This course is fully booked.  Please contact us if you would like to be placed on the waiting list for any cancellations.

In this course we will be looking at the history and politics surrounding Mussolini’s fascist regime from 1922 to 1943. How did Mussolini seize power? What were the characteristics of this ‘fascist’ regime? What similarities and connections are there between Hitler’s Nazi regime, Franco’s Spain and Mussolini’s Italy? We will look at a number of different events and elements of Fascist Italy including the attempt at economic autarky, propaganda and repressive measures, the relationship with the Roman Catholic Church and an exploration of Mussolini’s foreign policy. We will particularly look at cultural history – the art, architecture and literature of the regime (and what remains today) and the cult of the individual.

There will be no session on Wednesday 26 October.

Reading and listening lists will be available after every week, but are for additional information and not compulsory.

Week 1 Liberal Italy and the roots of Fascism

Week 2 The nature of Italian Fascism and the Fascist ‘March on Rome’

Week 3 ‘A nation of loyal fascists?’  Propaganda and Repression under Mussolini

Week 4 Building Fascist Italy – economics and infrastructure in Fascist Italy

Week 5 Education, Social policy and the role of the Roman Catholic Church in Fascist Italy

Week 6 Fascist Foreign policy and the Pact of Steel; Nazi Germany, Franco’s Spain and Fascist Italy