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HIST208 - European Fascism 1870-1945

10 cp
Prerequisites: 10 cp from 100-level units in History
Teaching Organisation: 3 contact hours of teaching each week for 12 weeks or equivalent

This unit introduces students to key historical debates concerning the phenomenon of European Fascism from the mid-1920s to 1945. Were fascist 'utopias' a response to the 'destructive potentials of modernity', as some scholars suggest, or was there a longer history of racism in modern Europe? The unit will consider proto-fascism and the rise of populist anti-Semitism in the nineteenth century and will focus on its resurgence and redevelopment following World War 1. Students will be challenged to consider whether fascist regimes were supported for rational and pragmatic reasons or because people were entranced by ideologies of racial supremacy. After the war, some countries attempted to eradicate the mentalities and structures of Fascism: this unit will give students opportunities to trace how fascist regimes have been remembered and understood over time.

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