The course is based on a multidisciplinary approach. it aims at combining History of European countries post 1945 and history of European Institutions.

Knowledge and understanding: By the end of the course the students will acquire: Better knowledge of the history of European integration process, they will be able to understand the current problem of the Eu and the role played by the major member states. Applying knowledge and understanding: Students wil be able to apply their acquired knowledge in their professional activities in the following way: They will be able to carry out research in European integration history both for academic and professionals purposes. In details they will be able to draft and prepare policy papers for policy makers, journalists, political analysts, private investors and multinational groups. Making judgements: The course will employ a critical approach and will incentive students to engage critical discussion of the reading and topics analyzed along the course. Students are expected to develop an autonomous and critical judgement view on the issues presented during the lessons. Communication skills: Students will be engaged in several book discussions and team works during the course, this approach will help them to acquire confidence in their skills and to interact more directly with the audience. They will improve their capacity to disseminate the major topics analyzed connecting them with the current evolution of EU history. Learning skills: Better capacity to design and develop research work related to the field of European integration.

The course will be divided in two parts. The first one will address the European integration process since the outbreak of the Cold War and will show how in the late Forties the European project allowed to reconcile old enemies and overcome the legacy of the Second World War. We will study how the Six founding members promoted a supranational project to foster the reconstruction of the Old Continent, reinforced the already established transatlantic relationship and relaunched the economic sector in the framework of Western scenario. Then we will explain the EEC evolution through the single market and the common currency and how they deepened the goals established with the signature of the Treaties of Rome. A special focus will be devoted to the enlargements -especially since the Eighties – their interaction with the so called Second Cold War and the end of it. We will analyze the meaning enlargements has both in the Southern, Central and Eastern countries and in the changing role of EEC/EU as an international actor. In the second part we will analyze how the major European institutions work. We will see in details the functioning and organization of the European Commission, the Court of Justice, the European Parliament, the European Council and the Council of Ministers.

M. Gilbert, Surpassing Realism, the Politics of European Integration since 1945, Rowmam & Littlefield Publishers, 2003 ( entire volume) D. Dinan, Ever Closer Union: An Introduction to European Integration, London, Boulder, 2010 (some selected chapters) K. K. Patel, Project Europe: A History, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2020 (some selected chapters)

The course will be based on lectures- always done on line- and seminars with book and issues discussions made by team works and held on campus. The lectures will provide the basic knowledge related to the European history post 1945. Seminars will see team works where students divided in study groups- at the beginning of the course- present collective papers whose aim is to deepen some topics tackled during the lectures. These papers will be discussed and their content will be challenged by the instructor- leaded debate.

Team works will count for 70% of the evaluation; the oral exam mandatory for every student will count for 30%. There will not be mid term exams-

Active participation during the debate held in class on the several issues analysed will be highly appreciated by the instructor together with a final mark at least of 28 out of 30.