HIST 360 - Fascism in Twentieth Century Europe

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

(Same as INTL 360) Today, understanding fascism has never seemed more urgent. However, there is little consensus about what constitutes fascist ideologies, when fascist movements emerge, and how fascist regimes operate once in power. In this course, we will trace the emergence of these debates by grappling with several theoretical and historiographic questions, including: What is the conceptual relationship of fascism to totalitarianism and authoritarianism? How and why did fascist movements emerge in interwar Europe? How do fascist regimes use misinformation to consolidate power? And in what ways are fascism and liberal democracy interrelated? To anchor our analysis, we engage a number of case studies including in Italy, Austria, Germany, Spain, Hungary, and Romania. Our course concludes by reflecting on European attempts to grapple with the legacy of fascism, as well as discussions about the place of fascism in our contemporary world. Anna Solovy.

One 2-hour period.

Course Format: CLS