HIS-30141 - Module Specification
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Programme/Approved Electives for 2025/26

Available as a Free Standing Elective

Co-requisites

None

Prerequisites

None

Barred Combinations

None

Description for 2025/26

In 1870, Rome was a city of 250,000 under the political rule of the Popes and only just beginning to resemble something like a modern city. In the following hundred years, Rome's territory and population expanded tenfold; but more importantly, the city went through dramatic political change, modernisation, conflict, economic transformation, and bitter social struggles.
You will journey this turbulent history—from Italian unification in 1870 to the extreme political violence of the 1970s—examining how nationalism, democracy, fascism, war, violence, and modernity shaped Rome's cityscape, the lives of its people, and their collective memory.
In interactive seminars, you will analyse key historical moments through specific locations, interpreting diverse primary sources including maps, photographs, and eyewitness accounts. Using digital mapping tools, you will develop a nuanced understanding of how power, religion, class, and memory are inscribed in urban spaces.
Studying the history of Rome during this tumultuous period will also serve as a window into the history of Italy and Europe as a whole.

The module aims to acquaint students with the tumultuous history of Rome during the approximately hundred years between the annexation of the city by the recently unified Italian Kingdom (1870) and the violent political conflicts of the 1970s. The module will examine how historical change was inscribed on the landscape and cityscape of the city, drawing on approaches that highlight the role of power, ideology, religion, class, and urban transformation.

Intended Learning Outcomes

demonstrate an ability to apply theoretical and conceptual tools to the study of history: 1
engage in learning and research in a comparative and trans-disciplinary context that involves different types of primary evidence (texts, images, maps, statistics) and historiography: 1,2
analyse the ways in which different historical events and processes of change (political, economic, cultural) have been inscribed on the landscape, cityscape, and memory of a city: 1,2
develop advanced digital competences in their learning, research, and presentation of their work to wider audiences beyond the academic: 1,2
critically evaluate the relationship between political ideologies and urban transformation in modern Rome: 1
analyse the contested nature of urban space through multiple theoretical frameworks including power, class, religion, and memory: 1

Study hours

20 hrs seminars
4 hrs workshops
50 hrs seminar preparation
40 hrs researching and writing project
25 hrs researching and writing portfolio tasks
10 hrs student collaborative activity
1 hrs project supervision

School Rules

None

Description of Module Assessment