Courses

To declare a major/minor with us please email european.studies@nyu.edu

FALL 2022 COURSES

EURO-UA 565 20th Century European Capitalism

Colloquium | 4 points
Professor Stephen Gross | Tue, 2:45—4:45pm
Room: KJCC, Rm 324
Same as HIST-UA 272


Nineteenth century Europe was the birthplace of economic liberalism. The gold standard, the night watchman state, and the writings of the classical economists laid the foundation for a golden age of laissez-faire capitalism centered on the nation-state. More than a century later Europe is known as the pioneer of the welfare state, the host for an experiment in fascist and communist economics, and the center for a supra-national process of economic cooperation: the European Union. This course traces the evolution of European capitalism during the twentieth century, from laissez-faire to welfare state economies. Throughout the semester we will study the key themes and turning points that shaped Europe’s economic development: the Great Depression, the world wars; alternative ways of organizing economic life under fascism and communism; the stagnation and crises of the 1970s; and finally Europe’s ongoing project of economic integration.

EURO-UA 950 Contemporary Europe

Seminar | 4 points

Professor Hadas Aron | Tue, 10:15-12:15
Room: KJCC, Rm 324



Please note: This is a required course for all CEMS majors.

The course examines the liberal order in Europe that was formed after WWII, its institutional design, the challenges it has been facing, and the implications of the liberal order for politics, society, and culture in Europe. The first part of the course reviews the social, economic, and security concerns Europe faced in 1945, and the institutions that were constructed to respond to these concerns. We will also explore the Cold War and its consequences for the politics, and the realities of people throughout Europe. The second part of the course explores the integration of Europe into a social, economic, and identity community, and the expansion of European institutions and identity first to Southern Europe and then to the former Soviet Bloc. The third part of the course addresses the current "Crisis of Europe" from the 2008 financial crisis through the surge of refugee migration and the rise of populism. We will ask whether and to what extent the current crisis threatens the system formed after 1945.

The course is interdisciplinary in nature. To explore political change and continuity in contemporary Europe we will combine theories from international relations, political science, sociology, and economics, as well as readings of historical primary and secondary resources. In addition to scholarly literature we will use contemporary media outlets, cultural resources and video, when available.

EURO-UA 983 Nationalism, Populism, and the Far Right in Europe

Seminar | 4 points
Professor Emma Rosenberg | Wed, 10:15—12:15pm
Room: KJCC, Rm 324

This course unpacks the interactions between nationalism, populism, and far-right ideologies. We explore how these political ideologies become vehicles for identity, ethnicity, race, and religion. We will examine the nature and origins of nationalism, populism, and far-right ideologies in Europe through a series of historic and contemporary case studies including Germany, Russia, Italy, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Serbia. The course will explore draw on literature from multiple fields including political science, sociology, journalism, and history.

 

SPRING 2023 COURSES

EURO-UA 983.001 Crisis of Europe

Seminar | 4 points
Hadas Aron | Tue, 10:15-12:15
In Person | KJCC, Room 324

In the past decade the countries of Europe, and the European Union as an organization, have been facing multiple challenges. The 2008 financial crisis hit several countries and generated a crisis in the shared Eurozone; Euroscepticism has given rise to populist movements throughout the continent; waves of migration were met with struggle and backlash; Western European countries have been threatened by terror; Russia is increasingly aggressive; and recently the US is increasingly indifferent and even hostile toward its European allies. In this course we will attempt to evaluate the following questions: Do these challenges amount to a crisis? Is the integrity of the EU in danger? What can be done to face these multiple challenges? The course explores the dimensions of the European crisis: sovereignty, democracy, economy, security, and culture. We will explore these questions in the EU, in its relationships, and in key individual cases such as Britain, Germany, Greece, Poland, and Hungary.

 

 

 

 



SUMMER 2022 COURSES

EURO-2162 Crisis of Europe

First Summer Session, 5/23/2022-07/06/2022
Seminar | 4 credits
Professor Hadas Aron | Mon & Wed, 10:15-12:15
KJCC, Room 324

In the past decade the countries of Europe, and the European Union as an organization, have been facing multiple challenges. The 2008 financial crisis hit multiple countries and generated a crisis in the shared Eurozone; Euroscepticism has given rise to populist movements throughout the continent; waves of migration were met with struggle and backlash; Western European countries have been threatened by terror; Russia is increasingly aggressive; and recently the US is increasingly indifferent and even hostile toward its European allies.

In this course we will attempt to evaluate the following questions: Do these challenges amount to a crisis? Is the integrity of the EU in danger? What can be done to face these multiple challenges?

The course explores the dimensions of the European crisis: sovereignty, democracy, economy, security, culture, and environment. We will explore these questions in the EU, in its relationships, and in key individual cases such as Britain, Germany, and Greece.

