SluitenHelpPrint
Switch to English
Cursus: GE3V17026
GE3V17026
What is Europe?
Cursus informatie
CursuscodeGE3V17026
Studiepunten (EC)7,5
Cursusdoelen
Learning outcomes: after completing the course, students will have:
  • knowledge and understanding of historical developments related to the course topic;
  • knowledge of the historiography within the course topic;
  • familiarity with the diverse ways in which historical knowledge of the course topic can be relevant to their own job market prospects;
  • a skills set enabling them to think, act and communicate at an academic level and in line with academic standards of conduct ('academic integrity').
Learning objectives and skills: after completing the course, students will be able to:
  • explore a broad historical or historiographical topic in depth;
  • critically evaluate different interpretations and formulate their own viewpoint;
  • present a well-formulated discourse analysis both orally and in writing;
  • collaborate with fellow students on a group presentation;
  • link knowledge of historical thinking on the course topic to their own job market prospects;
  • connect historical knowledge of the course topic to modern-day social and political issues­;
  • work in accordance with academic standards.
Inhoud
This is the first course of Specialisation 5: Europe: Integration and Disintegration (English track International Relations).

Priority rules apply to this course. Make sure you register for this course before 17 June 12.00 p.m. to be considered for enrollment.

Students who major in History, TCS or LAS and take this course as part of their specialization, and pre-master’s students are guaranteed a place.
Other students will be placed through random selection. 
LAS and TCS students who follow this course as part of the core curriculum of their major, need to complete a compulsory preparation course/assignment. See for more information: https://tcs.sites.uu.nl/

Ever since the idea of ‘Europe’ was born, opinions have varied regarding the question of what Europe is or should be, where its borders lie and whether there is such a thing as a ‘European identity’. This course addresses the conceptual history of Europe,. Its key focus lies on the notion that European history is a process driven by conflicting visions of historical actors on the past, present and future of Europe. In this course you will learn to recognize the variety of normative meanings that politicians, administrators, activists and intellectuals have attributed to ‘Europe’ and related concepts such as ‘Mitteleuropa’ and the ‘German Question’. Were their ideal visions of Europe based on a presumed cultural unity based on Roman and Christian foundations or did they instead highlight the cultural diversity of Europe? How were they going to translate these visions into a political reality: through a federation, a confederation or a unitary state? How did they deal with the tension between national sovereignty and European unity; and with the German Question, the integration of that powerful and centrally located country into the European state system? In this course you will examine their effect on the political-institutional developments in the twentieth century. In group discussions you will discuss the ways in which these historically laden concepts continue to exert influence on contemporary political debates.


 
SluitenHelpPrint
Switch to English