Italy and the Second World War
| Code | School | Level | Credits | Semesters |
| HIST3085 | History | 3 | 20 | Autumn UK |
- Code
- HIST3085
- School
- History
- Level
- 3
- Credits
- 20
- Semesters
- Autumn UK
Summary
• Italian attitudes to war, ‘martial masculinities’, the legacy of the Great War
• The Fascist state and Fascist Foreign policy in the 1920s and 1930s
• Italy at war in Libya, East Africa, Spain
• Italy, the Second World War, and the invasion of France
• The Italian war in Africa
• The Italian war in Greece and the Balkans
• The invasion of Italy: German, and Allied occupations
• Italians and the war in the Soviet Union
• Partisans and the ‘Civil War’ in Italy
• The role of partisans
• The experience of war for Italian civilians
• Italy and the Shoah
• Italian military failure
• Allied war aims in Italy
• The war in coeval novels
• The war in film
Reassessments in this module will take the form of an essay or assignment.
Target Students
Students must have taken HIST1001 or HIST1002. Liberal Arts students are also eligible to study this module
Classes
- One 2-hour seminar each week for 10 weeks
- One 1-hour lecture each week for 10 weeks
Assessment
- 50% Coursework 1: Individually assessed coursework item (3,000 words)
- 50% Coursework 2: Individually assessed coursework item (3,000 words)
Assessed by end of autumn semester
Educational Aims
To explore the reasons why Mussolini brought Italy into the Second World War alongside Nazi Germany. To examine the impact of the war on Italian society, and the reasons for the Italian armed forces’ generally poor showing within the conflict. To study the way in which both Allied and German forces engaged with each other and the Italian population after the invasions of 1943, and to assess whether it is helpful analytically to see the fighting after October 1943 as a civil war between Italians. Tolook at representations of the war in coeval literature and films, and to assess how these representations have changes over the last 70 years. To consider the longer-term legacies of the war for Italian society and politics.Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
· think critically and imaginatively about the history of Italians’ involvement in the Second World War and the experience of the country during the period under study;
· be aware of the basic narrative of Italy’s involvement in international relations and military conflict from 1922, but especially from 1940, until 1945;
· assess and evaluate competing historical interpretations of the experiences of Italians during the Second World War within the historiography;
· be able to analyse primary sources relating to the impact of the Second World War on Italians both within Italy and in other areas of conflict.;
· reflect on the value of novels as a historical source and to evaluate how they contribute to our engagement with the past;
· reflect on how films shape our view of the past
· form independent judgements based on the evidence acquired in the process of learning;
· take responsibility for own learning, while working as part of a team when appropriate
· demonstrate competence in footnoting and provision of a wider academic apparatus;
· communicate thoughts in an articulate and concise manner orally and in writing.