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Lehrende: Dr. Maren Hofius
Veranstaltungsart:
Vertiefungsseminar
Anzeige im Stundenplan:
VM: Europ.Integr.Th.
Semesterwochenstunden:
2
Credits:
6,0
Unterrichtssprache:
Englisch
Min. | Max. Teilnehmerzahl:
10 | 23
Anmeldegruppe: AG VM 1-semestrig
Weitere Informationen:
einsemestriges Vertiefungsseminar
Verwendbar in folgenden Studiengängen bzw. Modulen:
- BA-Hauptfach Politikwissenschaft, FSB ab WiSe 2013/14: Vertiefungsmodul Politikwissenschaft (6 LP)
- BA-Hauptfach Politikwissenschaft: Wahlbereich (6 LP)
- BA-Nebenfach Politikwissenschaft: Fachbezogener Wahlbereich (6 LP)
Kommentare/ Inhalte:
The European Union (EU) is in crisis – but which crisis exactly are we referring to? The ‘Eurozone crisis’, the ‘refugee crisis’, the ‘rule of law crisis’, the ‘Ukraine crisis’ or the most recent crisis triggered by the United Kingdom’s ‘Brexit’-vote? While crises seem to abound in the EU and ‘crisis’ is the buzzword of the moment, both politics and the academia struggle to identify what is really meant by the term. Does the EU suffer from a lack of democracy, legitimacy, justice or something yet to be defined? And what implications does the EU ‘in crisis’ have for the EU polity, its constituent member states, individual citizens and the European integration project as a whole? From the early beginnings of Europe’s integration process European Integration Theory (EIT) has sought to make sense of the EU and its predecessors through reflexively adapting its own analytical toolkit: in each phase of EIT scholars worked out new ways of explaining, analysing or constructing the EU. Yet, not least because the crises troubling the EU are multiple and yet interrelated, EIT might again stand at a crossroads and require adaptation: it is particularly challenged to provide adequate answers to understanding and explaining the causes of the diverse crises. Accordingly, scholars are tasked to fill the blind spots of contemporary theorising by devising new conceptual and institutional pathways for navigating the EU through troubled waters.
The seminar seeks to take up this challenge by way of probing existing theories for their longevity in light of a whole series of recent EU crises and, if necessary, by developing new analytical frameworks. To this end, the seminar proceeds as follows: in a first step, students take stock of the most prominent theories as well as more recent conceptual approaches developed to study the phenomenon of European Integration. Once equipped with the basic premises of the respective theories, students probe these by way of project work on selected crises. Project results are then collected and subsequently compared across teams to feed into a final panel discussion about both the crisis of the EU and EIT. Here, students are invited to draw lessons from the crises studied and map out ways to reform the EU. Note that specific sessions on research design and methods serve to guide students through their projects and aide them in devising – and revising – their analytical framework.
Lernziel:
- Knowledge of the main theories used in research related to European integration.
- Answers to leading questions such as “What do we mean by ‘theory’?”, “What is the purpose of theory?”.
- Understanding of what we mean by ‘crisis’.
- Understanding of key causes and effects of selected crises in the EU.
- Ability to critically evaluate concepts and theories, develop own analytical framework and research project.
Vorgehen:
Classes will comprise a mix of literature-based group discussions, independent project work in- and outside of the classroom as well as different formats of group presentations at the end of the semester. Active participation in class and regular self-study of the required readings is required to successfully complete the course.
Literatur:
Reference textbook:
Wiener, A. and T. Diez, eds. 2009. European Integration Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press (EIT).
Zusätzliche Hinweise zu Prüfungen:
Assessment: Course Paper (“Hausarbeit”)
1st submission deadline: 20.2.2017
Course paper (12-15 pages),to be submitted at the Studienbüro Sozialwissenschaften
2nd submission deadline: 27.3.2017
Course paper (12-15 pages), to be submitted at the Studienbüro Sozialwissenschaften
Note on language:
The weekly sessions of the course, including student presentations, are held in English.
Course papers can be submitted in either English or German. However, participants should note that the reading material will be in English and weekly preparation requires reading at least the required articles in order to complete the course.
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