European Studies Modules
Level-1000
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-2-5
Pre-requisite(s)/Preclusion(s)/Cross-listing(s): Nil
This module offers an overview of the major events, actors, and developments that have shaped the course and character of Europe since the French Revolution. From the rise of nationalism, industrialization, and imperialism that paved the way for World War I to the failure of peace, the horrors of World War II, the cold war division of Europe and the ongoing process of integration and European Union enlargement, this module sketches out the making and remaking of Europe during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This module is designed for all students at NUS interested in acquiring an understanding of modern Europe.
Level-2000
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-2-5
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: EU2218, PS2201B, PS2203, PS2218, PS2231
Cross-listing: PS2203
This module explores basic political ideas from the ancient Greeks and Romans from the emergence of the polis to the collapse of the empire, including the ideas of justice, law, democracy, and politics itself, through the study of original works by Thucydides, Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, and others. It also considers how these ideas shaped medieval and early modern political thought.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-2-5
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: EU2218, PS2201B, PS2204, PS2218, PS2231
Cross-listing: PS2204
This module explores major political ideas and concepts from the modern Western tradition. Key political constructs such as power, authority, justice, liberty and democracy are examined in intellectual and historical context. Reading Thomas Hobbes's Leviathan and John Locke's Second Treatise on Government, among other influential writings, students will be exposed to the broader themes and ideas that have shaped political life in the West since 1600.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-2-5
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: HY2231
Cross-listing: HY2231
This module – which is offered to all students with an interest in Modern European History – will explore the significant features and impact of nationalism, imperialism, and adventurism as they relate to Europe in the dramatic seventy-year period from the upheavals of the 1848 revolutions to the end of the First World War. During this period Europe became the centre of a new and deadly game of power politics in which any semblance of defeat was reason enough to prepare the ground for revenge. Eventually, war tool its toll on every major participant from 1914-18.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-2-5
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: PH2212, GEK2030
Cross-listing: PH2212, GEK2030
An introduction to some of the main figures and movements of Continental European Philosophy. The purpose is to provide a broad synoptic view of the Continental tradition with special attention paid to historical development. Topics to be discussed include phenomenology, existentialism, structuralism, hermeneutics, Critical Theory, and post-structuralism/post-modernism. Thinkers to be discussed include Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Levi-Strauss, Derrida, Gadamer, Habermas, Lyotard and Levinas. The main objective is to familiarize the student with the key concepts, ideas and arguments in the Continental tradition.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-2-5
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: EU2208, PS2206B, PS2213, PS2236
Cross-listing: PS2236
This introductory course gives students a basic understanding of the ideas, institutions, and actors that influence the political life of modern Europe. We explore the domestic politics of several European states including France, and the U.K., as well as relations among European states before and after World War II, with special attention to European integration. While most of our attention will be devoted to western Europe, we will discuss political transitions in eastern Europe and the process of EU expansion. The module is intended for students in European Studies, Political Science, and others with an interest in Europe.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-2-5
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: HY2245
Cross-listing: HY2245
Students will gain a basic understanding of empires in History. Individual empires will be studied to demonstrate patterns regarding the origins, development and collapse of empires. Topics will include the expansion of empires, colonization, military conquest, administration, and ideologies of empire. The humane side of imperialism will also be explored: the module will get students to try to understand the experience of subject peoples while also regarding empires as sites of cultural interaction. Finally, students will be introduced to some of the interpretative paradigms which have shaped the scholarly exploration of empires.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-2-5
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: PH2219
Cross-listing: PH2219
This module will trace an intellectual dialogue between two central traditions in twentieth-century European philosophy: the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory and post-Heideggerian Hermeneutics. The module will provide an introduction to the main thinkers of both traditions: Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Herbert Heidegger, Hans Georg Gadamer and Paul Riceour for the Hermeneuticists. We will also examine different conceptualisations of reason and how both schools were shaped by their attempts to grapple with, and respond to, the implications of understanding reason as a practice conditioned by particular histories and forms of life.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-2-5
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: HY2256, YHU2271
Cross-listing: HY2256
This module will introduce students to the cultural, social, and political history of the lands and peoples of the Mediterranean, with a particular focus on the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas. Students will have the opportunity to explore major themes from the rich history of the many contributions made by Mediterranean societies to the histories of Europe, the Middle East and other regions of the world, from classical Greece and Rome to modern-day Spain, Italy, North America and the Balkans.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-4-3
Pre-requisite(s)/Preclusion(s)/Cross-listing(s): Nil
This module aims to widen knowledge and appreciation of the film craft by considering innovative, popular and world-renowned work from a major producing region. Can we talk of a European "regional" cinema, or are we faced with various national tradidtions? As a film module, it analyses how the visual medium makes meaning and relates the study of film to issues in the theory of representation. The films cover a period from the 1940s to the new millennium, and geographically from Russia to France and the UK.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 0-3-0-2-5
Pre-requisite(s)/Preclusion(s)/Cross-listing(s): Nil
Students will be given a foundational overview of the history, institutions and global role of the European Union. They will also consider how general global issues (e.g. trade and migration, climate change, cultural values) impact upon the Union, how it has managed them, and whether lessons can be shared for regionalism elsewhere. The Union’s rising global role will also be considered, particularly with respect to South East Asia.
