European Culture and Civilization: 2023

"As the most anticipated event of the 2016 calendar draws ever nearer, tensions are running high: people up and down the country are considering and re-considering their position, reflecting on our national identity, the intricacies of an aged voting system, our relationship with our European neighbours, and the result’s knock-on effect on the European referendum. Sorry – you thought I meant the European referendum? No, I’m talking about the 61st Eurovision Song Contest."
Siobhan Palmer (28 APRIL 2016)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/04/26/is-eurovision-really-all-political-why-the-balkan-voting-bloc-is/

lunes, 16 de enero de 2023

Course Description

G1808 “EUROPEAN CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION”

(DIPLOMA IN SPANISH HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION, UNIVERSIDAD DE CANTABRIA)

ECTS

Taught by

Prof. Dr. Jesús Ángel González, gonzalezja@unican.es

Class Blog: http://europeancultureandcivilization.blogspot.com/

Course language

English

Schedule

Classes: Wed 12:30-13:30, Thu 10:30-12:30

Content

The course will deal with the concepts of culture and European unity and diversity. Therefore, the different concepts of culture and the diverse dimensions of Europe (geographical, historical, religious, economic, cultural) will be analyzed and followed by an individual analysis of the culture and civilization of some specific European countries. The course will also present key facts about the creation and development of the European Union. Some of the topics to be covered are: Origin of the EU, how the EU works, monetary union, European issues and priorities, the EU in the world, current developments and future possibilities.

Assessment

-Class attendance and participation 10% (MINIMUM 80 %)

-Oral presentation 30% Students will choose one European country and prepare an oral presentations about its culture and civilization.. The presentations should last between 20 and 30 minutes and some of the following fields could be covered: Background, history, geography, languages, sociological overview, education, religion, economy, politics, the Media, cultural conflicts, cultural products (Literature, Cinema, Art). Special emphasis should be placed on each student’s field of expertise or University Major.

- Reading and Writing Assignments: 20 %: Students are expected to read a number of articles, discuss them in class and hand in article reviews.

- Final paper: “What is then a European?" 40 %

Teaching methods

Participants will be encouraged to actively participate in class and share their experiences and ideas with others to explore new ways of thinking. The course will be conducted using a mixture of lectures; small group activities; practical exercises, facilitated discussions and oral presentations.

Teaching material

§ Core Texts: Class materials to be picked up by students at the Interfacultativo Copy Centre

§ Additional material:

Barbour, P. (Ed.) The European Union Handbook. Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers. 1996

Chernotsky, Harry & Heidi Hobbs. Crossing Borders: International Studies for the 21st Century.

CQ Press, 2015. Díez Medrano, J. Framing Europe. Princeton University Press. 2003.

González López, Jesús A. An Introduction to North American Culture and Literature.

Santander: TGD, 2006.

Harari, Yuval Noah. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. London: Penguin, 2011.

Hartley, Emma. 50 Facts you Need to Know: Europe. Icon Books: 2006.

Marshall, Tim. Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need To

Know About Global Politics. London: Elliot & Thompson, 2015.

Oxford Guide to British and American Culture. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Rifkin, Jeremy. The European Dream: How Europe's Vision of the Future Is Quietly Eclipsing the American Dream. London: Polity, 2005.