The module will be delivered through lectures, seminars and tutorials. Blackboard will also be used to support the delivery of the module.

Taking the period of c.1860 to the present day the module covers themes such as the nature of the 'Liberal' state that followed Italian unification, imperialism, nationalism, and socialism in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Italy, Futurism as a cultural movement, Italy's entry into the First World War in 1915, Mussolini and the rise of Italian Fascism, The Fascist Regime in social, cultural, political and economic context, including imperial conquest, World War II and the fall of Fascism, The Resistance movement and the Allies, the growth of the entrepreneurial mafia, student and worker revolts and feminism, the impact of consumer society and individualism on politics and the media, the rise to prominence of Berlusconi and his critics, and football and identities. In the topic assignment students can follow up in more depth a topic from the module content; for the sources assignment there is a choice of source documents, written and visual, with guidance on how to provide a historical commentary on them.

Note: a prior knowledge of the period in Italian history is not assumed, and knowledge of Italian is not required.

Library books, journals and electronic resources, including online subscription resources such as Oxford Reference Online and Blackwell Reference Online.
The Blackboard virtual learning environment will be available (where relevant) to support this module. Details will be supplied in the module handbook.

Ben-Ghiat, Ruth Fascist Modernities: Italy, 1922-1945, Univ. California Press, Berkeley, 2nd edn. 2004
Carter, Nick Modern Italy in Historical Perspective, Bloomsbury Academic, London, 2010
Clark, Martin Modern Italy 1871 to the Present, Longman, London, 3rd Edn. 2008
Dickie, John Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia, Hodder, London, 2nd edn. 2007
Domanis, Nicholas Italy [Series: Inventing the Nation], Arnold, London, 2001
Dunnage, Jonathan Twentieth Century Italy: A Social History, Longman, London, 2002
Foot, John Modern Italy, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, 2003
Foot, John Calcio: A History of Italian Football, Harper Perennial, 2nd edn.2007
Ginsborg, Paul A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics 1943-1988, Penguin, London, 1990
Ginsborg, Paul Italy and its Discontents 1980-2001, Allen Lane, London, 2001
Adrian Lyttelton (ed.) Liberal and Fascist Italy, OUP, Oxford, 2002
McCarthy, Patrick (ed.) Italy Since 1945, OUP, Oxford, 2000
Ross, Charlotte et al. (eds.) Resisting the Tide: The Berlusconi Years, Continuum, London, 2009

First Topic assignment of 2800 words (35%)
Learning outcomes 1,2,4

Sources assignment of 1200 words (25%)
Learning outcomes 1,2,3

Second Topic assignment of 3000 words (40%)
Learning outcomes 1,2,4

Key Information Set Data:
100% Coursework