Admission requirements
History students should have successfully completed their propaedeutic exam and both second-year BA-seminars, one of which in Algemene Geschiedenis. By choosing this seminar, students also choose Algemene Geschiedenis as their BA graduation specialisation.
Description
Europeanness, or identification as European, was a constitutive element of the social structure in the imperial world, being associated with power and privilege. What it meant to be European, however, was not defined by a coherent system of classification based on phenotypic features. Rather, it was often a fluid concept where some ‘Europeans’ were identified as more or less ‘European’ than others. Were poor whites or migrants from Southern European countries perceived as equals to elite settlers from Northern European countries? How ambiguous was the position of people with mixed ethnic backgrounds in these societies? In this seminar, we will reflect on these types of questions, examining the many degrees of Europeanness and to what extent factors such as race, class, and culture shaped them through close readings of secondary literature and critiques of primary sources.
Students will attend weekly seminars and are expected to read the set texts each week and come prepared to discuss them. Students will write a research-driven term paper based on primary sources. There will be smaller assignments leading to the gradual development of the term paper – the so-called Building Blocks, which will allow students to build their papers, block by block. Students will also give and receive feedback from their peers and give an oral presentation on their term paper.
Course objectives
General learning objectives
The student can:
- devise and conduct research of limited scope, including:
a. identifying relevant literature and select and order them according to a defined principle;
b. organising and using relatively large amounts of information;
c. an analysis of a scholarly debate;
d. placing the research within the context of a scholarly debate. - write a problem solving essay and give an oral presentation after the format defined in the first year Themacolleges, including:
a. using a realistic schedule of work;
b. formulating a research question and subquestions;
c. formulating a well-argued conclusion;
d. giving and receiving feedback;
e. responding to instructions of the lecturer. - reflect on the primary sources on which the literature is based;
- select and use primary sources for their own research;
- analyse sources, place and interpret them in a historical context;
- participate in class discussions.
Learning objectives, pertaining to the specialisation
- The student has knowledge of a specialisation, more specifically;
- in the specialisation General History: of the place of European history from 1500 in a worldwide perspective; with a focus on the development and role of political institutions;
- in the track History of European Expansion and Globalisation: of the development of global networks which facilitate an ever growing circulation of people, animals, plants, goods and ideas, and the central role of European expansion in this from around 1500.
- Knowledge and insight in the main concepts, the research methods and techniques of the specialisation, more specifically;
- in the specialisation General History: of the study of primary sources and the context specificity of nationally defined histories;
- in the track History of European Expansion and Globalisation: of the combining of historiographical debates with empirical research of primary sources and/or the combining of various historiographical traditions through the use of innovative research questions.
Learning objectives, pertaining to this specific seminar
The student:
- has knowledge of and insight into the historiographical debates associated with questions of colonial and European identities in a global perspective;
- understands the relationship between race, class, and culture and processes of identity formation as ‘European’;
is able to conduct research into a self-chosen topic within the theme of the seminar, developing well-supported written argumentation, either in a single region or in a broader, comparative manner, based on primary sources and secondary literature;
is able to provide constructive criticism on a scientific piece and receive feedback on one’s own work.
Timetable
The timetables are available through MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminar (compulsory attendance)
This means that students have to attend every session of the course. If you are not able to attend, you are required to notify the teacher beforehand. The teacher will determine if and how the missed session can be compensated by an additional assignment. If specific restrictions apply to a particular course, the teacher will notify the students at the beginning of the semester. If you do not comply with the aforementioned requirements, you will be excluded from the seminar.
Assessment method
Assessment
Written paper (6000-7000 words, based on problem-oriented research using primary sources, excluding front page, table of contents, footnotes and bibliography)
measured learning objectives: 1-5,7-11Oral presentation
measured learning objectives: 3-5, 7-11Participation
measured learning objectives: 6-11Feedback Session
measured learning objectives: 7-12Building Block 1: 500-word abstract
measured learning objectives: 7-11Building Block 2: 2000-word research proposal
measured learning objectives: 1-2, 4, 7-11Building Block 3: first draft
measured learning objectives: 1-5, 7-11
Weighing
Written paper: 60%
Oral presentation: 10%
Participation: 10%
Feedback Session: 10%
Building Blocks: 10%
The final grade for the course is established by determining the weighted average with the additional requirement that the written paper must always be sufficient.
Resit
The written paper can be revised, when marked insufficient. Revision should be carried out within the deadline as provided in the relevant course outline on Brightspace.
Inspection and feedback
How and when an exam review will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the exam results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the exam results, an exam review will have to be organised.
Reading list
Literature for each session will be announced and made available in class and/or on Brightspace.
Registration
Registration is done via a form that all History students receive on the day registrations open.
If there is insufficient interest, seminars may be canceled and students will make an alternative choice in consultation with their study advisor.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Huizinga.
Remarks
This course will be taught in English. Students will give presentations and write their assignments in English.