Office hours: Wednesday 4-6 pm – School of International Studies (please book a time slot using this link:
https://doodle.com/poll/beh4mstgsgk7ngk6 ).
OBJECTIVES
On completion of this module students are expected to be
•••Familiar with contemporary debates in European Union studies.
Be able to demonstrate an ability to think, discuss and write about these debates critically.
The module aims to provide students with knowledge on the functioning of EU institutions, on the EU main public policies and on the main theories utilized to frame the process of European integration.
PREREQUISITES
Basic knowledge of European Union politics
CONTENTS
This module reviews some of the key policies of the European Union and the functioning of its main institutions with a particular focus on current developments. The module consists of four sections. (1) Review of EU institutions and policies, (2) Europeanisation, globalization, the European state and its transformations, (3) Theories of European integration and the impact on the EU of the 2008 financial crisis and its aftermaths.
After a brief historical review of the process of European construction, the module focuses on the structures and
functions of the main EU institutions and some of the main EU policies. A second section focuses on the current
debates on the process of European construction, the role of the EU in international relations with particular reference
to processes of widening of the international arena and processes of redefinition of the functions of the state in the
European context. With specific reference to the EU level, the third section examines current challenges and the
transformations of the European Project.
TEACHING METHODS
The module is taught by discussion seminars introduced by a lecture by the module leader. The discussion is
organized around set questions and prescribed readings. It is expected that students will be familiar not only with the
set readings but will have read supplementary texts. It is required that students will have studied the weekly set texts
sufficiently to be able to summarize them, elaborate the issues they deal with and have formed views regarding the
meaning, significance and implications of the texts for the topics under consideration. The prescribed reading will be
supplemented by independent reading, drawing upon library and electronic sources.
ASSESSMENT
Exam on the handbook and one of the mandatory readings listed in the reference list. Students can also choose to
do a class presentation and write a related essay of 2500 words, in which case the essay plus presentation, and the
exam will each be worth 50% of the final mark.
In view of the current coronavirus emergency, further information on assessment criteria (i.e. oral or written
exam) and on the structure of the module will be communicated and copied in Moodle in the near future.
Thursday lectures will take place in room 108. Friday lectures will be online. Zoom links will be communicated
through Moodle.
Here is a link to a doodle to book a slot for presentations. Up to two students can present at any one lecture.
OTHER INFORMATION
Each session will consist of a 45-minute presentation by the lecturer, followed by one hour and fifteen minutes of
structured discussion and student presentations.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mandatory Reading:
Cini M, Perez-Solorzano N (eds) (2019) European Union Politics. Oxford UP, Oxford (selected chapters).
Additional Key Readings
Dedman M (2009) The Origins and Development of the European Union 1945–2008. Routledge, London
Heywood A (2011) Global Politics. Palgrave, London (selected chapters).
Staab A (2011) The European Union Explained. Indiana University Press, Bloomington
TRENZ, H.-J., RUZZA, C. & GUIRAUDON, V. 2015. Europe's Prolonged Crisis. The Making or the Unmaking of a Political
Union. London: Palgrave.
Additional readings will be provided as the courses proceeds.
SEMINAR PROGRAMME:
Readings
There will be a seminar after each lecture. In seminars, we will cover the contents of lectures through thematically
related readings. They are meant to clarify the approaches discussed in the lectures. Readings for the seminars are
short articles from a variety of sources.
Students are expected to have read the materials in advance and be ready to summarise them and discuss the
connections to the lectures. In the course of the discussion, we will examine all the articles assigned.
In each seminar two students will be ask to present in 10-15 minutes the materials assigned for the week according
to a previously set schedule. Class discussion will follow.