Level-3000
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-2-5
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: HY3234
Cross-listing: HY3234
Where does nationalism come from, what does it mean and how long will it last? These are some of the questions we explore in this module. We begin with a consideration of the intellectual and political roots of the nation-state as well as disagreements among scholars about whether nations are new or old developments. The bulk of the module then takes up specific case studies of nationalism in countries such as France, Germany, Russia and Britain. Finally we conclude with a discussion of whether the process of European integration heralds the transcendence of nations and nationalism. This module is designed for all students at NUS interested in developing a deeper understanding of nationalism and nation-states in Europe.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-2-5
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: HY3227, YHU2307
Cross-listing: HY3227
Europe was plagued by wars, revolution and totalitarian dictatorship between 1919 and 1945. It witnessed the rise of Bolshevism and of various Fascist regimes, revealed the economic and political weakness of the Western democracies and the failure of the League of Nations. This module will focus on the rise of four dictators of this period: Mussolini, Franco, and Hitler. All students are welcome, but those coming with a background in Political Science and even Sociology may find this course builds on existing knowledge and concepts.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-2-5
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: EC3391/EC3213, EC3393/EC3215, EC3219, EC3392
Cross-listing: EC3392
This course critically examines the key modalities in the evolution of European Economic and Social Institutions from the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire all the way through the rise of Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution. The development of novel property rights, new technologies, altered social relations, demographic change, and transformed political structures, are the principal areas to be studied. A special feature to this evaluation is to contextualise the European achievement in the context of related world history, in particular, its close linkage to non-European societies via the modus of Colonialism.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 3-0-0-4-3
Prerequisite: (i) EN1101E and (ii)at least one of the following modules (EN2201, EN2202, EN2203, EN2204, EN2205, EN2207, EN2275, EN2276, EN2277)
Co-Requisites: So long as students have fulfilled EN1101E, they may take this EN level-3000 module in the same semester as they are taking one of the following modules (EN2201, EN2202, EN2203, EN2204, EN2205, EN2207, EN2275, EN2276, EN2277)
Preclusions: EN3261
Cross-listing: EN3261
This module explores a selection of generally short, popular, and major European literary works which work with the legacy of Romanticism, Realism, and Modernism in the new context of post-World War Two Europe and the rise of the European Union; several texts are by Nobel Prize winners, and all are acknowledged as “contemporary classics”. Various genres are represented, and the module takes a relatively wide sweep across Europe. In addition, filmed versions of the texts are considered where appropriate and available. The module therefore will explore texts both in their own right and as representative examples of major tendencies and developments of an essentially European tradition.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-4-3
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: SC3101
Cross-listing: SC3101
This is a critical examination of central problems in classical social theory, with emphasis on the multifaceted analysis of the larger social processes in the making of modern society. The module will concentrate on the original contributions of major theorists such as Marx, Weber, and Durkheim and explore how their works continue to influence current sociology. This course is mounted for all students throughout NUS with an interest in classical social theories.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-1-6
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: PH3207
Cross-listing: PH3207
Using Existentialism as a springboard, the module discusses recent movements in Continental Philosophy. Objectives: (1) Introduce major movements in Continental Philosophy, (2) Promote understanding of the characteristics of Continental Philosophy, (3) Encourage further study in Continental Philosophy. Topics include existentialism, structuralism and post-structuralism. Target students include all those wanting to major in philosophy and those wanting to have some knowledge of European philosophy.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-2-5
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: PS3251
