Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE HST2017

 
TITLE Anglo-Italian Relations in the Mediterranean: From the Renaissance to the Cold War

 
UM LEVEL 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 4

 
DEPARTMENT History

 
DESCRIPTION At first glance, there could be no other two European countries which might come across as more diverse than Britain and Italy. One the cradle of democracy and pioneer of industrialisation, the other a comparably young nation with a long history of internal political and economic fragmentation. Notwithstanding this, these two units brushed shoulders and crossed swords multiple times, defining the Mediterranean reality in the process. Taking the Renaissance as the starting point within the broader European continental context, this course will explore the evolution of Anglo-Italian relations and how these helped mould the Mediterranean sphere, in political, commercial, military but also cultural terms.

Tracing back the first point of contact to the Roman times with Julius Caesar’s expedition to Britain (55BC), Anglo-Italian connections since then have wavered through a series of episodes integral to the making of modern Europe. Be it through the diffusion of Christianity through Italian missionaries in England during the Middle Ages; the English receptiveness of the influence of the Italian Renaissance; the commercial ties connecting Italian and English bankers and merchants; the British aristocratic compulsion in the 17th century to travel southwards in their quest for educational and cultural erudition through the Grand Tour, the threads of interdependence between the two actors straddled over time and ran across multiple levels. Centuries of unofficial connection came to fruition in the nineteenth century with Great Britain playing a central role as an ally of the Italian unification. Just as Britain proliferated the Italian political vision of Mazzini and Garibaldi for unity, Italy nurtured English literature and arts through the likes of Lord Byron and Inigo Jones. What the WWI would not threaten, the WWII would annihilate, as the dark years of fascism obliterated centuries-long connections. A ‘rebirth’ in relations would follow in more contemporary times, with diplomatic connections and common economic concerns through the European Economic Community bringing the two countries at a point of convergence. As to how Brexit will be conditioning the narrative of these undulating relations still needs to be seen.

Study-unit Aims:

- Exploring the threads of interconnection through an analysis of Anglo-Italian trade connections, cultural/literary/educational ties, Anglo-Vatican diplomatic relations, and British support for the Italian unification;
- Assessing what caused a break with the past due to the imperial contention in the British Mediterranean, the shifting British-Italian relations during WWI, the rise of Fascism and inter-war provocations in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, and Anglo-Italian rivalry in WWII;
- Assist students with understanding the post-war rebirth, and future, of Anglo-Italian collaboration;
- Inviting students to analyse the Mediterranean region through an exploration of the nodes of contact and interaction between a Mediterranean and a non-Mediterranean country with direct interests in the Sea;
- Assist students with understanding how North and South converge in the Mediterranean sphere, shaping European affairs in the process, while also being influenced by the realities of an evolving Europe;
- Provoking students to explore a European-centred topic without being Euro-centric by unpacking Euro-Mediterranean affairs through a study of interconnectedness.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- assess how Anglo-Italian relations, waxing and waning in the course of the centuries, fluctuating from generally amicable, to openly hostile, to cooperative again, present us with a useful tool of analysis when studying the making of Europe generally, and of Mediterranean affairs specifically;
- review the development of Britain and Italy from early modern to contemporary times, not as separate entities, but in light of each others;
- establish that the individual country's interests and presence in the Mediterranean are best understood when analysed in relation to the other's;
- value how interrelations between these two countries helped shape, at varying degrees and not necessarily in a reciprocal manner, each others' political, economic, military, imperial and cultural trajectories;
- construct a better understanding of Mediterranean history through nodes of contact, but also points of discord, throughout the centuries.

2. Skills
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- analyse constructively the main themes presented in this study-unit;
- read a range of secondary sources critically and selectively;
- navigate with confidence through online resources and conduct research using academic papers from reputable journals;
- develop debate skills in the lecture room;
- write an essay with a clear structure and logical presentation of arguments.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main Texts:

- E. B. Fryde, 'Italian Maritime Trade with Medieval England (c.I270-c.1530)', 'The English Cloth Industry and the Trade with the Mediterranean c.I370-c.I530', 'Anglo-Italian Commerce in the Fifteenth Century; some Evidence about Profits and the Balance of Trade', all reprinted in his Studies in Medieval Trade and Finance (London, I983).
- Helen Fulton and Michele Campopiano (eds.), Anglo-Italian Cultural Relations in the Later Middle Ages, (Woodbridge, York Medieval Press, 2018).
- John Gash, 'Anglo-Italian Cultural Relations before and during the Long Eighteenth Century', Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies, 33:2(2010).
- Thomas Morrissey, 'British Diplomatic Relations with the Holy See, 1793–1830', Recusant History, 14:2, (1977).
- Nicola Chelotti, 'Italy seen through British eyes: a European middle power?', Modern Italy, 15:3 (2010).
- Giulia Bentivoglio, The Two Sick Men of Europe? Britain and Italy between Crisis and Renaissance (1976-1983), (Brussels, PIE, 2018).

Supplementary Texts:

- John Hale, England and the Italian Renaissance: The Growth of Its Interest in History and Art (Oxford, Blackwell Publishing, 2005).
- Lidia De Michelis, Lia Guerra and Frank O'Germa (eds.), Politics and Culture in 18th-Century Anglo-Italian Encounters : Entangled Histories, (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2019).
- Massilmiliano Fiore, Anglo-Italian Relations in the Middle East, 1922–1940, (Farnham, Ashgate, 2010).
- Tamara van Kessel, Foreign Cultural Policy in the Interbellum: The Italian Dante Alighieri Society and the British Council Contesting in the Mediterranean (Amsterdam, Amsterdam University Press, 2016).
- Effie G. Pedaliu, The Foreign Office, Commerce and British Foreign Policy in the Twentieth Century, (London, Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2017).
- Refer to relevant articles from: Journal of Anglo-Italian Studies, published between 1991-2019: https://www.um.edu.mt/angloitalian/journal

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Lecture

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Assignment SEM1 Yes 50%
Examination (1 Hour) SEM1 Yes 50%

 
LECTURER/S Simone Azzopardi

 

 
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It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit