Art History

JOANNA MALGORZATA SONDEL-CEDARMAS

The Course has the following objectives:
- to investigate major issues in Contemporary history in its various political, economic, social and cultural rights;
- to provide knowledge and understanding of the methodological, critical and applicable aspects of the Discipline;
- to propose geographical areas and sectorial perspectives in which related projects are activate,
- to show the variability of fields of interest;
- to enable the student to master the specific topics in order to use them and apply them in other fields of study while using the correct specific language.
With the acquired knowledge the student will be able to develop autonomous ability of connections with other disciplines in the various historical epochs and cultural contexts.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

Identify and describe the main characteristics of twentieth-century authoritarian and totalitarian regimes.

Analyze anti-democratic systems from a comparative perspective, with particular attention to fascism, Nazism, and communist regimes.

Discuss major historiographical interpretations concerning authoritarian and totalitarian systems.

Explain the concept of memory politics and its role in contemporary European societies.

Critically examine the politics and cultures of memory in different European countries and within the broader framework of the European Union.

Present and discuss a specific topic related to an authoritarian or totalitarian regime or to memory politics, using relevant scholarly literature.

No prerequisites are required.

The aim of this class is to discuss key developments arising from the anti-democratic systems of the 20th century (both totalitarian and authoritarian) from a comparative perspective, as well as their classification and historiographical interpretations. The class will have a seminar structure. In the first part, in addition to fascism and Nazism, the various authoritarian systems that emerged in Europe in the interwar period will also be the subject of an in-depth analysis, as well as Soviet and Chinese communism and communist systems in Central and Eastern Europe after 1945. The second part of the class will be devoted to the politics and culture of memory of various European countries against the background of memory politics in the European Union. Students will be required to deliver a presentation on a topic related to the particular aspects of the selected authoritarian/totalitarian regime in Europe and memory politics related to it.

Students are required to study the following texts:
J. Chapoutot, Controllare e distruggere. Fascismo, nazismo e regimi autoritari in Europa (1918-1945), Einaudi 2015;
M. Mazower, Le ombre dell’Europa. Democrazie e totalitarismi nel XX secolo, Garzanti, Milano 1998.
Un testo a scelta tra:
F. Focardi, B. Groppo (a cura di), Politiche e culture del ricordo dopo il 1989, Viella 2013.
G.Samarani, S. Graziani, La Cina rossa. Storia del Partito comunista cinese, Laterza, Bari 2023.

The class will have a seminar structure. In the first part, in addition to fascism and Nazism, the various authoritarian systems that emerged in Europe in the interwar period will also be the subject of an in-depth analysis, as well as Soviet and Chinese communism and communist systems in Central and Eastern Europe after 1945. The second part of the class will be devoted to the politics and culture of memory of various European countries against the background of memory politics in the European Union. Students will be required to deliver a presentation on a topic related to the particular aspects of the selected authoritarian/totalitarian regime in Europe and memory politics related to it.

Example Questions

What are the main characteristics that distinguish totalitarian regimes from authoritarian regimes? Discuss with historical examples.

How did fascist and Nazi regimes differ in terms of ideology, political structures, and social control?

What were the main features of communist regimes in the Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe after 1945?

Why did authoritarian regimes emerge in several European countries during the interwar period? Discuss the political, social, and economic factors.

How have historians interpreted the nature of totalitarian regimes? Discuss some major historiographical debates.

What is meant by “memory politics”? Why is it important in contemporary European societies?

How do different European countries remember and interpret the experience of authoritarian or totalitarian regimes? Provide examples.

What role does the European Union play in shaping or promoting a common European memory of the twentieth century?

How do public monuments, museums, and commemorations contribute to the construction of historical memory?

Choose a specific authoritarian or totalitarian regime and discuss how it is remembered and debated in contemporary society.

• Totalitarian and authoritarian systems


• European fascisms


• How did Hitler come to power?


• Establishment of the totalitarian state in Germany


• The racial policy of the Third Reich


• The New European Order


• The Nuremberg trials and coming to terms with the Nazi past 


• The memory of the righteous and EU memory policies


• How Mussolini came to power


• Fascism as imperfect totalitarianism


• The memory of fascism in Italy


• The Catholic Church and the Holocaust


• Franco's Spain


• Salazar's Estado Novo


• Vichy France


• Authoritarian regimes in Central and Eastern Europe


• The October Revolution and the birth of the USSR


• Soviet Russia as a totalitarian state


• Mao Zedong and the birth of communist China


• Socialist realism