This is a module that studies and compares the external relations of two emblematic regional organizations - in Europe (the EU) and Southeast Asia (ASEAN). A common theoretical literature base is examined and tested against both the EU and ASEAN, using concepts such as "integration", "regionalism", "international organisation", "security communities" and "inter-governmental bargaining" to explain the genesis, functions and utility of ASEAN and the EU. The focus is on the international bargaining, diplomacy, trade negotiations and relations of the EU and ASEAN with the great powers (especially the US, China, Japan, Russia) and with each other. Some background in Asian studies, European studies, International Law, or International Relations would be helpful to the prospective student.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-2-5
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: HY3209
Cross-listing: HY3209
This module will trace the historical development of the major Western and Central European Powers from the late 1930s up to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 and the reunification of Germany in October 1990. Apart from the international challengers posed by the Second World War and the subsequent Cold War, the European states were also beset by numerous acute domestic crises that required remedial treatment by their governments. Some received it and prospered, others did not and languished.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 2-1-0-2-5
Prerequisite: Nil
Preclusions: HY3242
Cross-listing: HY3242
The module relates the study of modern European imperialism to some topics outside of Europe. It examines a dimension of modern imperialism. Themes will include the economic basis of imperialsim, the interaction of cultures (within imperial networks), the migrations of peoples, missionary movements, the management of religion, and motives and means of imperial control. Normally one geographical area of imperial experience will be explored in depth.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: 3-0-0-2-5
Prerequisite: EU1101E
Preclusions: Nil
Cross-listing: Nil
The European Union with its 27 members is a single market of 500 million consumers with a GDP that is greater than the United States. The development and design of this Single Market and related common policies are shaped by different factors – from the historical realities, to the politics of integration and the different institutional set-up and legal framework. This module is designed for students with interest in understanding the Single Market of the European Union and how the EU common policies impact economic competitiveness and the development of global trade and investment standards.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: Please see Remarks.
Prerequisite: Student should have completed a minimum of 24 MCs in European Studies and have declared European Studies as their Major.
Preclusions: Any other XX3550 internship modules (Note: students who change major may not do a second internship in their new major).
Remarks: Internships will vary; however, all must include a minimum of 120 hours, accumulated during one period working for the organisation or company. An internship with a minimum of 240 hours working in the organisation or company may earn 8 MCs. Of these 4 MCs will be credited to the Major, and 4 MCs to UE. Supervision, as for ISMs, is set at 4 hours for a 4 MCs internship, 8 hours for an 8 MCs internship. The student will also spend some time on reading and writing.
Internships vary in length but all take place within organisations or companies, are vetted and approved by the European Studies Programme, have relevance to the major, involve the application of subject knowledge and theory in reflection upon the work, and are assessed. Available credited internships will be advertised at the beginning of each semester. Internships proposed by students will require the approval of the programme.
Modular credits: 4
Workload: Please see Remarks.
Prerequisite: Student should have completed a minimum of 24 MCs in European Studies and have declared European Studies as their Major.
Preclusions: Any other XX3550 internship modules (Note: students who change major may not do a second internship in their new major).
Remarks: Internships will vary; however, all must include a minimum of 120 hours, accumulated during one period working for the organisation or company. An internship with a minimum of 240 hours working in the organisation or company may earn 8 MCs. Of these 4 MCs will be credited to the Major, and 4 MCs to UE. Supervision, as for ISMs, is set at 4 hours for a 4 MCs internship, 8 hours for an 8 MCs internship. The student will also spend some time on reading and writing.
Internships vary in length but all take place within organisations or companies, are vetted and approved by the European Studies Programme, have relevance to the major, involve the application of subject knowledge and theory in reflection upon the work, and are assessed. Available credited internships will be advertised at the beginning of each semester. Internships proposed by students will require the approval of the programme.
Level-4000
Modular credits: 5
Workload: 0-3-0-2-7.5
Prerequisite: Completed 80MCs, including 28 MCs in EU / LA [French/German/Spanish]/recognised modules or 28 MCs in SC, with a minimum CAP of 3.20 or be on the Honours track.
Preclusions: HY4212
Cross-listing: HY4212
This module will explore and introduce different themes in Modern European History such as political changes, political leadership, diplomacy and interstate relations.
