Università Roma Tre

The twentieth century was the most violent century in history. The century of the genocides, that of the world wars, of the nuclear weapon, of the ideological clash. Faced with so many conflicts, men, societies, cultures, religions have produced answers and actions to restore peace and coexistence and to promote development: paths of reconciliation - sometimes inadequate, sometimes courageous -, institutions, social and legal innovations. After analyzing the factors underlying collective violence - nationalism, authoritarianism, racism, propaganda, economic inequality - The course will reconstruct some of the pacification paths by placing them in the geopolitical and cultural scenarios in which they were produced, from post-World War II Europe to the non-European world of decolonisation.
Particular attention will be devoted to the analysis of African conflicts and initiatives to end, pacify and reconcile. The issue is addressed from an historical, geopolitical and social point of view. The recent phenomena of religious terrorism and the commitment of various subjects to their stigmatization and isolation will then be examined.
The course will be structured around the analysis of three types of topics:
- Historical moments and events of particular importance in the evolution of the dynamics of conflict and pacification in the twentieth century;
- Personalities and movements who, during the twentieth century, gave a meaningful contribution contributed to the construction of a peace-building culture and the elaboration of strategies for peace;
- Key processes that contributed to defining the main conflict dynamics in the twentieth century and the ways in which they were addressed.

The textbook is:

Anna Bravo, "La conta dei salvati. Dalla Grande Guerra al Tibet: storie di sangue risparmiato", Laterza, 2013.

Final examination for attending students (those who have attended at least 25 out of 36 hours of classes) will be based on notes from the classes and a full reading of the textbook.

Non-attending students will have to study also:
Arianna Arisi Rota, "Pace", Il Mulino, 2024