Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Current Historical Topics
Other languages of instruction: Spanish
Teaching staff
You may contact the course instructor by email may you have any question.
Irene Benedicto — ibenedicto@uic.es
Introduction
To understand the world we live in, you have to look beyond the headline of the moment and follow the longer thread of history. This course, designed for Humanities students, starts from that premise: the “new world order” doesn’t appear out of nowhere. It takes shape through political decisions, economic interests, technological change, and conflicts that reshuffle power. In that landscape, the United States remains a central player, and wars like Gaza and Ukraine make it easier to see how alliances, borders, and international balances are being strained.
The course is organized into six blocks and built around very concrete questions: Where does a conflict come from? Which actors drive it or try to contain it (states, organizations, companies, armed groups, public opinion)? What is really at stake—security, territory, energy, trade routes, influence? We will also bring in a postcolonial lens to better understand Africa, Asia, and Latin America: the legacies of colonialism, the dependencies that persist, and today’s forms of intervention and resistance. The goal is for students to gain tools to read the present with perspective, trace causes and connections, and make rigorous arguments.
Pre-course requirements
There are no prerequisites
Objectives
The course “Current Topics in History” aims to help students understand, with independent judgment, the major international tensions and conflicts shaping the present: who is involved, where they come from, and what consequences they carry. Through the study of specific cases, students will use critical analytical tools to trace causes, interests, and power balances, paying attention to the roles of the United States and the European Union as well as the effects that extend beyond their borders, in order to place each crisis in context and interpret it rigorously.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
| TRAINING ACTIVITY | HOURS |
| Theory-lecture class | - |
Learning outcomes of the subject
By the end of the course, students will have developed the ability to understand today’s major international conflicts with perspective:
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Interpret the main international conflicts of the present by placing them in historical context and identifying actors, causes, and consequences.
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Assess how the United States, the European Union and China shape the balances and rules of the international arena.
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Apply basic geopolitical concepts to the analysis of current cases and debates in academic and communication settings.
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Develop a critical, cross-cutting perspective that connects international phenomena to political, economic, and social factors.
Syllabus
Block I. The United States: ideas, tensions, and power
What’s myth and what’s real in the U.S. political system—and why it matters far beyond its borders
Race, immigration, and inequality: from the “American Dream” to the internal divides that still shape society
Foreign policy through its wars: from Iraq and Afghanistan to the ripple effects of Ukraine and Gaza
Block II. Ukraine, Russia, and an Eastern Europe in motion again
How the war takes shape: the Soviet legacy, Ukrainian independence, and Crimea as a turning point
Russia facing the U.S., NATO, and Europe: strategies, constraints, and red lines
Impacts that don’t stay local: energy, food supplies, cyberattacks, and disinformation
Block III. Gaza and the Middle East: conflict and fragile balances
Roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the different ways legitimacy is claimed and contested
Israel as a key regional player and its relationship with the U.S. and other allies
Regional fallout and the battle over narratives: Iran, Egypt, the Gulf, and competing stories
Block IV. Asia and great-power competition
China and the Indo-Pacific: security, technology, and alliances in an increasingly contested space
India on the rise: domestic priorities, a complicated neighborhood, and global ambitions
The tech race as a fault line: supply chains, industry, and microchips
Block V. Latin America in a contested world
The weight of the colonial past and how it shows up today in inequality and dependency in international relations
China, the U.S., and Europe in the region: investment, trade, cooperation, and influence
Migration and borders as policy: external pressure, domestic agendas, and the struggle for a Global South voice
Block VI. Africa at the center of competing agendas
A continent shaped by inherited borders and by how it has often been viewed from the outside
Resources, security, and new alignments: from the Sahel to energy and trade corridors
Competing influence and African responses: China, Russia, the U.S., Europe, and homegrown integration projects
Teaching and learning activities
In person
There will be an exam and a final assignment, as well as continuous assessment activities in the classroom.
Attendance is mandatory. If you do not meet the 80% attendance requirement for face-to-face sessions, you will not be able to take the first assessment and will have to take a retake.
(see assessment criteria)
| TRAINING ACTIVITY | HOURS |
| Theory-lecture class | - |
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
40% exam
40% project (20% written part + 20 oral presentation)
10% tests on current news
10% class participation
Bibliography and resources
Timothy Snyder (2018). The Road to Unfreedom. New York: Tim Duggan Books.
Rashid Khalidi (2020). The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine. New York: Metropolitan Books.
Fareed Zakaria (2008). The Post-American World. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Achille Mbembe (2017). Critique of Black Reason. Durham: Duke University Press.
Jorge Castañeda (2010). América Latina y el mundo: De la economía política al consenso de Washington. México: Random House Mondadori.