AHIS 23A00 - A HISTORY OF CONTEMPORARY WORLDS, 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES: CONFLICTS, IDEOLOGIES AND EMANCIPATION

The objective of this second-year twelve-session course is that all Sciences Po undergraduate students acquire a historical understanding of some key issues and themes in modern and contemporary political history. Following from the first-year course on the political history of 19th century Europe, this course aims to provide students with a foundational knowledge of the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as asking them to address multiple topics and historical questions. Political history, as understood here, encompasses a broad range of factors, including social, economic, cultural and warlike dimensions. This course will present the history of the contemporary world by means of a carefully selected choice of topics, adopting a non-Eurocentric approach whenever possible – by “provincializing Europe”. The 20th and 21st centuries will be examined through the lens of ideologies. Whilst they promise hope, they also generate conflicts within contemporary societies, prompting individuals to strive to overcome the violence they have endured and to build movements of emancipation. This exploration will provoke reflection on the concepts of violence, peace, democracy, the welfare state, and the environment.

The lecturer recommends that students choose a textbook from the following references and explore it before the course begins:

Textbooks (of your choice):

BAILY Christopher A., Remaking the Modern World 1900-2015, Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Blackwell, 2018.

HOBSBAWM, Eric J, The Age of Extremes. A History of the World, 1914-1991, New York: Pantheon Books, 1994.

MERRIMAN, John, A History of Modern Europe. From the Renaissance to the Present, New York-London: Norton & Company, 2019 (4th ed.), chapters 22 to 30.

ROBERTS, John Morris, WESTAD, Odd Arne, The New Penguin History of the World, London: Penguin Press, 2007, Books 7 and 8.

Two-thirds of the final grade will be based upon the grades obtained during the methodology classes, where students will discuss required readings, analyze primary sources, engage with key historiographical issues and deliver an oral presentation. This two-thirds portion of the final grade is a composite score based on at least three assignments: the mid-term exam (galop d'essai), the oral presentation and one or more class activities.

One-third of the final grade will be determined by the final exam. Students will be required to write an essay on a collection of documents in four hours.