Curriculum in Contemporary European Studies

Introduction

The curriculum in contemporary European studies (EURO) is designed to provide students with

  • A broad interdisciplinary understanding of modern Europe and the European Union
  • A focused understanding of contemporary Europe from the perspective of a selected social science, and
  • Advanced proficiency in a modern European language

Students are encouraged to combine the EURO major with a second major in a field such as political science, economics, or history; or an interdisciplinary field such as German or romance studies, comparative literature, chemistry, PPE (politics, philosophy, and economics), or sustainability studies. EURO majors are also encourage to study abroad and work closely with the advisor to obtain EURO credit while abroad. Through its unique combination of advanced coursework and language training, the curriculum provides the intellectual building blocks to study contemporary Europe through a sophisticated framework. Students completing the major will be well prepared for graduate or professional study of contemporary Europe and for a range of international careers.

Advising

In addition to the guidance provided by the primary academic advisors from the Academic Advising Program, EURO majors receive individualized advising at all stages of academic planning, including considering courses, internships, study abroad options, graduate programs, and career paths. Students interested in pursuing a major in contemporary European studies are encouraged to meet with the curriculum advisor as early as possible in their undergraduate career to design a comprehensive and efficient course plan — including considering the EURO-TAM B.A.-M.A. program option — and take full advantage of study abroad and other international education opportunities. Consult the curriculum website for further information on courses, funding, research, travel awards, campus resources, and the alumni network.

Advisory Board

Chad Bryant (History), John Coyle (Law), Joanneke Fleischauer (UNC Libraries), Liesbet Hooghe (Political Science), Serenella Iovino (Romance Studies), Arne Kalleberg (Sociology), Priscilla Layne (Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures), Gary Marks (Political Science),  Susan Dabney Pennybacker (History), John Pickles (Geography), Dan Sherman (History).

Affiliated Faculty

Karen Auerbach (History), Cemil Aydin (History), Cameron Ballard-Rosa (Political Science), Andrea Bohlman (Music), Cristina Carrasco (Romance Studies), Amy Chambless (Romance Studies), Tori Ekstrand (Media and Journalism), Greg Gangi (Institute for the Environment), Banu Gökariksel (Geography), Karen Hagemann (History), Didem Havlioglu (Asian Studies), Dorothea Heitsch (Romance Studies), Evelyne Huber (Political Science), Konrad Jarausch (History), Robert Jenkins (Political Science), Lloyd Kramer (History), Richard Langston (Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures), Klaus Larres (History), Hassan Melehy (Romance Studies), Holger Moroff (Political Science), Susan Harbage Page (Women’s and Gender Studies), Tony Perucci (Communications), Valerie Pruvost (Romance Studies), Donald Reid (History), Courtney Rivard (English and Comparative Literature), Graeme Robertson (Political Science), Christina Rudosky (Romance Studies), Don Searing (Political Science), Louise Spieler (Media and Journalism), Gabriel Trop (Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures), Milada Vachudova (Political Science), Richard Vernon (Romance Studies), Ruth von Bernuth (Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures).

The Center for European Studies also hosts many visiting scholars from Europe.

EURO–Contemporary European Studies

Undergraduate-level Courses

IDEAs in Action General Education logoEURO 89.  First-Year Seminar: Special Topics.  3 Credits.  

Special topics course. Content will vary each semester.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FY-SEMINAR.
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoEURO 159.  From War to Prosperity: 20th-Century Europe.  3 Credits.  

A critical overview of 20th-century European history, with particular attention to the constant ethnic, religious, social, economic, and cultural struggles (including Holocaust, Cold War) in various subunits of the old continent.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-PAST.
Making Connections Gen Ed: HS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: HIST 159.  
EURO 190.  Special Topics Seminar in Contemporary European Studies.  1-3 Credits.  

A detailed examination of selected topics in the field of Contemporary European Studies.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit. 6 total credits. 2 total completions.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoEURO 239.  Introduction to European Government.  3 Credits.  

A treatment of the political institutions and processes of western European democracies, with special attention to France, Germany, England, and Italy. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-GLOBAL.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: POLI 239.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoEURO 252.  Politics, Society, and Culture in Modern Germany (1871-1945).  3 Credits.  

This course explores the history of Modern Germany, by focusing on Imperial Germany, the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich. We will study continuities and changes in politics, society, and culture and examine the lasting impact of World War I, World War II and the Holocaust.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-PAST or FC-POWER.
Making Connections Gen Ed: HS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: HIST 252.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoEURO 257.  Politics, Society, and Culture in Postwar Germany.  3 Credits.  

