EU Studies Integrative Seminar
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The Integrative Seminar is mandatory for all European Union Program students. It provides students with an understanding of the origin, development and workings of the European Union, and how these are related to political developments at both the national and international levels. It further constitutes the context in which preparatory sessions preceding each field trip are held and post field trip analysis is conducted. The most important function of the integrative seminar is to serve as a capstone for discussion and analysis of coursework and field study insights, as well as a launching pad for the Model EU simulation.
All IES courses require attendance and participation. Attendance is mandatory per IES policy. Any unexcused absence will incur a penalty of 3% on your final grade. Any student who has more than three (3) unexcused absences will receive an “F” as the final grade in the course. Absences due to sickness, religious observances, and family emergencies may be excusable at the discretion of the Center Director.
In the case of an excused absence, it is the student’s responsibility to inform the Academic Dean of the absence with an Official Excused Absence Form, as well as any other relevant documentation (e.g. a doctor’s note), and to keep a record thereof. This form must be turned in as soon as possible before the class, in the case of a planned absence, or immediately after the class, in the case of an unplanned absence, in order for the absence to be considered excused. It is also the student’s responsibility to inform the professor of the missed class. Students can collect and submit the Official Excused Absence Form from the office of the Academic Dean.
TESTS MISSED DURING UNEXCUSED ABSENCES CANNOT BE MADE UP!
The use of laptop computers during class is not permitted. Cell phones are to be switched off. Updated information on your course and readings can be found on the Moodle platform at https://eu.elearning.iesabroad.org/.
Students will complete the course having developed a comprehensive understanding of the political and economic processes over the wide range of the 27 EU countries. They will be able to produce academic analyses of the achievements, the short-comings, and the potential of the European project. In addition, they will then have developed comparative political-cultural competencies, allowing them a fresh perspective on their domestic political system.
They will be able to exhibit an in-depth understanding of complexities of the decision-making and policy making processes in the EU, and evaluate the effects of these processes on individual countries. In addition, they will be able to demonstrate a thorough understanding of the interrelation between the EU institutions and the political structures of the EU member states, including such concepts as subsidiarity and Europeanization. Finally, students will learn to use their insights into the multiplicity of power relations between the various member states.
The above objectives will be achieved by classroom lectures and discussions, independent study and research supplemented by first-hand experience on the field trips (including meetings with EU officials, specialized academics, and lobbyists working on or with the EU), and by active participation in the simulation of a European summit which also presents students with the opportunity to develop negotiating skills and articulate a given position.
- Two exams (15% each) - 30%
- Field Trip Reflection Essay/Video blog (10% each) - 20%
- Participation in class and on Moodle - 25%
- Model EU Policy Statement - 10%
- Model EU Draft Proposal (collaborative assignment) - 5%
- Model EU Participation - 10%
Session |
Content |
Readings |
Intensive Introductory Week |
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I. HISTORY OF THE EUROPEAN UNION |
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Session 1
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Europe and the European Union: Europe before European Integration – The European Union: basic issues – Is there a ‘European’ identity? |
Herbert (2007); Dinan (2012) |
Session 2
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Theories of European Integration: Theories of European Integration – Intergovernmentalism and supranationalism – Multi-Level Governance
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Lelieveldt and Princen (2011: 31-50) |
Session 3
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The History of the EU I: Post-WW II Europe, the Cold War and European integration – Group project: Negotiating the European Coal and Steel Community |
Haas (1958); Schuman (1950) |
Session 4
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The History of the EU II: Building the European Community, 1958 to 1986: From EEC to SEA |
Moravcsik (1991) |
Session 5
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The History of the EU III: Achieving European Union – the EU as a multi-level polity |
Scharpf (2000 |
Session 6
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The History of the EU IV: Ever closer Union? The Eastern enlargement of the EU and the failure of the constitutional project – the EU and the problem of democratic legitimacy |
Majone (2009: 22-45) |
Session 7
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The EU and its member states: The financial crisis – the EU between integration and fragmentation – Group project: A structural analysis of the EU’s variable geography |
