BASIC AND GENERAL COMPETENCES BASIC COMPETENCES CB1 - Be able to show that they possess and comprehend facts and contents in an area of study which, based on a previous general secondary school level, have been extended to those included in advanced textbooks and in some aspects proceed from the most advanced studies in this area. CB5 - Be able to show that they have developed the learning skills required to perform further studies with a high degree of self-dependence. GENERAL COMPETENCES CG1 - Understand social, political, legal and economic realities from a comparative perspective. CG2 - Be able to approximate and analyze the intrinsic values contained in equal opportunities, multi-cultural society, political ideological and cultural pluralism, human rights, and the international community. CG3 - Know quantitative and qualitative research techniques and possess the ability to choose which is most adequate to apply in the field of Social Sciences. CG4 - Be able to manage information: identify, organize and analyze relevant information critically and systematically within the context of international relations. CG5 - Be able to debate and formulate critical reasoning, using precise terminology and specialized resources, when analyzing international and global phenomena, employing both the concepts and knowledge from different disciplines as well as the methods of analysis, paradigms and concepts pertaining to the Social Sciences. CG6 - Be able to apply scientific method to the economic, social and political questions of a global society; be able to formulate problems in this context, identify a possible explication or solution, and a method to contrast them by sensibly interpreting the data. CG7 - Know how to express judgments, which include ethical reflections, on essential social, scientific and economic topics within a representative context of society both on a local and international level. OVERLAPPING COMPETENCES CT1 - Acquire the capacity to communicate knowledge in oral and written form, both to specialized and to non-specialized publics. CT2 - Acquire the capacity to establish good interpersonal communication and to work both in interdisciplinary and international teams. CT3 - Acquire the capacity to organize and plan workloads, taking correct decisions based on the available information, collecting and interpreting relevant data in order to provide assessments in that area of study. CT4 - Develop the motivation and capacity to perform independent continuous learning for life, with an endowment to adapt to change and new situations. SPECIFIC COMPETENCES CE1 - Be familiar with the principal political and social theories. Be capable of analyzing and comparing contemporary policies. CE2 - Be familiar with and understand the processes of political, social, economic and cultural change in society and contemporary policy. CE6 - Understand the socio-political impact of empires, religions and cultures in historical perspective. CE8 - Understand the structure of markets and the impact of public intervention on markets. CE9 - Be familiar with and comprehend the relevance of technological change for economic and social development. CE12 - Be able to formulate and solve basic economic, social, political problems in an international context. CE13 - Be familiar with the principles of cost-benefit analysis and its application to basic problems. LEARNING RESULTS · Applied knowledge to understand the transformation of society and long-term rules of social convention and cohabitation. Understand how sovereignty, rights and freedoms, ideologies, and beliefs change over time, and understand the role of large social movements.

1. The origins of the modern state and the formation of the system of States in the Modern Age. 2. Formation of Nation-States, nationalisms and first empiralisms. 3. Revolutions, new elites and social change in the 19th century: The French Revolution, American Independence, the new social and political regime and the rise of the Bourgeoisie. 4. Urbanization, industrialization, capitalism, worker movements and the extension of suffrage. 5. The Modern State, secularization and the modern world. 6. Professionalization of bureaucracy, transnational movements, progressive ideology, and political and military rivalry. 7. Wars and the weakness of the international political system during the interwar period. 8. The Russian Revolution, the crisis of capitalism during the Great Depression and the rise of fascism. 9. New world order, cold war, and the strengthening of the Welfare State. 10. Decolonization. 11. Structural and social change. 12. The world after the fall of the socialist block: political challenges of globalization. 13. Global society and the clash of civilizations.

Students will acquire the knowledge and skills through lectures, the handing of the work assigned by the teachers and its discussion in class. Skills and attitudes will be enhanced by the individual and teamwork performed by the students and their discussion in class. The course is designed in two tiers: one will provide the basic understanding of the main historical events that have shaped the modern world and the second will analyse specific topics. The first part will be based on lectures which summarize and extend basic readings. In the second tier, students shall present briefings and discuss on specific historical problems based on in-depth readings. Students will form groups of three to work during these weekly seminars. Before each session, each group will read and discuss jointly the readings, answer the questions and, at least in one occasion, prepare an oral presentation of 20 minutes. Furthermore, in the midterm, students will individually write a 2,000-word essay on a controversial historical topic. A solid command of written and oral English is essential. The ability to read and process up to sixty pages of academic literature per week is taken for granted. In the last week, there will be at least one tutorial of the course in which the student will have the chance to clarify doubts about the main concepts and key historical events discussed in the lectures, as well as doubts about assessment and the schedule of the course.