Italian Fascism: A Seminar

Italian Fascism: A Seminar

As promised, here is a syllabus on Italian Fascism. It’s a very revised version of what I have used at past institutions. Some academic publications are prohibitively expensive if you don't have access to a digital copy in a library, but I've kept them on the list anyway in case you have a way in.

What does it mean to teach a course on Fascism today? Do you stick strictly to history, or point out parallel developments in our own times? Do you only speak about other Fascisms (Nazism, early Franco) or do you talk about common features all dictatorships have whether they are Communist or Fascist? Personality cults are an obvious example: the "rules" that govern them are amazingly similar across time, space, and political leanings.

I teach mostly about this particular Fascism --which is the class the students signed up for, after all--and then draw parallels with other authoritarian experiences where relevant.

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ITALIAN FASCISM

Course Description

Fascism is back in the news today, with right-wing movements finding popularity in Europe and strongmen rulers finding favor. This interdisciplinary course gives us background to understand our contemporary world by examining Benito Mussolini’s dictatorship. We address Fascism’s culture of violence; biopolitics and demographic policy; imperialism and war; Fascist ideology and visual culture; gender roles; and anti-Fascism.  

What is Fascism and How Can We Study It?

Ruth Ben-Ghiat, “Fascism: History of a Term” excerpted as "What is Fascism?"

Jason Stanley, How Fascism Works, excerpts

Robert Paxton, The Anatomy of Fascism, 3-23

Umberto Eco, Ur-Fascism

Benito Mussolini, “The Ascension Day Speech (1927)

This cover of the Fascist periodical “Defense of the Race,” published by the Ministry of Education, engages the theme of protecting White Christian classical civilization from Jewish criminality. The Michelangelo statue of David is tarnished by a fingerprint overlaid with a Jewish star. Today’s Fascists who speak of “Soros” and Jews as threats to “civilization” are continuing this propaganda.