Exploring Europe: Understanding its Cultures, Societies & Political Dynamics

Europe is the cradle of the many western cultures and a major cultural, economic and political center of influence throughout the World. Learning about the European continent means understanding some of the most visible features of the globalized world in which we live. The aim of this course is to comprehend the social, political and cultural realities of the so-called "Old Continent".

This course will introduce you to the plural and complex European reality by analyzing the most influential of the continent's countries with the goal of understanding their social, cultural, linguistic, economic, heritage and political reality. Case studies and comparative methodologies will be used throughout the course in order to do this. This course is also intended to be an interactive course in which your own experiences and journeys within Europe can be used to help analyze the aforementioned methodological objectives. In other words, by using the cultural immersion typically associated with the study abroad programs, you will be able to integrate your own onsite experiences and interaction with the different cultural realities existing in Europe into the course.

The course will explore the different countries gathered in five relevant groups including: Scandinavian countries, Central European countries, Southern and Mediterranean European countries, Anglo-Saxon countries and Eastern European countries.

The subjects of this course span across European Studies, Cultural Studies, Political Science and Sociology as academic fields, making the content especially relevant for students interested in attending graduate school or pursuing a career path in international relations and public diplomacy, politics, anthropology, human rights, education, journalism, business and history.

*This courses is cross-listed as POL323