Annotated Bibliography
Aristotle. Selections from Politics. Trans. H. Rakham. Loeb Classical Library 264. Harvard Univ. Press, 1932. Reading this for teacher’s background knowledge is essential for this unit.
Brennan, T. Corey. The Fasces : A History of Ancient Rome’s Most Dangerous Political Symbol. New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2022. This was used to provide background on the fasces symbol.
Transnational Institute, 2026, accessed June 22, 2026, https://www.tni.org/en/mapping-fascism. This is a good overview of edvidence related to the rise of the Far Right and neo-fascist ideology in Europe and the United States.
Carsten, FL. The Rise of Fascism. 2nd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980. Provides background information for the facsim in Italy and Germany.
“Historical Thinking Chart.” Digital Inquiry Group, accessed July 22, 2026, https://www.inquirygroup.org/history-lessons/historical-thinking-chart. This provides great resources for analyzing primary sources with your students.
Duggan, Christopher. Fascist Voices. London: Vintage Books, 2012. Provided background on the role of hate and “othering” in Facist Italy.
Hanser, Richard. A Noble Treason. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2012. Provides an excellent history of the White Rose.
Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf. Trans. Ralph Manheim. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1943. Used to explain Hitler’s use of the word “socialist” in National Socialists, in his own words.
Popper, Karl. “Chapter 7, The Principle of Leadership, footnote 4”. The Open Society and Its Enemies: New One-Volume Edition. Princeton University Press. 2013, 1st Pub. 1945. p. 581.
Labanca, Nicola. “Colonial Rule, Colonial Repression and War Crimes in the Italian Colonies.” Journal of Modern Italian Studies 9, no. 3 (2007): 300–13. This was used to show Italian genocide and Imperialism in Ethiopia and how the war in Ethiopia fell into fascist “othering.”
Light & Magic, Season 1, episode 1, “Gang of Outsiders.” Lucasfilm, 2022. This documentary episode was used as background information for discussing Star Wars themes.
Lyttelton, Adrian. The Seizure of Power. 3rd ed. New York: Routledge, 2004. This provides background conent for the rise of Mussolini’s Fascists in Italy.
Nathan Stoltzfus, Brigit Maier-Katkin. Protest in Hitler's "National Community". New York: Berghahn Books, 2016. This book is a great source on how protests in Nazi Germany did exist, but were structured through the lens of the fascist state. It is a fascinating read and highly reccomended. Its background is useful to further expand students’ understanding of resistance.
Paxton, Robert C. The Anatomy of Fascism. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2004. This provided the definition of fascism used for this unit. If you could only read one book on this list, read this one.
“Star Wars Raises Questions on US Policy.” WBZTV CBS 4, 2005, accessed June 22, 2026, https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-05/16/content_442488.htm. This old article provided interview quotes related to George Lucas’ influences behind Star Wars.
Wikimedia Commons. Used to access the three public domain images in this unit.
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