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Unit outline_

HSTY2626: Fascism and Antifascism

Semester 2, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

This unit will examine the origins and development of the movements of the New Right that emerged in Europe after World War One paying particular attention to their political, social and cultural manifestations as well as the movements on the left that attempted to confront what was seen as a new political phenomenon. The unit will use primary material of literature, diaries, cinema and photography as well as the more conventional sources of political and historical analysis.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit History
Credit points 6
Prerequisites
? 
12 junior credit points in History or Ancient History or Asian Studies or 12 credit points at 1000 level in Jewish Civilisation, Thought and Culture
Corequisites
? 
None
Prohibitions
? 
HSTY2026
Assumed knowledge
? 

None

Available to study abroad and exchange students

Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator Micaela Pattison, micaela.pattison@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s) Micaela Pattison, micaela.pattison@sydney.edu.au
Type Description Weight Due Length
Participation Tutorial participation and discussion posts
15% - n/a
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO5 LO2
Assignment Take home exercise
Take-home assignment in exam period. 48 hours to complete.
25% Formal exam period 1000wd
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO2 LO7
Assignment First learning journal
Formal synthesis of arguments presented in tutorials and discussion posts.
10% Week 05
Due date: 24 Sep 2020 at 17:00
500 wds
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO6 LO5 LO2
Assignment Second learning journal
Formal synthesis of arguments presented in learning activities.
10% Week 08
Due date: 22 Oct 2020 at 17:00
500 wds
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO6 LO5 LO4 LO2
Assignment Research essay
40% Week 11
Due date: 12 Nov 2020 at 17:00
2500wd
Outcomes assessed: LO1 LO7 LO4 LO3 LO2

Assessment summary

See Canvas

Assessment criteria

See Canvas

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

  • Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
  • After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

See Canvas

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

WK Topic Learning activity Learning outcomes
Week 01 1. What is Fascism? What is antifascism?  2. Introduction to HSTY2626 Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO7
Does fascism matter in the 21st century? Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO5 LO6 LO7
Week 02 1. Fascism and the intellectuals 2.  Fascism and the historian Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO7
Defining f/Fascism Tutorial (1 hr) LO2 LO5 LO6 LO7
Week 03 1. The rise of Fascism in Italy 2. Fascist dictatorship Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2
Interpreting Fascism(s) Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO5 LO6
Week 04 Fascism per eccellenza?: The Italian case Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO5 LO6 LO7
1. Institutional responses to F/fascism (I): the case of the Vatican 2. Fascism and Race (I): Race and empire in Italian Fascism Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2
Week 05 1. The rise of Nazism 2. Life under Nazism Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2
Fascism and religion Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO5 LO6
Week 06 1. Fascism in Britain 2. Using databases Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO4
Living under Nazism Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO5 LO6
Week 07 1. Modern Girls and New Men in the Interwar 2.Fascism and Race (II): Eugenics and aesthetics Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2
‘Failed fascism’? I: The case of Britain Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO5 LO6
Week 08 Antifascism in transnational perspective Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO4 LO5 LO7
1. Institutional responses to F/fascism (II): The case of Comintern 2. Transnational antifascists Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2
Week 09 1. Fascist violence: From street fighting to war and genocide. 2. Essay Q and A Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO7
Screening the unspeakable Tutorial (1 hr) LO2 LO5 LO6 LO7
Week 10 1. Fascism and antifascism in interwar Spain 2. The Franco dictatorship Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO7
The eliminationist drive Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO5 LO6 LO7
Week 11 1. After Fascism (I): Fascism in memory and representation 2. After Fascism (II) Tearing down monuments Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO7
‘Failed Fascisms?’ (II): The case of Spain Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO5 LO6
Week 12 1. Fascism and antifascism in the 21st century 2. What is Fascism? Lecture (2 hr) LO1 LO2 LO7
After Fascism: Creating a useable past Tutorial (1 hr) LO1 LO2 LO5 LO6 LO7

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

  • LO1. By studying in depth, in their historical contexts, the important fascist movements in twentieth century Europe you will expand your knowledge of contemporary European history and current political movements, within Europe and without.
  • LO2. You will acquire a critical understanding of the ways in which historians, scholars in other disciplines, creative artists, and commentators in the media have approached the study of fascism, right wing authoritarianism and antifascism.
  • LO3. Pursuing an independent research project culminating in an original essay, you will develop analytical and writing skills.
  • LO4. In conducting research and building bibliographies you will extend your skills in information and digital literacy.
  • LO5. Through group activities and discussions, you will arrive at informed opinions on controversial historical and contemporary issues, developing your collaborative and communication skills.
  • LO6. Through group activities and online discussion you will learn to sensitively communicate and explain comparative social, cultural and institutional differences across historical periods and places, integrating diverse perspectives on the past and understand how exploring how axes of inequality (such as class, gender and racial inequalities) have been historically constructed.
  • LO7. Appreciating how Europe's fascist past informs our own troubled present, you will consider what fascism and antifascism means in the 21st century.

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1 Depth of disciplinary expertise

Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.

GQ2 Critical thinking and problem solving

Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.

GQ3 Oral and written communication

Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.

GQ4 Information and digital literacy

Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.

GQ5 Inventiveness

Generating novel ideas and solutions.

GQ6 Cultural competence

Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.

GQ7 Interdisciplinary effectiveness

Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.

GQ8 Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity

An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.

GQ9 Influence

Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes Graduate qualities
GQ1 GQ2 GQ3 GQ4 GQ5 GQ6 GQ7 GQ8 GQ9

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

No changes have been made since this unit was last offered

Disclaimer

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