History

This course provides a core of knowledge of Italy’s post-Unification history, grounding students in the political, economic, and social development of the country. Commencing with the nation-state’s formation, the analysis of issues surrounding Italy’s early identity, society, and political structures reveals many of the problems that subsequent regimes have sought to address. After developing a solid grounding in the formation and establishment of the new nation state, the course explores the impact of World War One upon the interwar period of Fascist Italy. After establishing what Fascism was and what it meant for Italian people, consideration turns to the Second World War, the fall of Italian Fascism and its long-term legacy upon the postwar Republic. Examination of post-1945 Italy considers the influence of America and the Cold War upon the internal battle for political control between the Left and the Catholic Right. This period also focuses on Italy’s economic recovery and re-entry into "normal" diplomatic relations that was rubber-stamped by the 1960 Rome Olympic Games. With the country’s foreign relations stabilized, attention turns to the internal crises of insurrection, terrorism, mafia activity and corruption that led to Tangentopoli, the collapse of the old political order, and the rise of Silvio Berlusconi. The course concludes by examining the rise of the contemporary political phenomenon of the Five Star Movement and the Lega.

This multidisciplinary course considers equality, discrimination, affirmative action, and multiculturalism within the specific context of the U.S. experience. This experience is characterized by three structural features that Alexis de Tocqueville famously identified: the passion for equality, the salience of racial divisions, and the judicialization of politics. Elaborating upon those intuitions, the course relies extensively on history (that of ethno-racial and religious minorities since the early nineteenth century), law (through a thorough analysis of some of the key Supreme Court decisions in this area), political science (through the study of the emergence, development, and partial decline of race-conscious policies such as affirmative action and the redistricting designed to increase the number of Black and Hispanic elected representatives), and political philosophy (by discussing theories of social justice and equality, notably those of John Rawls, Ronald Dworkin, and Michael Walzer).

This course examines major events in the long-twentieth century of the Western civilization with six themes: War and Revolution, interwar years, the postwar order, Bretton Woods, challenges against the state from left- and right-wing intellectuals, and globalization and de-globalization. Challenging the dichotomy of ‘West’ and ‘East’, it pays attention to the way in which different civilizations interconnected themselves. 

Paris, the most visited city in the world, is both a historical city and a modern global capital that fashionably wears the old and the new on its sleeve. It is also home to Parisians, whose clichéd image has been shaped in cultural imaginaries from around the globe, but whose identities and cultures are increasingly plural. The city and language course poses this two-fold question: just who is this city for, and how does one unlock its levels? More than a picturesque concentration of streets and buildings, Paris's urban landscape provides a tableau upon which people have inscribed meaning, message, and significance to state, nation, and culture. To decipher these messages and gain an understanding of Paris's history and the French culture that has shaped it, this course examines the histories of the conception, construction, and public perception of Parisian sites and it places their stories within the larger context of the development of French identity. The city and language course introduces students to French history, culture, and language through team-taught instruction. In the “Pursuing Paris” sessions, students study French history and culture by visiting sites important to the evolution of the capital city—these sessions are taught in English. In the “Unlocking French” sessions, students practice targeted language skills through situational communication with opportunities to use everything they learn in daily activities.