The interdisciplinary seminar will explore cultural, historical, and political issues of contemporary Germany and analyze German developments from the postwar period to the present. Readings and discussions in English.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-PAST or FC-POWER.
Making Connections Gen Ed: HS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: HIST 257, POLI 257.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoEURO 259.  Towards Emancipation? Women in Modern Europe.  3 Credits.  

This course examines and compares the situation of women in politics, the work force, society and family from the French Revolution to the new women's movement in the 1970s with a focus on Britain, France and Germany. One major theme is the history of the struggle for women's emancipation.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-PAST or FC-POWER.
Making Connections Gen Ed: HS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: HIST 259, WGST 259.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoEURO 270.  Religion in Western Europe.  3 Credits.  

In this course, we will explore various topics related to the past and present status of religion in general, and of certain religions in particular, within three Western European countries: the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-PAST.
Making Connections Gen Ed: HS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: RELI 270.  
EURO 285.  Applied Experimental Research: Politics in the US and Europe.  3 Credits.  

The course familiarizes students with experimental research methods in political science, including laboratory experiments, field experiments, and survey experiments. Students will design and conduct an experimental research project on a research question about US or European politics.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, QI.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: POLI 285.  
EURO 347.  Fascist Challenge in Europe, 1918-1945.  3 Credits.  

The course focus on theories on fascism, national cultures of fascism (e.g. Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Hungary) as well as selected topics which are essential to understand the attraction and functioning of fascist movements and regimes since 1918 in Europe (e.g. racism, war, culture, charismatic leadership).

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: HS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: HIST 347.  

Advanced Undergraduate and Graduate-level Courses

EURO 433.  Politics of the European Union.  3 Credits.  

Examines the politics and political economy of institutional change and policy making in the European Union in comparative perspective. Honors version available.

Rules & Requirements  
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: POLI 433.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoEURO 438.  Democracy and International Institutions in an Undivided Europe.  3 Credits.  

Explores the collapse of communist rule in 1989 and the reaction of international institutions to the challenges of democratization, economic transition, ethnic conflict, and European integration in an undivided Europe.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, NA.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: POLI 438.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoEURO 442.  International Political Economy.  3 Credits.  

Theories of international political economy, major trends in international economic relations, selected contemporary policy issues.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: SS, GL.  
Requisites: Prerequisites, ECON 101 and POLI 150.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: POLI 442.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoEURO 460.  International Economics.  3 Credits.  

An introduction to international trade, the balance of payments, and related issues of foreign economic policy.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-GLOBAL.
Requisites: Prerequisites, ECON 400 and 410; a grade of C or better in ECON 400 and 410 is required.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: ECON 460, PWAD 460.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoEURO 486.  Exploration of Russian "Women's Prose" and Svetlana Alexievich (Nobel Prize in Literature 2015).  3 Credits.  

Using Alexievich as our beacon, we will explore the writers behind the term "Russian Women's Prose": Valeria Narbikova, Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, Tatyana Tolstaya, and Lyudmila Ulitskaya. The course will delve into gender identity and body politics as they manifest themselves in the literary texts of lasting aesthetic quality and social relevance. Taught in English; some readings in Russian for qualified students.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: FC-AESTH or FC-GLOBAL.
Making Connections Gen Ed: LA, BN.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
Same as: RUSS 486, WGST 486.  
EURO 490.  Advanced Special Topics Seminar in Contemporary European Studies.  1-3 Credits.  

A detailed examination of advanced special topics in Contemporary European Studies.

Rules & Requirements  
Repeat Rules: May be repeated for credit. 6 total credits. 2 total completions.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoEURO 691H.  Honors Thesis in European Studies.  3 Credits.  

Directed independent research leading to the preparation of an honors thesis.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: EE- Mentored Research.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  
IDEAs in Action General Education logoEURO 692H.  Honors Thesis in European Studies.  3 Credits.  

Completion of the honors thesis and an oral examination of the thesis.

Rules & Requirements  
IDEAs in Action General Education logo IDEAs in Action Gen Ed: RESEARCH.
Making Connections Gen Ed: EE- Mentored Research.  
Grading Status: Letter grade.  

Curriculum in Contemporary European Studies

Visit Program Website

FedEx Global Education Center Room 3210, CB# 3449

(919) 962-6765

Director

John D. Stephens

Director (as of July 1, 2023)

Priscilla Layne

playne@email.unc.edu

Director of Undergraduate Studies, EURO Major Advisor

Katie Shanahan Lindner

klindner@email.unc.edu

Student Services Manager

Kayla Bassett

kbassett@email.unc.edu