Scharpf (2013); Agamben (2013) |
Session 8
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The Model EU and Exam Review: Briefing on the Model EU simulation – Review for first exam |
Model EU Information Package (moodle), Study guide |
Session 9
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Exam 1 |
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Session 10
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. Field Study Preparation & The EU and its member states – Examples from Germany and the Czech Republic: The Cold War and Europe – Examples from Germany and Czechoslovakia; Review of news on EU, Germany and Czech Republic
APPLICATIONS FOR MODEL EU POSITIONS DUE THE DAY AFTER CLASS |
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Field Study Trip I (Berlin and Prague). Europe: From Division Towards Integration |
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Session 11
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Field Trip I Reflection
Assignment of Model EU positions |
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II.THE INSTITUTIONIONAL ARCHITECTURE OF THE EU: THE DECISION MAKING PROCESS AND THE DECISION MAKERS |
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Session 12
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The EU Institutions 1: Institutional Architecture and Policy Modes |
Wallace (2010)] |
Session 13
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The EU Institutions 2: The European Commission
FIELD TRIP REFLECTION ESSAY DUE |
Peterson (2012) |
Session 14
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The EU Institutions 3: The European Council and the Council of Ministers
PRESIDENCY, SECRETARIAT AND JOURNALIST MEETING: HOW TO WRITE THE AGENDA? WHAT TO DO AS A JOURNALIST? (AFTER CLASS) |
de Schoutheete (2012) and Hayes-Renshaw (2012) |
Session 15
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The EU Institutions 4: The European Parliament |
Shackleton (2012) |
Session 16
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The EU Institutions 5: The European Court of Justice and the Institutional Architecture revisited |
Shuibhne (2012) |
Session 17
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Field Trip Preparation
Agenda and Country profiles DUE |
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Field Study Trip II: European Institutions in Western Europe |
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Session 18 |
Field Trip II Debriefing |
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Field Study Trip to the European Parliament (Strasbourg). The workings and functions of the EP. |
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III. POLICY MAKING AND POLICY FIELDS OF THE EU: SELECTED EXAMPLES AND CONTEXTUALIZATION WITH THE MODEL EU |
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Session 19 |
Policies and Policy Making in the European Union: The European Policy Agenda – Policy and Decision-Making
Field trip video blog due |
Lelieveldt and Princen (2011: 79-104) |
Session 20 |
Model EU Policy Issue I/II: Topics defined by Model EU Presidency: Overview of the area – Specific Model EU Agenda items |
Readings tba |
Session 21 |
Model EU Policy Issue I/II: Discussion of various country positions: Each country briefly presents its opinion – Different approaches – Possible Coalitions |
Policy Statements |
Session 22 |
Model EU Policy Issue III/IV: Topics defined by Model EU Presidency: Historical background – Overview of the area – Specific Model EU Agenda items |
Readings tba |
Session 23 |
Model EU Policy Issue III/IV: Discussion of various country positions: Each country briefly presents its opinion – Different approaches – Possible Coalitions |
Policy Statements |
Session 24 |
Model EU Focus: Joint proposals – Negotiations strategies – Using the media |
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Session 25 |
Final Exam |
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Session 26 |
Field Trip Briefing: EU Member States: The preparation session is split up according to field trip, not classes Model EU: policy statement due
FOR JOINT PROPOSALS, WORKING GROUPS NEED TO SEND IN TOPICS AND LIST OF GROUP MEMBERS TO THE SECRETARIAT |
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Field Study Trip III: Respective Trip Option |
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Session 27 |
Field Trip III Reflection
DELEGATION AGENDA PROPOSALS NEED TO BE FINALIZED
PRESIDENCY AND SECRETARIAT MEETING: PROCEDURE |
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Session 28 |
Mock Debate on current topic in preparation for Model EU |
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IV.CAPSTONE: MODEL EUROPEAN UNION SUMMIT |
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Session 29 |
Model EU Opening and First day of sessions
Heads of Government/State have to prepare a short opening statement. |
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Session 30 |
Model EU |
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Session 31 |
Model EU |
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Session 32 |
Reflection on the term and the Model EU: The EU as a multinational composite product which is more than the sum of its parts: European Union – more than a least common denominator / European Union – more than just its member states combined |
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- Agamben, Giorgio (2013) ‘The “Latin Empire” should strike back, 26 March 2013, Libération, Paris.
