HIS 400SEM—Varieties of Fascism

Fascism was the novel political phenomenon of the twentieth-century world. It remains one of the most widely known and yet least understood terms in the modern political lexicon. This seminar will examine the origins and development of fascist ideology and practice, comparing and contrasting the various fascist movements to emerge throughout Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. At the center of the course will be the question of whether fascism is best defined as an ideology, a political culture, an ethic or morality, a historical era, or whether the term is a useful analytical device at all. Readings and seminar discussions over the course of the semester will consider diverse historical interpretations of fascism, seeking to understand the social, political, and cultural origins of fascist movements and the processes by which they led to such devastating consequences. In the final weeks of the semester, the seminar will examine fascist-like movements outside of Europe and after 1945, analyzing the similarities and differences they present relative to the classic forms of interwar European fascism. EUR