This comprehensive upper-level history course examines the emergence, consolidation, and contemporary manifestations of fascism and authoritarianism from the 1930s through January 2025. Using Nazi Germany as the historical baseline, students explore how democracies transform into dictatorships through systematic institutional erosion. The course analyzes modern democratic backsliding in Turkey, Hungary, and Brazil, with Cuba as a comparative case representing an alternative authoritarian pathway. Through rigorous scholarly engagement, students develop frameworks for recognizing authoritarian patterns and understanding the fragility of democratic institutions.
Fascist Italy and Stalinist Soviet Union will be covered in detail in Part 2 of this course this fall.
Prerequisites: One year of college-level history or political science
Credits: 4
Level: Upper-division undergraduate/graduate
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