The Study of Post-War Fascism

In this course we investigate the transformation of fascism and fascist movements following World War II. Tracing the philosophical and political roots of post-war fascism, we will study fascist behavior, activism, and violence. We will survey work from history, political theory, sociology, social computing, and political science to understand the landscape of contemporary fascism, with particular emphasis on its variants in Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. We will discuss in-depth how fascist movements interact with broader far-right politics and how they choose to either embrace or reject electoral politics in democratic countries. Students will also learn about research ethics and best practices in fascism studies, and they produce their own original work researching a particular topic of interest.