STORIA CONTEMPORANEA

1) Knowledge and Understanding: Students must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of contemporary issues and problems; they must be able to place the main political, economic, social, and cultural processes within their national and international contexts, identifying key players and dynamics; To be able to grasp the continuities and fractures that characterize global events between the 20th and 21st centuries.

2) Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: By the end of the course, students should be able to use the skills acquired to critically interpret current events and the major challenges of globalized society.

3) Independent judgment: By the end of the course, students should be able to develop critical thinking on the historical origins and evolution of major contemporary issues, as well as integration processes and conflicts on a global scale.

4) Communication skills: By the end of the course, students should possess the skills necessary to convey their knowledge and thinking on the historical events of the 20th and 21st centuries, demonstrating their ability to participate in public debate on pressing current issues.

5) Learning skills: By the end of the course, students should possess the skills and competencies needed to continue learning independently, including the ability to identify texts and sources relating to contemporary history and to develop research projects and in-depth analyses of crucial turning points in the past and present.

Federico Romero, *Storia globale dell’età contemporanea. Dal dominio occidentale all'insicurezza multipolare* [Global History of the Contemporary Era: From Western Dominance to Multipolar Insecurity], Rome, Carocci, 2025, ISBN 9788829027989, 244 pp.

Please note that, pursuant to Article 171 of Law no. 633 of April 22, 1941 (and subsequent amendments), photocopying books currently on the market in excess of 15% of the volume or journal issue constitutes a criminal offense.

For further information regarding restrictions and penalties concerning the illicit use of photocopies, please consult the *Guidelines on Copyright Management in Universities* (prepared by AIDRO—the Italian Association for the Reproduction Rights of Works of the Intellect).

Instructors undertake—within the limits of allocated financial resources—to ensure, as far as possible, that a copy of the adopted texts is available in the Departmental Library or (in the case of hard-to-find texts, articles, and essays) to make them available via the *Studium* platform, in compliance with current copyright laws.

The exam assessment will take into account the candidate's mastery of the subject matter and acquired skills, linguistic accuracy and lexical precision, as well as their ability to construct an argument.

Grading follows this scheme:

Not suitable (Fail)

Knowledge and understanding of the topic: Major deficiencies; significant inaccuracies

Analytical and synthesis skills: Negligible; frequent generalizations; inability to synthesize

Use of references: Completely inappropriate

18-20

Knowledge and understanding of the topic: Threshold level; evident imperfections

Analytical and synthesis skills: Barely sufficient skills

Use of references: Barely appropriate

21-23

Knowledge and understanding of the topic: Routine knowledge

Analytical and synthesis skills: Capable of correct analysis and synthesis; presents arguments logically and coherently

Use of references: Uses standard references

24-26

Knowledge and understanding of the topic: Good knowledge

Analytical and synthesis skills: Good analytical and synthesis skills; arguments expressed coherently

Use of references: Uses standard references

27-29

Knowledge and understanding of the topic: Very good knowledge

Analytical and synthesis skills: Strong analytical and synthesis skills

Use of references: In-depth exploration of topics

30-30L

Knowledge and understanding of the topic: Excellent knowledge

Analytical and synthesis skills: Strong analytical and synthesis skills

Use of references: Significant in-depth analysis

A workshop activity is included for students attending the course.

The Euro-American imperial order on the eve of the Great War

Asian tensions and key players

The United States as a world power in the 20th century

World War I and the implosion of Europe

European war and American neutrality

1917: a turning point

Wilsonianism and Bolshevism

The Peace of Versailles

The value and limits of post-1919 internationalism

The unfinished balance of the 1920s

The contraction of the global economy

Less globalization, more experimentation

Towards war

World War II

Cooperation and competition

Nations, rights, and empires

Origins and architecture of the Cold War

From allies to adversaries

A divided Europe

A Western and Atlantic system

Preserving or dismantling empires

Bipolar antagonism and non-alignment

Revolution in China and war in Korea

Bipolarity and globality

Liberation, global containment, and détente

The Third World and its conflicts

The Vietnam War

From economic boom to crisis

Détente in a post-imperial Europe

From collective liberation to individual freedom

The end of the Cold War

The decline of communism

Gorbachev: from antagonism to interdependence

German reunification and the collapse of the USSR

The expansion of the EU and NATO

Global capitalism and triumphant free-market liberalism

Unipolar ambition

The “War on Terror”

2008: Financial crisis—and more

A fragmented and conflict-ridden global order

New hierarchies and inequalities

The rivalry between China and the United States

War in Europe

Multipolar fluidity and insecurity