The EU and European Identity

Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Debates on European identity;
• Political issues on national identity and sovereignty.
• The cultural dimension of European integration;
• Theories of European integration, Europeanisation and European identity;
• Contrasting analyses of political, historical and cultural processes of European integration;

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Analyse theoretical work on the processes of European integration, cultural identification and Europeanisation;
• Produce your own analyses of varied cultural processes attached to European integration;
• Think critically about the relations between the regional, national European levels.
• Think critically about the workings of the European Union;
• Think critically about questions of cultural identity and agency;

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Participate in intellectual discussions;
• Use a variety of resources to carry out detailed independent research;
• Express your own views and interpretations clearly and succinctly in oral presentations;
• Collate a wide variety of material and evaluate its usefulness;
• Develop and clearly express sophisticated theoretical arguments in writing;
• Critically evaluate your own skills.

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Discuss debates about contemporary European integration and the EU;
• Produce complex readings of texts in various media;
• Carry out advanced research into cultural and political issues;

The module provides an overview of the evolution of the European Union (EU) from its early stages to the present. In so doing, it examines the ideas and history of the EU, the institutions of the EU, examples of specific issue areas and the present and future challenges facing the Union. By the end of the module you should have a broad knowledge of the EU, encompassing these various dimensions. You should be able to critically reflect on the various debates, critique the established literature and present your own reasoned arguments.

The syllabus may typically include PART I: INTRODUCTION TO THE EU

• Introduction to the EU offers an overview of the historical development of the EU and of EU institutions.
• Conceptualising the EU
• Conceptualising the EU 2

PART II: RESEARCHING THE EU AND EUROPEAN IDENTITY

• What is the EU and How to study it?
• The idea of Europe
• European identity, between politics and culture

PART III: THEMATIC APPROACHES TO EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

• Europeanisation or cultural narratives of Europe
• Borders and Migrations: Fortress Europe, immigration policy and Securitisation
• Transnational Belonging
• European Identities

Session 11: Concluding and Revising session

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include

• Lectures and questions;
• Seminar group presentations;
• Group discussion in seminars.

Learning activities include

• Organisation of material and own ideas for oral presentation;
• Developing own interpretation of theoretical works and texts;
• Debating ideas in class, especially in response to student presentations;
• Independent study.

Innovative or special features of this module

 You will be asked to join a group topic to present their individual research and they will need to provide a group introduction to the topic under discussion. Guidance will be provided by the teachers.

 An individual write-up of the seminar presentation will be produced taking into account the seminar discussion and teacher’s feedback.

The module format is discussion-based, encouraging you to take responsibility for your own work. You will be introduced to theoretical works on European integration, European identity and Europeanisation and be able to sketch out the debates relating to them and pose your own questions, which will form the basis of ensuing student-led discussion organised around individual presentations. You will be required to give one oral presentation during the module, evidencing a capacity for independent research and an ability to apply theory to the material studied. The presentation will be assessed and detailed written feedback on it will be provided. The written assignments will test your understanding of the theoretical issues introduced, your ability to conduct detailed independent research, develop analysis, and engage in theoretical argument at a high level.

The seminars are designed around group-work, individual presentation and discussion. Each session will focus on a course text introducing the topic and highlighting the central questions. Where appropriate, you will be given the task to introduce the topic in short presentations to their peers. Apart from that you will be encouraged to collect and present other materials, such as media texts, to complement the course texts.

Resources & Reading list

Textbooks

Favell, Adrian (2008). Eurostars and Eurocities. Free Movement and Mobility in an Integrating Europe. Oxford: Blackwell publishing.

Friedman Rebecca and Markus Thiel (eds.) (2012). European Identity and Culture: Narratives of Transnational Belonging. Ashgate: Studies in Migration and Diaspora.

Fligstein, Neil (2008). Euroclash. The EU, European Identity, and the Future of Europe. OUP.

Jeffrey T. Checkel, Peter J. Katzenstein. (2009). European Identity. Cambridge: CUP.

Demossier, M. (2007). The European Puzzle, the political structuring of cultural identities at a time of transition. Oxford, New York: Berghahn.

Richard K. Herrmann, Thomas Risse, and Marilynn B. Brewer (Eds) (2004). Transnational Identities: Becoming European in the EU. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External