Introduction to the European Union: Politics and Policy
Description
This is an online course introducing the politics, decision making and policies of the
European Union. The course aims to give students a basic understanding of the European Union’s evolution, institutions and policies. The course covers material similar to the second year Department of Public Administration course on the Politics and Policies of the European Union and uses the same main book and online sources. However, completing the introduction to the European Union as an online course clearly requires an independent effort and systematic approach from students.
Students should follow the instructions in the course sessions content area week by week to familiarize themselves with the readings and online sources and to complete their assignments before moving to the next week. Assignments are to be found in the area of the week in which they should be completed. All work in one week should be completed successfully before the student moves on to the next week and eventually completes the course.
Course objectives
After completing this online module, the students are expected to:
have a basic knowledge of the institutions of the European Union, their origins, evolution and operation
have an understanding of the historical evolution of the European Union, its special place in the panorama of international organizations and the incremental character of European integration
be familiar with the broad spectrum of EU policies
be able to find and use the extensive online sources providing information on European Union for independent research into issue and policy areas.
Timetable
The course is an online course. Please contact the coordinator dr Rasmussen: (rasmussena@fsw.leidenuniv.nl) before September 20th, 2012.
Due to illness of the coordinator the course starts appr. October 4th, 2012
Mode of instruction
The course is an online course with regular assignments and a final exam.
Assessment method
Students are assessed in different ways. There will be reading assignments, a written
assignment, a multiple choice test and a short final essay. All should be completed before students can pass the course. Every week there will be a number of reading assignments, where students have to find some information on the internet and independently browse around. Although it will not be controlled whether students have completed reading assignments, they are an important part of this course and time spent on them will pay back later when broader reading than the basic books for this course will be required.
The final grade is formed by combining the results of the assignments in the following
manner:
first written assignment: 15% of the final grade
multiple choice test: 45% of the final grade
final short essay: 40% of the final grade
Student need a minimum passing grade of 5.6 and a passing grade in all 3
assignments in order to pass the course.
Reading list/Literature
The main book for this course is:
Neill Nugent, 2010. The Government and Politics of the European Union (7th Ed.).
Basingstoke: Palgrave MacmillanInternet sources
In addition, students are required to familiarize themselves with a number of internet
sources providing primary EU material and introducing other international organizations.
Using information from the main websites is an integral part of this course. The most
important internet addresses are listed as part of the course material for every week.
Blackboard
Instructor uses Blackboard. This page is available from of (appr.) October 4th, 2012
Registration
Via USIS
Contact information
Dr. Anne Rasmussen, rasmussena@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks / Preparation for first session
Please contact the coordinator dr Rasmussen: (rasmussena@fsw.leidenuniv.nl) before September 20th, 2012
Due to illness of the coordinator the course starts appr October 4th, 2012