Philip M Broadbent

EUS 305: Introduction to European Studies

Unique: 36380

Instructor: Philip Broadbent p.broadbent@mail.utexas.edu

Meeting Time and Room: T/TH 2-3:30 BUR 337

Office Hours: by appointment

 

Fall 2009

 

Europe does not exist. It is, however, a bewildering puzzle of many different histories, nations, cultures and languages, with more than 450 million people now living in the European Union. Even though there are ever closer political, social and economic relationships among the member states of a rapidly enlarging European Union, Europe and European identities have constantly to be (re)defined and renegotiated.

In this course we look at post-war Europe as an ongoing project in the making. Based on this assumption, we will not ask “what is Europe," but we will follow the permanent process of Europeanization. Asking the question "what does it mean to be European," we will focus mainly on cultural practices and everyday activities in a Europe that is becoming ever more united, and we will trace the resulting tensions between regional, national and supranational identities. When do the people and peoples of Europe feel European (and not only Spanish, German, Polish or Turkish), and how is Europeanization reflected in common symbols, gender relations, religion, landscapes, food, sports, environment or migration? Our readings will offer examples from countries all over Europe, with a special focus on the eastern enlargement of the European Union. We will use a broad variety of case studies from anthropology, cultural studies, film and other disciplines, so that students will learn to analyze Europe from a cultural point of view.

 

This introductory course has the following objectives:

• Introducing students to some of the most important topics in European studies with examples from a variety of case studies;
• Offering a theoretical and methodological toolbox, based on concepts and methods from cultural studies, cultural geography, sociology, and cultural anthropology.
• Introducing students to writing, reading and discussion techniques

 

The overall objective of the course is to give an overview of the many topics that constitute European studies, to develop a specific cultural, intellectual and analytical perspective, to be able to read, to comprehend and to discuss academic texts, and to communicate these findings in class discussions as well as written essays.

 

The course fulfils the substantial writing component.

 

Readings:

Course readings will be posted on blackboard.

 

All assignments: No late papers accepted. Papers, written in double-space, 12. font, should be handed in as hardcopy. For due-dates, see syllabus.

 

 

Assignments:

Participation / Homework                        20%

2 short review papers                                    15%

4-page summary paper                        20%

Minutes                                                10%

Quizzes                                                10%

Final essay                                                25%

 

1. Attendance and active participation are mandatory. You will be asked to sign in at the beginning of each class. Unsatisfactory attendance unsupported by medical documentation will preclude a student’s receiving a grade higher than C. In accordance with University policy, you will be excused from class to participate in religious observances. Active participation means being involved in discussions and discussion groups, being curious and asking in case you don’t understand something, questioning statements and findings if you disagree, and defending your own findings and opinions, according to your own capacity to perform in a group. It also means doing your homework regularly (writing abstracts, worksheets, etc.).

2. Each student will present minutes of one previous session, in oral and written form. Minutes consist of a resume of the session’s content, how it relates to the overall topic of the course, of the main results of the discussions, and of a short personal comment. You will also add one or two examples from latest ‘news from Europe’ as presented in media such as the New York Times, google-news or other media-sources, and you will comment shortly on them. The oral presentation consists of a 5 min segment, on which you will prepare a written paper of 2 pages in length to hand in at the day of presentation.

4. Each student will write a detailed 4-page summary of section/part 1. You can make your own choice on which topic you wish to focus, but you it is expected that you quote at least four different authors, add a correct bibliography and write in an academic style.

5. Each student will write two 2-3-page papers. Instructions on topics and specific will be given in class.

6. There will be regular quizzes in class, which will cover the readings of the week. You may drop the quiz with the lowest grade.

7. The final essay will be 6 double-spaced pages on a topic of your choice. You have to discuss the topic with me in advance (please bring a thesis statement, a short outline and bibliography to the meeting). This final essay has to be submitted by November 12. No late papers accepted.

 

Every student should be aware of what constitutes plagiarism. Academic dishonesty will lead automatically to Grade F for the course. Please visit http://www.utexas.edu/deps/dos/sjs for the University’s statement on plagiarizing.

 

Plus/Minus Grades will be assigned for the final grade.

 

The Writing Centre offers support and help for student writing and research: http://uwc.utexas.edu

 

 

 

 

CLASS AND CLASSROOMS:

            Cell phones must be turned off in class; computers may be used only for note-taking. If a student uses electronic devices for non-class related activities and creates a disturbance s/he will be asked to leave for the remainder of that class.

