Citizenship is a powerful technology of inclusion and exclusion and of identity-building in modernity. History is one important perspective from which to understandind its functioning. The purpose of this course is to provide resources for a critical analysis of the philosophical, institutional and sociological foundations of citizenship and its changes over time, from their intellectual reformulation in the Italian Early Renaissance onwards. Another aim of the course is to provide a perspective on European history through the subject matter of citizenship building. Choosing citizenship as a vantage point challenges conventional interpretations, particularly of social movements from liberalism to the rise and transformation of the welfare state. The course combines readings from relevant figures of the so-called Republican tradition, as well as analyses of processes of citizen incorporation and definition of rights in different European countries from the 19th century to the present.
