Week 5 - The EU

This week we will come back to where we left European history in Week 2. We will talk about the formation of the European Union, from the European Coal and Steel Community. We will also look at the key issue affecting the EU today, that of Brexit, and how it might be affecting Europe.

Week 6 - Spain: focus on productivity

When you think about Spain, what do you think about? What are its people like? And where does the language come from? How come so many people speak Spanish? We will be covering all of these questions and more, revising many of the topics we have already covered this semester. We will also be looking at one of the key issues affecting Spain today, which can be summarized as ‘bad governance’, but it is of course much more complicated than that: it involves corruption, youth unemployment, the independence of Catalonia, the ex-terrorist group ETA, the lack of funds to pay pensions…

Week 7 - UK: a trading nation

What does ‘UK’ actually mean? And what territories does it cover? Do you know any parts of it aside from London? What is the second most popular language in the UK? Why? Who else lives there? What are British people like? Are they all the same? We will be exploring issues relating to the culture and language, linking up with weeks 3 and 4. We will also be going back to the issue of Brexit and the EU. In particular, we will be exploring trade and what will be changing for the EU. The issue of trade is one that has the whole world worried, especially right now with Trump’s changes to tariffs (likely to impact Hong Kong as well).

Week 8 - France: the impact of migration

When you think about France I am sure you think about its food as well. This week we will explore the culture of France, how people think and why they behave the way they do. We will also explore its cuisine and the key movements that French food has gone through during the centuries. We will also explore one crucial issue that is affecting France today, that of migration. The population of France includes almost 20% migrants. This has an impact on people and unfortunately it predisposes them negatively towards any migrants.

Week 9 - Italy: a history of art

This week we will explore Italy, its culture and the history of that culture, in particular the development of the Arts. We will revise a little bit of history and look at paintings, sculptures, architecture and music to see how it developed through the centuries. In particular, we will be looking at the Renaissance, the Baroque and Neoclassic periods, the ones that originated in Italy. We will also go back to the issue of migration, because in Italy this is also a key social issue, although slightly different from what France is experiencing. Italy receives not only economic immigrants but also refugees. However, they don’t usually stay in Italy, but move onto other countries. The impact to Italy seems to be mostly positive but that is not what Italians think.

Week 10 - Germany and Switzerland: demography and democracy

To understand what Europe is like you need to know how its people come together and the spaces where they do so. This week we will be looking at demographics, and we will learn how to read various graphs that tell us about the composition of people in countries or cities. We will be able to link up some of the demographic changes to historical events we covered in week 2. In particular how Germany rose again after WWII.

Now that you understand how people come together in cities, we need to talk about how people are governed. There are many forms of governing a country and Europe has gone through most of them, from monarchies to dictatorships to republics. Modes of governance have changed throughout history, and we will be linking these to what you learnt in week 2, but what do people think about their governments today?

Week 11 - Portugal: the beginning of colonialism

We come back to the history of Europe and this time we will be exploring its relation to the rest of the world, and its colonies, starting with Portugal. We will talk about how European languages were introduced in these territories, what systems of governance were set up and how the colonized responded. We will also be talking about the slave trade, why and how it developed and who it benefitted most.

This week brings together some of the issues relating to languages that we covered in week 3.

Week 12 - Scandinavia: a betterEurope?

We cannot talk about Europe without covering Environmental issues and the Scandinavian countries, Norway, Sweden and Denmark are leading in this field. Much of what we have covered in previous weeks comes together under this topic, because the EU has been a key player in the development of environmental policies that link most of Europe (not only EU countries). Many of the issues we will cover are related to the demographic explosions and the rise of cities. How governments have reacted to the issues is directly linked to the issues of governance. In particular, citizens are concerned that the power of individual states is being eroded under the umbrella of the EU Environmental Agency which has supra-national legislative powers.

We will also cover other social issues such as: education, the right to welfare, taxes and again about migration.

Week 13 - The Balkans: war and religion

One of the biggest issues concerning Europeans is a shift in ideologies that might be leading us to a resurgence of the right (and pro-Nazi parties). The 1920's saw the rise of Fascism in many European countries, by the end of the 20th century Europe was still fighting its sequels as the Balkans erupted into war. It is not over, nationalist groups are expanding their presence in many countries in Europe. What will happen next?