 

ACADEMIC ASSISTANCE

• Academic Assistance is provided by the UT Learning Center, in Jester Center, Room A332A.  It offers help with college-level writing, reading, and learning strategies.  It is free to all currently enrolled students. 
• See:  <http://www.lib.utexas.edu/services/assistive/policy.html>  for requesting help you need in using the main library (PCL) or the Fine Arts Library (for films).

 

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

            The University of Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of Students at 471-6259, 471-6441 TTY.   Any student with a documented disability who requires academic accommodations should contact the Service for Students with Disabilities as soon as possible to request an official letter outlining authorized accommodations.  These letters must be given to your TAs to receive accommodations.  See: <http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/index.php>.

 

SYLLABUS AND ASSIGNMENTS:

            All requirements have been given to you in writing, in the package including this sheet.  If you don't read it and miss something, it's not our problem.  NO LATE WORK ACCEPTED;  see the conditions for making up work for medical and other leaves are listed in the next section.

 

RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS AND OTHER ABSENCES

• Students can make up work missed because of a religious holiday as long as they provide the instructor with documentation at least one week before the holiday occurs. 
• The same applies to official university obligations like Club or Varsity sports.
• Documentation from a physician is required for medical absence;  arrangements for work to be made up must be made promptly, and in no case should the work be completed more than 2 weeks after the absence. 
• Other absences (e.g. family events) must be arranged for at least TWO WEEKS IN ADVANCE and missed work must be turned in at the NEXT CLASS SESSION upon return.

 

CHEATING AND PLAGIARISM

            Cheating and other forms of scholastic dishonesty, including plagiarism, will be reported to the Dean of Students. Cheating on tests or plagiarism on  papers is an F for the assignment, with no makeup possible.  If you engage in any form of scholastic dishonesty more than once, you will receive an automatic F for the course.

            If you are unsure about the exact definition of scholastic dishonesty, you should consult the information about academic integrity produced by the Dean of Students Office: <http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acint_student.php>.

            Plagiarism means using words or ideas that are not your own without citing your sources and without indicating explicitly what you have taken from those sources. If you are unsure about what constitutes plagiarism, consult: <http://www.lib.utexas.edu/services/instruction/learningmodules/plagiarism/>

            What does "citing your sources" mean?  It means providing appropriate footnotes and bibliographic entries.  See <http://www.lib.utexas.edu/services/instruction/learningmodules/citations/>.  To make correct citations, researchers often use bibliographic software like UT's "Noodlebib" <http://www.lib.utexas.edu/noodlebib/>  or Zotero  <http://www.zotero.com. 

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CHEATING: 

The Student Judicial Services Website provides official definitions of plagiarism and cheating:

·      Definitions of plagiarism and other forms of scholastic dishonesty, based on Section 11-802d of UT’s Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities:

      http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/scholdis_plagiarism.php

·      The University’s Standard of Academic Integrity and Student Honor Code (from Chapter 11 of the University’s Institutional Rules on Student Services and Activities):

      http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/acint_student.php

·      Consequences of scholastic dishonesty: http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/scholdis_conseq.php

Types of scholastic dishonesty: unauthorized collaboration, plagiarism, and multiple submissions:  http://deanofstudents.utexas.edu/sjs/scholdis_whatis.php

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SYLLABUS

Week 1

1. Th. Aug 27

 

Presentation of syllabus and discussion of course objectives

 

 

Week 2 Part 1: Post-War Europe, anti-Americanism, Identity

 

1. Tue Sept. 1

Judt, Tony (2005) Postwar. A History of Europe Since 1945. London: Penguin Books (Introduction)

 

1. Th Sept. 3

Why the European Dream is Worth Saving, Der Spiegel http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,druck-366940,00.html

 

           

 

Week 3

1. Tue Sept. 8

Delanty, Gerard (2005). What Does it Mean to be European? Innovation 18: 11-22.

 

Gueldry, Michel (2009). The Americanization of France.

 

1. Th Sept. 10

Berman, Russell (2008). Not Just a Friendly Disagreement: Anti-Americanism as Obsession.

 

Week 4

1. Tue Sept. 15

Guest Lecture: Professor Sabine Hake will give a talk on Anti-Americanism in Europe.

 

1. Th Sept. 17

Berman, Russell: Sources of Anti-Americanism

http://www.hoover.org/research/focusonissues/focus/16582496.html

 

Week 5

1. Tue Sept. 22

Shore, Chris (2000) Building Europe. The Cultural Politics of European Integration. London, New York: Routledge (chapter 4)

 

1. Th Sept. 24

(Zabusky 2000) Boundaries at Work: Discourses and Practises of Belonging in the European Space Agency.

