Course aims:

Effective knowledge of European Cultural Identities
Understanding of European Identity and Civilisation
Acknowledgement of cultural barriers and the importance of overcoming them
Developing an understanding of European identity and the way it influences our lives
Applying efficiently the specific knowledge and understanding in order to overcome cultural barriers

Course Entry Requirements:

A good command of English, minimum B2 level. General knowledge of European culture, history and literature.

Course contents:

1. Public and Mental Representation of Identities 2. European Heritage and Cultural Diversity 3. European Culture and Europeanizing Identities 4. The Development of European Identities 5. Majority Cultures and Languages and Central Identities 6. Minority Cultures and Languages and Peripheral Identities 7. Intercultural Dialogue and the Shaping of Common Identities 8. Assumed Identity versus Enforced Identity 9. Identity of Birth versus Identity of Choice 10. Cultural Identity versus National Identity 11. Within Society: Central Identities and Social Darwinism 12. Within Society: Peripheral Identities – The ”Unengaged” 13. Within Society: Peripheral Identities – Misfits, Outsiders and Outcasts 14. The Crisis of European Identity

Teaching methods:

Lecture by teacherClass discussion conducted by teacherLecture-demonstration by teacher Presentations by studentsDiscussion groups

Learning outcomes:

1. Description of the European cultural phenomena and their evolution in time. 2. Presentation of cultural phenomena in the historical, social and philosophical context of their time and as regards the regional differences. 3. Appropriate use of conceptual and methodological apparatus of humanities for the interdisciplinary investigation of complex cultural facts.

Learning outcomes verification and assessment criteria:

Ongoing assessment during semester, examination

Recommended reading:

Checkel, Peter J. Katzenstein, European Identity, Cambridge University Press, New York:, 2009, 280.
Simms, B., Europe: The Struggle for Supremacy from 1453 to the Present, Penguin, London, 2013, 722.
Mayne, Richard, The Europeans: Who Are We?, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1972, 228.