Modular credits: 5
Workload: 2-1-0-2-7.5
Prerequisite: Completed 80MCs, including 28MCs in EU/LA [French/German/Spanish] / recognised modules, including EU3214/EC3376/EC3218 or EU3215/ EC3392/EC3219, with a minimum CAP of 3.20 or be on the Honours track.
Preclusions: EC4218, EC4392
Cross-listing: EC4392
"Comparative Business Cultures" will approach the subject area from both the microeconomic level (organisation theory and organisational sociology) and from a macro perspective: the societal settings, the legal and normative environment, and the macroeconomic and structural context within the North American, and the different European and Asian business cultures. At each step their compatibility with the concepts of globalisation will be reviewed. The tutorial will deepen this study in analysing pertinent corporate histories and biographies of important business leaders active in the different business cultures under review. The objective is to raise students' awareness of intercultural differences in business and organisational behaviour and communication at both practical and analytical level. This should be useful for future careers in globally operating corporations or international organisations. As the course is interdisciplinary in nature (covering economics, sociology, psychology and business administration), interested students from other faculties are encouraged to attend. Basic economic literacy, practical experience in business organisations and some overseas travel are a plus.
Modular credits: 5
Workload: 0-3-0-2-7.5
Prerequisite: Completed 80MCs, including 28 MCs in EU / LA [French/German/Spanish]/recognised modules, with a minimum CAP of 3.20 or be on the Honours track.
Preclusions: EN4263
Cross-listing: EN4263
This module, whose specific content may change from time to time within the following guidelines, presents an interdisciplinary approach, but one grounded in the literary, to a topic in European literature, especially but not exclusively from the Romantic, Modernist or Contemporary periods. Always comparative (across two nations at least), it considers aspects of a period, a movement, a thematic issue or a combination of all these. Texts are chosen not only for their intrinsic merits but for their complementarity to the English Literature curriculum in general, and, as a module crosslisted with European Studies, to that programme also.
Modular credits: 5
Workload: 0-3-0-0-9.5
Prerequisite: Cohort 2019 and before: Completed 80MCs, including 28 MCs in EU / LA [French/German/Spanish]/recognised modules or 28 MCs in GL/GL recognised non-language modules, with a minimum CAP of 3.20 or be on the Honours track.
Cohort 2020 onwards: Completed 80MCs, including 28 MCs in EU / LA [French/German/Spanish]/recognised modules, with a minimum CAP of 3.20 or be on the Honours track.
Preclusions: PH4214
Cross-listing: PH4214
The module examines at least one recent movement in Continental European Philosophy. Recently, the module has been concerned with Philosophical Hermeneutics. Objectives: (1) Promote understanding of the main arguments in one or more of the recent movements in Continental Philosophy, (2) Familiarise students with the main debates, (3) Encourage further work in Continental Philosophy. Topics covered include hermeneutics, Critical Theory and post-structuralism.
Modular credits: 5
Workload: 0-3-0-2-7.5
Prerequisite: Completed 80MC, including 28 MC in EU / LA [French/German/Spanish]/recognised modules or 28MCs in GL/GL recognised non-language modules or 28 MCs in SC, with a minimum CAP of 3.20 or be on the Honours track.
Cohort 2020 onwards: Completed 80MCs, including 28 MCs in EU/ LA [French/German/ Spanish]/recognised modules or 28MCs in SC, with a minimum CAP of 3.20 or be on the Honours track.
Preclusions: HY4205
Cross-listing: HY4205
This module is open to all Honours students and no previous background in either early modern or European history is required. The objective of this document-based, seminar-style course is to sharpen students' thinking skills and sense of conceptual evolution. Key concepts, such as "sovereignty" and the "just war" that remain pertinent until today will stand at the forefront of our investigations.
Modular credits: 5
Workload: 0-3-0-3-6.5
Prerequisite: Cohort 2019 and before: Completed 80MCs, including 28 MCs in EU / LA [French/German/Spanish]/recognised modules or 28 MCs in PS or 28MCs in GL/GL recognised non-language modules, with a minimum CAP of 3.20 or be on the Honours track.
Cohort 2020 onwards: Completed 80MCs, including 28 MCs in EU / LA [French/German/Spanish]/recognised modules or 28MCs in PS with a minimum CAP of 3.20 or be on the Honours track.
