European Culture and Politics (FutureLearn)

We revisit perceived truths about the meaning of European identity. We examine how cultural knowledge and facts were constructed to further post-World War II integration. We will help you understand and identify the complexities of the contemporary crises of European integration and support you in developing novel responses to these crises.
We cover such topics as European culture, religion, modernity, the nation-state, democracy and the Other.
The course has been developed by the Euroculture programme, a multi-university master’s and research programme on European culture and politics.

What topics will you cover?
Europe and European Culture
Europe and Religion
Europe and Modernity
Europe and Democracy
Europe and the Nation-State
Europe as/and the Other

What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

• Describe how European political integration is embedded in broader cultural modalities including memory, language, heritage, national symbols, etc.
• Identify main transdisciplinary debates on Europe and European cultural identity with the intention of proposing solutions to issues such as the future of European integration, democracy in a heterogeneous community, etc.
• Identify solutions to problems of contemporary European integration including growing citizen alienation, lack of solidarity, individualization, and passivity through grassroots activities and rethinking of the citizen/community relationship.
• Identify solutions to problems of contemporary European integration including the financial crisis, rising nationalism, democratic deficit, migration, and insecurity by way of reforming/rethinking the existing European institutional structure.
• Debate sensitive topics in a culturally and academically diverse environment.
• Engage with other learners in a culturally and academically diverse environment.
• Contribute ethically, receptively and responsibly in a virtual environment.
• Develop experience in virtual learning.
• Develop experience in virtual communication.