general history of the modern age based on the manual indicated for the corresponding examination of the Laurea triennale course.

Objectives

In the context of the educational objectives of the Master course in Philology, Linguistics and Languages of the Performing Arts, the course of the History of the Americas in the Modern Age aims to contribute to the various aspects of
knowledge and understanding:
to develop an in-depth knowledge of developments in the history of the Americas from the colonial period to the independent states, contextualizing these events in the general understanding of European and global history; to establish connections between political-constitutional, economic, social and cultural history; to examine the various historiographical interpretations on the subject (the age of revolutions; Atlantic history); to activate the use of different sources (biographies, normative texts, correspondence)
ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
develop the application of knowledge in a comprehensive way, with the critical analysis of events contextualizing them in the context of complex and multidisciplinary issues and giving them an organization accomplished through individual work on texts also in a foreign language (English, Spanish) to be discussed in seminars in the classroom
autonomy of judgment:
to encourage a critical and autonomous analytical approach to the sources and texts of American historiography, with a comparative look at modern history in general
communication skills:
develop ownership of a specific language for oral and written communication of the knowledge and skills acquired
learning ability: preparation for the achievement of the ability to develop autonomously a method of study and historiographic analysis at the height of higher education paths (PhDs) and access to training paths for teaching in school

Contents

Title: THE AMERICAS BETWEEN THE 18th AND 19th CENTURIES: THE AGE OF REVOLUTIONS AND THE NEW INDIPENDENT STATES (6 CFU)

From the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution to the birth of the independent states in Latin America, up to the Civil War in the United States, a century (1765-1865) of great changes characterizes the history of the two Americas. The introduction of constitutional forms of state is accompanied by the permanence of the plantation society and slavery. The relationship with Europe is established in ways that historiography has variously interpreted, from the Atlantic dimension of trade to the relations between the revolutions in the Americas and the French Revolution. The course will deal with this complex and contradictory phase of American history and its European reflections, also providing the sixteenth and seventeenth-century premises of the history of the New World.

Extended Syllabus

The following topics will be covered in the course:
The birth and development of the Spanish Empire (imperial institutions; exploitation of Indian forced work and demographic collapse of the Indians; role of the Catholic Church; extraction of precious metals). The formation of the British colonies (population of North America and the Caribbean, colonial institutions; plantation society and African slave trade; division of the English colonies of North America into three sections with specific characters). The formation of an Atlantic world, commercial networks; the role of Portuguese Brazil and French Canada; America as the scene of wars between European powers; Creole society; immigration from Europe; the Seven Years' War. The American Revolution, Independence, the Constitution, the Formation of the Union. The Haitian revolution and its racial implications. The Iberian revolutions and the crisis of the Spanish empire and the consequent social transformations in America. The historiographic interpretations of the revolutions. The abolitionism in the various countries; the prohibition of the slave trade and its consequences, slavery in the southern United States, the role of the frontier and expansion to the West; the Civil War.

Recommended Bibliography

The examination consists of the preparation of three texts:

Two are compulsory:
Tiziano Bonazzi, La rivoluzione americana, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2018 (NB: the volume is recent, is part of the Universale Paperback Il Mulino series, and should NOT be confused with the collection of essays (with the same title) edited by the same author in 1987, which is present in the Paratore Library)
Federica Morelli, L’indipendenza dell’America spagnola. Dalla crisi della monarchia alle nuove repubbliche, Firenze, Le Monnier-Mondadori education, 2015

The third is a choice among the following:
Marcello Carmagnani, Le connessioni mondiali e l’Atlantico 1450-1850, Torino, Einaudi, 2018
Tiziano Bonazzi, Abraham Lincoln. Un dramma americano, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2016
Marcus Rediker- Peter Linebaugh, I ribelli dell’Atlantico. La storia perduta di un’utopia libertaria, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2018
Herbert S. Klein, Il commercio atlantico degli schiavi, Roma, Carocci, 2014 (in Paratore Library)
Marcus Rediker, La ribellione dell’Amistad: un’odissea atlantica di schiavitù e libertà, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2013 (in Paratore Library)
John H. Elliott, Imperi dell’Atlantico. America spagnola e America britannica, 1492-1830, Torino, Einaudi, 2017: only chapters 5 to 12 included (in Paratore Library)
Other texts and materials may be indicated during the course of the lessons.

Methods of Provision

Conventional

Teaching Methods

Frontal and seminar lectures; possible seminars with experts

Evaluation methods

Verification of learning:

The final assessment consists of an oral exam on the entire syllabus. The aim is to assess students’ skills and in particular, an understanding of the issues discussed during the course, an appropriate knowledge of the bibliography in the course programme, a correct command of the specific language as well as critical and methodological abilities will be evaluated. The grading scale goes from 1 to 30 with honours (cum laude): 1-17 fail, 18-21 sufficient, 22-24 fair, 25-27 good, 28-29 very good, 30-30 with honours (cum laude) excellent.

Contacts/More Information

The course takes place in the second semester.
The program is the same for non-attendant students. In case of any problem with the texts, it is possible to contact the professor during the reception time or by mail (giovanni.pizzorusso@unich.it).
The actual students can replace the book of their choice with a presentation during the course of a written essay, agreed with the teacher on a subject or a text.

Università degli Studi
"G. d'Annunzio"

Chieti - Pescara

Aree

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