History of European relations

Course objectives

The main aim of the course is to provide students with adequate knowledge of the historical process that led to the establishment of international and European institutions. A longue durée approach will be adopted to analyze the cultural categories and concepts that mostly influenced the birth and shaping of contemporary international society. In particular, the course will focus on the turn from the old multinational empires to the following development of national states and the definition of a new international context, based on the institutionalization of cooperation through organizations such as the League of Nations, the United Nations and the European Union. Special attention will be devoted to some specific humanitarian aspects (minority rights, refugees, human rights, international law). The students will be driven through a program aimed to encourage personal contributions and a specific work on documentary sources, which will be illustrated (even through the consultation of digital archives) and used by the students themselves for their personal research. Students will thus be asked to prove their knowledge of the issues analyzed during the course and to show a sufficient level of maturity to reflect and elaborate on these concepts.

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GIUSEPPE MOTTA Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
Key points of the program: Modern Times (Reformation, Modern State, Economic development) multinational empires (Holy Roman E, Tsarist, Ottoman, Habsburg...) Enlightement and revolutions Restoration and the idea of nation Nation-State and transformation of international and european politics first and second world war nationalism International cooperation and European intergration Humanitarianism (minorities, refugees, human rights)
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of the most important historical events in various times and of European and world geography
Books
Students who are attending the classes have to study the material given them and prepare and expose a research project that whill be developed throughout the course. Students who are not attending classes have to study: G.Motta, La comunità internazionale e i rifugiati ebraici fra le due guerre mondiali, Rubbettino 2022 E.Hobsbawm, Nazioni e nazionalismi dal 1780. Programma. Mito, Realtà. Einaudi
Frequency
attendance is not mandatory but suggested to all those who are interested in the topics of the course and wish to deepen knowledge on particular issues they will develop through a personal research. It is required ca the presence to 75% of the classes
Exam mode
The judgement will be established after a verbal examination concerning the program of the course and the results of the project developed by the student. The evaluation will take in consideration both language fluency and abilities of summarizing and analyzing events in their complexity
Lesson mode
The course is going to be structured into two different phase. The first will focus attention on the main dynamics of change between modern and contemporary times. In particular, it will consists in: -General introduction concerning the main historical passages between the Seventeenth and the Twentieth Centuries. -The impact of the idea nation and the creation of Nation-States. -The development of international society and institutions after the First World War. During the second part of the course, students will be required to prove their critical capacities in research and analysis, as the study will be integrated by the consulting of documentary sources through the digital archives of some international institutions (e.g. League of Nations, European Union). From this viewpoint, students will be asked to manage archival sources and give them a historical interpretation in combination with the program done during the course.
GIUSEPPE MOTTA Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
Key points of the program: Modern Times (Reformation, Modern State, Economic development) multinational empires (Holy Roman E, Tsarist, Ottoman, Habsburg...) Enlightement and revolutions Restoration and the idea of nation Nation-State and transformation of international and european politics first and second world war nationalism International cooperation and European intergration Humanitarianism (minorities, refugees, human rights)
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of the most important historical events in various times and of European and world geography
Books
Students who are attending the classes have to study the material given them and prepare and expose a research project that whill be developed throughout the course. Students who are not attending classes have to study: G.Motta, La comunità internazionale e i rifugiati ebraici fra le due guerre mondiali, Rubbettino 2022 E.Hobsbawm, Nazioni e nazionalismi dal 1780. Programma. Mito, Realtà. Einaudi
Frequency
attendance is not mandatory but suggested to all those who are interested in the topics of the course and wish to deepen knowledge on particular issues they will develop through a personal research. It is required ca the presence to 75% of the classes
Exam mode
The judgement will be established after a verbal examination concerning the program of the course and the results of the project developed by the student. The evaluation will take in consideration both language fluency and abilities of summarizing and analyzing events in their complexity
Lesson mode
The course is going to be structured into two different phase. The first will focus attention on the main dynamics of change between modern and contemporary times. In particular, it will consists in: -General introduction concerning the main historical passages between the Seventeenth and the Twentieth Centuries. -The impact of the idea nation and the creation of Nation-States. -The development of international society and institutions after the First World War. During the second part of the course, students will be required to prove their critical capacities in research and analysis, as the study will be integrated by the consulting of documentary sources through the digital archives of some international institutions (e.g. League of Nations, European Union). From this viewpoint, students will be asked to manage archival sources and give them a historical interpretation in combination with the program done during the course.
  • Lesson code10611927
  • Academic year2025/2026
  • CourseArchive and Library Theory and Management
  • CurriculumSingle curriculum
  • Year2nd year
  • Semester1st semester
  • SSDSPS/06
  • CFU6