Preclusions: HY4209
Cross-listing: HY4209
The module will explore in depth, in seminar format, problems in a selected area or aspect of modern imperialism. It will examine in closer focus a particular empire (British, Dutch, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and American) with particular reference to Asia and to Asian interaction with Europe and America. Common themes will include subaltern history, economic development, challenges to imperial control, and explanations and arguments about imperial decline.
Modular credits: 5
Workload: 0-3-0-2-7.5
Prerequisite: Completed 80MCs, including 28 MCs in EU / LA [French/German/Spanish]/recognised modules, with a minimum CAP of 3.20 or be on the Honours track.
Preclusions: PS4217A
Cross-listing: PS4217A
This module examines the political writings of Plato and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
Modular credits: 5
Workload: 0-3-0-2-7.5
Prerequisite: Completed 80MCs, including 28 MCs in EU / LA [French/German/Spanish]/recognised modules, with a minimum CAP of 3.20 or be on the Honours track.
Preclusions: PS4217C
Cross-listing: PS4217C
This seminar will study—one by one—the famous Essais by Michel de Montaigne, who first coined the term ‘essay’ and popularised this form as a literary genre. Montaigne was a statesman as well as a celebrated thinker and scholar, and his writings have been much admired for their intellectual range, their nuance and originality, and especially their warmth and humanity. Donald Frame’s highly readable translation is considered one of the most successful examples of translation ever.
Modular credits: 5
Workload: 0-3-0-2-7.5
Prerequisite: Cohort 2012-2014: Completed 80MCs, including 28 MCs in EU / LA [French/German]/recognised modules or 28 MCs in GL/GL recognised non-language modules, with a minimum CAP of 3.20 or be on the Honours track.
Cohort 2015-2019: Completed 80MCs, including 28 MCs in EU / LA [French/German/Spanish]/recognised modules or 28 MCs in GL/GL recognised non-language modules, with a minimum CAP of 3.20 or be on the Honours track.
Cohort 2020 onwards: Completed 80MCs, including 28 MCs in EU/ LA [French/German/ Spanish]/ recognised modules, with a minimum CAP of 3.20 or be on the Honours track.
Preclusions: PS4218
Cross-listing: PS4218
The European Union is often viewed as an economic superpower but a military pygmy. This module aims to provide students with tools to evaluate whether the EU, as a non-state actor, can have a coherent and effective foreign policy. It considers theories and debates concerning the institutionalisation of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), and includes case studies of EU objectives and actions on selected issues (international trade, ethics, human security), in selected regions (Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa), and in relations with international organisations such as the UN.
Modular credits: 15
Workload: 0-0-0-3-7.5
Prerequisite: Cohort 2015: Completed 110 MCs including 60 MCs in EU / LA [French/German/Spanish]/ recognized modules, with a minimum CAP of 3.50.
Cohort 2016 onwards: Completed 110 MCs including 44 MCs in EU / LA [French/German/Spanish]/recognized modules, with a minimum CAP of 3.50.
Preclusions: EU4660
Students enrolled in the module can select an EU-based topic and the supervisor based in any discipline across FASS. Regardless of the department of the supervisor, the HT will follow the requirements, format, limits and deadlines set by the History Department. The Honours Thesis is a research and writing exercise usually done in the final semester of a student pursuing an Honours degree.
Modular credits: 15
Workload: 0-0-0-0-12.5
Prerequisite: Cohort 2015:To be offered subject to the agreement of the Supervisor and Department. Completed 100MCs, including 60MCs in EU / LA [French German/Spanish]/recognised modules, with a minimum CAP of 3.20.
Cohort 2016 onwards: To be offered subject to the agreement of the Supervisor and Department. Completed 100 MCs, including 44 MCs in EU / LA [French/German/Spanish]/recognised modules, with a minimum CAP of 3.20.
Preclusions: EU4401
The Independent Study Module is designed to enable the student to explore and approved topic within the discipline in depth. The student should approach a lecturer to work out an agreed topic, readings, and assignments for the module. A formal, written agreement is to be drawn up, giving a clear account of the topic, programme of study, assignments, evaluation, and other perinent details. Convenor's approval of the written agreement is required. Regular meetings and reports are expected. Evaluation is based on 100% Continuous Assessment and must be worked out between the student and the lecturer prior to seeking departmental approval.