- de Schoutheete, Philippe (2012) ‘The European Council’ in John Peterson and Michael Shackelton (eds.) The Institutions of the European Union, 3rd edition. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 43-67.
- Dinan, Desmond (2012) ‘How Did We Get Here?’ in Elizabeth Bomberg, John Peterson, and Richard Corbett (eds.) The European Union: How does it work? Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 23-43.
- Haas, Ernst B. (1968[1958]) The Uniting of Europe. Political, Social, and Economic Forces 1950-1957. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
- Hayes-Renshaw, Fiona (2012) ‘The Council of Ministers’ in The Institutions of the European Union, pp. 68-95.
- Herbert, Ulrich (2007) ‘Europe in High Modernity. Reflections on a Theory of the 20th Century’, Journal of Modern European History 5: 1, pp. 5-20.
- Lelieveldt, Herman and Sebastiaan Princen (2011) The Politics of the European Union. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, pp. 31-50 and pp. 79-104.
- Majone, Giandomenico (2009) Europe as the Would-Be World Power. The EU at Fifty. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
- Moravcsik, Andrew (1991) ‘Negotiating the Single European Act: National Interests and Conventional Statecraft in the European Community’, International Organization 45: 1, pp. 19-56.
- Peterson, John (2012) ‘The College of Commissioners’ in The Institutions of the European Union, pp. 96-123.
- Scharpf, Fritz W. (2000) Notes Toward a Theory of Multilevel Governing in Europe (MPIfG Discussion Paper 00/5). Köln: Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung.
- Scharpf, Fritz W. (2013) Political Legitimacy in a Non-optimal Currency Area (MPIfG Discussion Paper 13/15). Köln: Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung.
- Shackleton, Michael (2012) ‘The European Parliament’ in The Institutions of the European Union, pp. 124-147.
- Shuibhne, Niamh Nic (2012) ‘The Court of Justice of the European Union’ in The Institutions of the European Union, pp. 148-169.
In addition, there will occasionally be other reading assignments and handouts from the instructor particularly on the Model EU topics. These will be posted on moodle.
- Baldwin, Richard and Charles Wyplosz. The Economics of the European Union. Maidenhead: McGraw Hill, 20124
- Buonanno, Laurie and Neil Nuggent. Policies and Policy Processes of the European Union. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.
- Bulmer, Simon and Christian Lequesne. The Member States of the European Union. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012².
- Checkel, Jeffrey T. and Peter J. Katzenstein (eds.). European Identity. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2009.
- Cini, Michelle and Nieves Pérez-Solórzano Borragan (eds.). European Politics. Oxford: Oxford UP, 20134.
- Dinan, Desmond. Europe Recast. A History of the European Union. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2004.
- Dinan, Desmond. Ever Closer Union. An Introduction to European Integration. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 20104.
- El-Agraa, Ali M. (ed.). The European Union: Economics and Policies. Harlow: Prentice Hall, 20119.
- Fraser, Cameron. An Introduction to European Foreign Policy. London: Routledge, 2007.
- Hill, Christopher and Michael Smith. International Relations and the European Union. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2011².
- Hix, Simon and Bjorn Hoyland. The Political System of the European Union. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2011³.
- Howorth, Jolyon. Security and Defence Policy in the European Union. Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan, 2007.
- Judt, Tony. Postwar. A History of Europe Since 1945. New York: Penguin, 2005.
- Nugent, Neil. The Government and Politics of the European Union. Basingstoke: Palgrave, 20107.
- Peterson, John and Michael Shackleton (eds.). The Institutions of the European Union. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012³.
- Wallace, Helen, William Wallace and Mark Pollack (eds.). Policy Making in the European Union. Oxford: Oxford UP, 20106.
- Council President (responsible for running the council meeting and setting the agenda)
- Secretariat (supporting the president in running the meeting and setting the agenda)
- Delegates (Head of government / Foreign Minister representing an assigned member state)
- Journalists (responsible for the creation of a wordpress site with interviews, background information, videos etc.)
- Provide country profiles
- Provide critical commentaries on the agenda items
- Evaluate the summit outcome