Course Description
Examination of European history, society, and culture from multiple perspectives, featuring guest speakers from various departments across the college. Themes will include economic crisis, immigration from the south and east, and the role of Islam.
Athena Title
TRANSNATL EUROPE
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Examines this new Europe from multiple perspectives and through the lens of various disciplines. The course is arranged such that students will generally meet once every two weeks for two periods. This schedule will allow for guest speakers from different departments to present their research on multiple aspects of transnational Europe, with time for discussion to follow. Students will write weekly responses to the readings associated with each session, as well as final projects examining an aspect of European society in greater detail. The precise list of topics will be tailored to the speakers who are available to visit the class, but will certainly include themes such as the public and private sectors in economic crisis, migration from south and east to west, and the often controversial negotiations between Muslim immigrants and an increasingly secular Western populace. Students will learn both content and process in this course. Learning outcomes include a knowledge of the origins and development of the European Union, of European populations and emigration, of religious conflict and secularism, and of economic crisis and the position of Europe in the 21st century. In terms of skills, students will learn how to assess primary source documents, considering authorship, context, intended audience, use of language, and impact. They will also hone their writing and editing skills through weekly written assignments, peer review, and final projects. These assignments will include instruction in navigating library resources and proper forms of citation. Finally, students will develop their ability to participate in a dynamic seminar environment via question and answer sessions with speakers and student presentations of research.
Topical Outline
In the decades since its creation following World War II, the European Union has expanded from the six founding nations to the 27 member states of today. Originally an economic coal and steel community in Western Europe, the Union now includes Eastern European and Mediterranean states, with the majority Muslim nation of Turkey among the candidate countries. The history of the European Union mirrors the history of modernity in the West: Cold War, cultural revolution, the welfare state, common markets, migration and ethnic diversity. Europe in 2013 is home to immigrants from around the globe, including millions of Muslims in previously more homogenous nations such as England, France, and Spain. The Old World, once the driving force behind imperialism, has become a different sort of participant in the new global economy, pursuing a fragile and contested economic bloc in order to compete in the Pacific century. Topical Outline What is Europe? Geographical definition of Europe; development of the concept of "Europe" in the modern era; origins and expansion of the European Union. Economic Crisis in the PIGS: Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain Communism, capitalism, and the rise of the welfare state; boom years of the 1990s, e.g., the Celtic Tiger; comparison between the housing bubble in the U.S. and in Europe; unemployment, austerity and popular protest. East and West: Immigration from the former Soviet Bloc The forced movement of peoples in the aftermath of World War II; Cold War and the Berlin War; post-1991 emigration from East to West, and the challenge of labor and assimilation. Muslim Minorities in Western Europe France and the Battle of Algiers; Decolonization and the colonial legacy; Muslim immigration to France, England, Spain, et al; accommodation, assimilation, and resistance. Women and Islam in Turkey Turkey's candidacy for the EU; women and modernity in Turkey; the controversy over veils and headscarves; impressions of Muslim women in the West, and of European women in Turkey. Rise and Fall of the Welfare State The origins of socialized medicine, transportation, and other industries in the post war era; Thatcher and the privatization of social services in Britain; economic crisis, aging populations, and the fate of the welfare state.
Syllabus