 

 

Week 6

1. Tue Sept. 29

Film: One Day in Europe (Stoehr, 2005)

 

1. Th Oct. 1

Borneman, John, (1997) Europeanization. Annual Review of Anthropology 26: 487-514.

 

* 1/2-page abstract of final essay due October 1: bring a hardcopy to class.*

 

Week 7 Part 2: The Institution of the European Union

 

1. Tue Oct. 6

McCormick, J. “The Institutions of the EU,” Understanding The European Union, 79-105

 

Kraus, Peter. A Union of Diversity (2008), 111-138

 

1. Th Oct. 8

Treaty of Lisbon / European elections. For information see

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,k-6717,00.html

 

Kurpas, Sebastian (2007) The Treaty of Lisbon: How much ‘Constitution is left’?

 

*Four-page summary of part one due October 8 – bring a hardcopy to class.*

 

Week 8            

1. Tue Oct. 13

(Abelès 2000)  Virtual Europe  An Anthropology of the European Union: Building, Imagining and Experiencing the New Europe.

 

1. Th Oct. 15

Heatherington, Tracey (2001) Ecology, Alterity, and Resistance in Sardinia. Social Anthropology 9: 289-306.

 

*Bibliography for final essay due October 15 – bring a hardcopy to class.*

 

Week 9                         Part 3: Soccer, Stereotypes & the European Champions League

 

1. Tue Oct. 20

King, Anthony (2000) Football Fandom and Post-National Identity in the New Europe. British Journal of Sociology 51: 419-442.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Th Oct. 22

Crolley, Liz (2000) Playing the Identity Card: Stereotypes in European Football. 1: 107-128.

 

Carrington, Ben 2008. Where is the white in the Union Jack? Race, identity and the sporting multicultural. In: Mark Perryman (ed.) Imagined nation: England after Britain, London: Lawrence & Wishart, 109-132.

 

Week 10                                                 Part 4: Cooking Europe(an)

 

1. Tue Oct. 27

Caglar, Ayse S. (1995) McDoener: Doener Kebap and the Social Positioning of German Turks. In: Janeen Arnold Costa and Gary J. Bamossy (eds.), Marketing in a Multicultural World, pp. 209-230. London, New Dehli: Thousand Oaks

 

1. Th Oct. 29

Leitch, Alison (2003) Slow Food and the Politics of Pork Fat: Italian Food and European Identity. Ethnos 68: 437-462.

 

 

Week 11                                                 Part 5: Post-Socialism Europe

 

1. Tue Nov. 3

Film: Everything is Illuminated (Live Schreiber, 2005).

 

1. Th Nov. 5

Everything is Illuminated (Cont.) followed by discussion

 

Week 12

1. Tue Nov. 10

 

Country presentations: for history, have a look at Wikipedia – your country. For European Union affiliation and opinion, see:

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,624130,00.html

 

* 2-page critical review of Liev Schreiber’s Everything is Illuminated due November 12.

 

Part 6: Future Challenges: Migration in Europe and European migration

 

1. Th Nov. 12

Veer, Peter van der (2006) Pim Fortuyn, Theo van Gogh and the Politics of Tolerance in the Netherlands. Public Culture 18: 111-124.

 

Kramer, Jane (2006) The Dutch Model. Multiculturalism and Dutch Immigrants. The New Yorker: 60-67. http://www.icare.to/article.php?id=2907&lang=en

 

*Final essay due November 12: bring a hardcopy to class. *

 

Week 13                                    

1. Tue Nov. 17

 Film: Fatih Akin (2005) Head on Part I

 

1. Th Nov. 19

Fatih Akin (2005) Head on Part II

Week 14

1. Tue Nov. 24

Birt, Jonathan. (2006) “Good Imam, Bad Imam: Civic Religion and National Integration in

Britain post 9/11.” In The Muslim World, vol. 96, No. 4, 687-705.

 

1.  Th Nov. 26

Thanksgiving

* 2-page critical review of Fatih Akin’s Head On due November 24. Bring hardcopy to class.

 

Week 15

1. Tue Dec. 1

Emmerson, Michael, “Dear Turkey, play it long and cool,” CEPS http://www.ceps.be/Article.php?article_id=551

 

Turkey’s EU entry talks: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4107919.stm

 

1. Th Dec. 3

Conclusion and summary