The objective of the course is to provide students with the basic tools to know the history of Iran of 19th and 20th centuries. In that period the major transformation that have taken place in that country, somehow suspended between tradition and innovation, have led to the construction of a new identity. For this purpose, emphasis will be put on issues concerning the origin of the modernization process in the Qajar period (with particular reference to the reign of Nasiroddin Shah and his cultural politics), the European imperialism, the Constitutional Revolution; the modernization process during the Pahlavi dynasty; the 1953 coup d’état and the Islamic Revolution, with the shaping of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its consolidation at the beginning of 21st c. A Particular attention will be given to the genesis of the Iranian nationalist movement and its different ideological components; among these, the exaltation of the pre-Islamic past, the reconstruction of which racist theories of European origin have also contributed.
Expected learning outcomes at the end of the course: 1) (Knowledge and understanding) basic historical knowledge of the main political and social events and problems of Iran of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; 2) (Applied knowledge and understanding) on the basis of the acquired historical knowledge, ability to understand and analyze the contemporary political processes of the geopolitical area studied, 3) (Making judgments) flexibility of judgment and ability to compare and select based on a vision of Iran and the Middle East area more critical than the commonly widespread, eurocentristic one; 4) (Communicative skills) acquisition of communication techniques appropriate to the description of the problems treated thanks to the involvement of the students in the laboratory activities performed during the course, and to the forms of verification in itinere; 5) (Learning skills) ability to critically read texts related to Iran and other countries of the Middle East and to adequately use basic bibliographic and historical research tools; these skills are acquired thanks to joint laboratory activities and individual in-depth study.