Admission requirements
Registration for the Minor European Union Studies or admission to the pre-master European Union Studies
Description
“Crisis” has dominated the public and academic discussions about the European Union in the last decade. In particular, the EU’s response to the migration flows across the Mediterranean and the consequences of the global financial crisis on the Eurozone, not to mention Britain’s decision to leave the EU, have put into question not only the effectiveness of the EU, but also its viability. Yet there seems to be little agreement on what the “crisis” means and how it affects the EU as a whole. Some observers believe that the EU is disintegrating or doomed to fail. Others think that the EU is muddling through, and becoming stronger. Still others believe that the EU is operating normally. Can all these positions be true at the same time, or are they mutually exclusive? Is there one view that best captures what is going on in the EU? Is it one structural crisis, or a combination of successive crises that the EU is confronted with?
These are some of the basic questions that we explore in this course. We seek to make sense of conflicting narratives about both the origin of the crisis and its effects on the operation of the EU. We adopt a broad perspective and assess the manifold social, political, economic, historical and philosophical elements of narratives about the crisis, against a backdrop of national and global developments, in order to paint a meaningful picture of the state and the direction of European integration. We concentrate on salient cases - ranging from the crisis of technocracy, democratic politics, democratic capitalism to the crisis of solidarity and hospitality – to analyse and connect disparate perspectives on the diagnoses and consequences of the crisis as well as the EU’s response to it.
Our approach is threefold. First, we identify and theorise the character and scope of the crisis as can be observed in specific cases and explore connections with broader domestic and global transformations. Second, we examine the strategies that the EU member states and institutions have deployed to respond to the crisis and the outcomes that have flowed from them. Finally, we consider the extent to which the crisis can be resolved at all and what that means for the operation and the viability of the EU.
Course objectives
Our approach is threefold. First, we identify and theorise the character and scope of the crisis as can be observed in specific cases and explore connections with broader domestic and global transformations. Second, we examine the strategies that the EU member states and institutions have deployed to respond to the crisis and the outcomes that have flowed from them. Finally, we consider the extent to which the crisis can be resolved at all and what that means for the operation and the viability of the EU.
Timetable
See Timetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminar
Course Load
tba
Assessment method
Assessment
Critical commentary on the discussion question of every session
Participation
Oral presentation on a topic related to the week’s theme
Outline of the research problem
Outline of the research design
Final Essay
Weighing
Critical commentary on the discussion question of every session (ca 500 words): (10%)
Participation: 10%
Oral presentation on a topic related to the week’s theme (10%)
Outline of the research problem (1,000 words): 10%
Outline of the research design (2,000 words): 20%
Final Essay (5,000 words): 40%
Resit
tba
Exam review
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 organized.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be used for this course
Reading list
tba
Registration
Enrolment through uSis is mandatory.
General information about uSis is available on the website
Registration Studeren à la carte and Contractonderwijs
Not applicable
Contact
Contact information