Approaches to History (393-0-20)

Topic

Comparative Fascism

Instructors

Lauren Stokes
847/467-3086
Harris Hall - Room 235

Meeting Info

Harris Hall L05: Mon, Wed 3:30PM - 4:50PM

Overview of class

Ever since the emergence of fascism in the early 1920s, historians, political theorists and ordinary citizens have debated what its true nature is—a debate currently experiencing a revival as far-right parties make electoral gains globally.

Focusing primarily on the fascist regimes that arose in Italy and Germany in the first half of the twentieth century, but also fascist movements in other places, we will investigate questions such as: Is fascism a single, coherent ideology? Is charismatic leadership necessary for fascism? What is fascism's relationship to imperialism? What is fascism's relationship to technological progress? Who joined fascist movements and why? How did fascists want to reconstruct national, sexual, and racial identities?

We will also ask: how did people oppose and resist fascism while it was happening? Can "anti-fascism" be a coherent basis for politics? Are "fascism" and "anti-fascism" still useful for helping us to understand our present, or are they purely historical?

Learning Objectives

Identify and explain the common features of fascist regimes and movements; Compare and contrast the features of the two fascist regimes in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, as well as fascist movements in other countries; Analyze primary sources in relation to theoretical frameworks; Critically read secondary sources for argument; Recognize multiple different "schools" of studying fascism, and identify the strengths and drawbacks of different approaches; Make your own arguments about the nature of fascism as a phenomenon and its relevance or lack thereof to the present.

Evaluation Method

Class attendance and participation; writing assignments.

Class Notes

History Major Concentration(s): European, Global
History Minor Concentration(s): Europe

Class Attributes

Advanced Expression
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area