LPINT5241 The European Union in the World Course Descriptor

Course Overview

This area studies course offers an in-depth understanding of the history, politics, policies, and nature of the European Union (EU). It examines how these affect the EU’s global role in trade, aid, conflict resolution, and wider processes of fostering democratisation in the international system. The course aims to advance the powers of analysis, debate, and argument around matters of national, regional, and international affairs, as well as to enhance critical thinking and awareness of current events relating to the EU as a system and a source of supranational authority and agency. The course encourages students to think about the present state of European politics and policy, not only through a deep dive into the existing body of scholarly literature but also through critical appraisal of reports and news pieces from a variety of genres and contexts (e.g. broadcasts, blogs, op-eds, etc) which confront students with the analytical and empirical application of their learning. Through studies, discussion and understanding of the key developments in contemporary institutional processes and policies within the governance infrastructure of the European Union,  students will learn to critically appraise the extent to which the evolution of the EU is shaped by particular historical and cultural contingencies and how it continues to adjust and evolve in light of changing international dynamics.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

Subject Specific Skills

Transferable and Employability Skills

Teaching and Learning

This course has a dedicated Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) page with a syllabus and range of additional resources (e.g. readings, question prompts, tasks, assignment briefs, discussion boards) to orientate and engage students in their studies.

The scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course are:

Lectures and/or seminars

40 scheduled hours – typically including induction, consolidation or revision, and assessment activity hours.

Version 1:all sessions in the same sized group

OR

Version 2: most of the sessions in larger groups; some of the sessions in smaller groups

Faculty hold regular ‘office hours’, which are opportunities for students to drop in or sign up to explore ideas, raise questions, or seek targeted guidance or feedback, individually or in small groups. 

Students are to attend and participate in all the scheduled teaching and learning activities for this course and to manage their directed learning and independent study.

Indicative total learning hours for this course: 150 hours

Assessment

Both formative and summative assessments are used as part of this course, with purely formative opportunities typically embedded within interactive teaching sessions, office hours, and/or the VLE.

Summative Assessments

The assessments will require students to apply critical modes of thought, relevant theories and concepts to the analysis of empirical findings concerning the governance  of the EU and its role as a global actor, including  by working with a variety of sources of information:

Further information about the assessments can be found in the Course Syllabus.

Feedback

Students will receive formative and summative feedback in a variety of ways, written (e.g. marked up on assignments, through email or the VLE) and/or oral (e.g. as part of interactive teaching sessions or in office hours).

Indicative Reading

Note: Comprehensive and current reading lists are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative reading list provided below is for a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• George, S. and Bache, I. (2020), Politics in the European Union, Oxford University Press (Fifth Edition) (or subsequent editions).
• Cini, M. and Pérez-Solórzano Borragán. N. (2022), European Union Politics, Oxford University Press (Seventh Edition) (or subsequent editions).

Indicative Topics

Note: Comprehensive and current topics for courses are produced annually in the Course Syllabus or other documentation provided to students; the indicative topics provided below are used as a general guide and part of the approval/modification process only.

• Stages and Theories of European integration: functionalism, intergovernmentalism, constructivism, post-functionalism
• Agency: European Union decision-making and multi-level governance
• Policy-making and the European Union institutionalism: the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary
• Policies of the European Union: Economic and Monetary (EMU), Enlargement, Justice and Home Affairs (JHA), Common Foreign and Security, Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)