Department of European Studies & Modern Languages, Unit Catalogue 2007/08 |
EU30295 In search of Europe 2: nationalism, regionalism and convergence in Europe since 1989 |
| Credits: 6 |
| Level: Honours |
| Semester: 2 |
| Assessment: ES67CW33 |
| Requisites: |
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Aims: The 'In Search of Europe' course as a whole aims to provide an appropriate theoretical, conceptual and empirical framework of reference to enable students to explore continuities and changes in the concept of Europe since World War II. In Semester 2, the unit focuses on regional and European identities within Europe since the collapse of communism.
Learning Outcomes: By the end of the unit students should be able to: * demonstrate understanding of major developments in European politics since the collapse of communism, with special focus on trends towards greater integration and, simultaneously, fragmentation, regionalism and ethnic conflict; * analyse the components of national and ethnic identity and apply theories about nationalism and about the creation and transmission of identities to developments in contemporary Europe; * attempt an informed definition of ' Europe' in the context of global political developments since the end of the Cold War. Skills: Skills in critical analysis, conceptual thinking, precision in the use of written and spoken language, exercise of independent judgement, reasoned argument and the planning/conduct/reporting of non-quantitative research are developed and assessed in this unit. Content: Immediate consequences of 1989; the resurgence of particularism; forces for integration. Key texts: A. Smith, Nations and Nationalism in a Global Era (1995); K. Cordell (ed), Ethnicity and Democratisation in the New Europe (1999). |