FALL 2022 COURSES

EURO-GA 2301 What is Europe?

Seminar | 4 credits

Professor Thomas Zittel | Thu, 10:15-12:15

KJCC, Room 324



Required course for CEMS MA students.

The meaning of Europe is contested and also changing over time. This course advances from geographic and cultural definitions of the term to stress the heterogeneity of Europe in terms of social and political institutions. It will then focus on the process of European integration to highlight the emerging but nevertheless contested political conception of Europe. As a major actor in Europe today, the European Union is influencing policies and shaping policy choices in member states on a broad range of topics. We will study major steps in EU-integration, explore the institutions and policies of the EU and discuss the role of citizens´ participation and euroscepticism. Why do states transfer sovereignty to the EU? What is the role of nation-states today in Europe and to what extent can they influence EU-politics? How do citizens view the EU and what is their influence on the politics and policies on the European level? Is crisis management and regulation a sufficient justification for EU integration, or does the EU need a stronger basis of legitimacy? These are some of the questions we will address in this seminar.  At the end of the semester, students will be familiar with different modes of national level governance in Europe and with European integration and governance in the EU. They will also have a tool kit for a critical analysis of European politics and the key challenges Europe is facing today, such as increasing migration, social inequalities, and new geopolitical risks.

EURO-GA 2670 Modern Mediterranean Region

Seminar | 4 credits

Professor Hadas Aron | Wed, 12:30-2:30

KJCC, Room 324



This course explores debates on culture, politics and identity in the modern Mediterranean. Drawing on history and anthropology, we examine how observers have imagined this region, and the uses and effects of claims about regional cultures. How are belonging, migration and displacement regulated through law? In an era framed around multiple “crises” – refugee, economic, political, and demographic – how has ambivalence about European governance provoked debates on political obligations and resistance? Exploring the politics of memory, we ask: how are imperial pasts invoked to call for certain modes of acknowledging diversity today? A range of materials, from rights campaigns and legal judgments to TV serials and protest songs, will be used to analyze cases from Spain, Portugal, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus.

EURO-GA 2162.003 Capitalism, Energy, and Climate in Modern Europe

Cross-listed with History, HIST-GA 2162.001

Seminar | 4 credits
Professor Stephen Gross | M, 9:30-12:15
KJCC, Room 701

The history of capitalism is a vibrant field after experiencing a revival of sorts in the past fifteen years. How economies function; how they create wealth and inequality; how they reshape power relations within societies and around the globe; how they are related to cultural and institutional developments: these are all pressing topics that historians have explored with great attention. But with the emergence of the “Anthropocene” as an historical category new questions are sparking a revision to our understanding of capitalism: how and why do economies use the type of energy they do; what are the implications of energy use for growth, geopolitics, or the environment; why do energy transitions happen; and how, precisely, should we connect a history of climate change to a history of capitalism? This course explores such questions by focusing on the intersection of capitalism, energy, and climate in Europe from the Industrial Revolution to the early 2000s. It will examine both internal European affairs as well as how European capitalism shaped and was in turn shaped by global developments. Key moments covered include industrialization, the transportation and technological revolutions of the nineteenth century, the World Wars, the Great Depression, the Great Acceleration after 1945, the malaise of the 1970s, and neoliberalism and the emergence of climate as a political issue in the 1980s and 1990s.

SPRING 2023 COURSES

EURO-GA 2163 The Habsburg Monarchy

Colloquium | 4 points
Larry Wolff | TBA
In Person | KJCC, Rm 324

Same as HIST-GA 2163.

EURO-GA 3000 Graduate Research Seminar

Seminar | 4 points
Hadas Aron & Emma Rosenberg | TBA
In Person | KJCC, Room 324

Required for CEMS MA students. Not open to visiting students. This course explores the design of research methodologies employed in the field of European Studies. During the class we will cover various types of empirical methods, focusing on qualitative ones, particularly ethnography, historical research, visual analysis and digital media analysis. We will look at different examples of how these methods can be effectively used and combined for studying different aspects of European societies, EU’s political institutions, and cultural practices. The course will emphasize the framing of research questions, the choice of best methods for doing thesis research, and how methodological approaches influence the significance, meaning, and impact of the results. Assignments from this course are designed to help students prepare for and advance their MA thesis projects. They will consist of several relatively small projects as well as a larger research project employing an original methodology.

EURO-GA 3213 Eastern Europe Workshop

Seminar | 2 points
Larry Wolff | Wed 12:30-2:00
KJCC, Room 324

The Eastern Europe workshop is an informal 2-credit lunchtime workshop for graduate students and advanced undergraduates, meeting together to hear speakers and discuss issues concerning Eastern Europe.