European Studies

The first part of the course is introductory and provides the general outlines of the historical development: political, economic, and social of the European continent, as well as of the interaction and circulation of peoples and of the international relations between multinational states and nation-states, from the second half of the nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century, focusing in the final part also on the processes of European institutional and economic unification. A second part is devoted to an analysis of the early postwar period in Europe, which saw profound political and institutional crises, a new geopolitics on the continent with the emergence of new states, and a phase of revolutions and counterrevolutions in which political violence and social conflicts took on particular magnitude. Starting with Wilsonian proposals and the decisions made at Versailles and imposed by the peace treaties, attention goes to the crisis of democracies, the rise of a new internationalism and trans-nationalism, and communism, and the rise to power of fascism in Italy. On the centenary of the March on Rome, the course takes a close look at 1922 in Italy and at the long repercussions of that historical event on the continent. In addition to an examination of the most recent historiography, the course focuses on sources and especially on analyses, reconstructions and memories relating to fascism's seizure of power written by contemporaries, both opponents and protagonists of the early fascist movement, in the 1920s and 1930s.

This course analyses European integration from the late 1940s until today. In a chronological order, it introduces students to themes such as security, economic integration, and enlargement that continue to influence European integration in the present. In parallel, it also provides an overview of the main theories explaining (aspects of) European integration related to these themes, including big theories such as neofunctionalism and neorealism, but also theories dealing with issues such as democratic legitimacy and the EU’s normative power. While firmly based in history, the sessions continuously seeks to also reflect on the relation between past processes and current developments, such as Brexit, or the Rule of law crisis, as they are unfolding. The course closes with a critical discussion on the main challenges European integration is faced with today and the views developed for its future development.

This course examines cultural, literary, and social histories of urban space in Madrid in order to question how the city contributes to shaping identities—cross-cut by gender, sexuality, social class, ethnicity, citizenship, etc.—and in turn, how the urban milieu is negotiated by them. The course takes the contemporary city of Madrid as its point of departure, in comparison with Paris, New York, London, the suburbs, etc., and examines case studies that address the entanglements among urban spaces, politics, and identities from modern and contemporary history. The material is organized into four thematic units: I. (Dis-)Identifying with Identities: identity politics & communities of difference today; spatial identities & non-places; identity politics in recent social movements; Spanish Nationalism and its transgressions in the 20th century. II. Questioning the Public and Private: gender in 19th century society and the home; masculinity, femininity, and homosexual cultural codes in the early 20th century public; reclaiming public space after dictatorship; camera surveillance in the democratic era. III. Desirable Cities, Desiring Cities: consumer desire and the origins of advertising; the surrealist and situationist critiques of urban life; urban decay, revival, and neighborhood struggles against gentrification in defense of the ‘right to the city.' IV. Sensing the City: Memory, Affect, and the Unseen: cultural heritage and historical memory in the urban landscape; Fear, terrorism, security in the city and the suburbs; citizenship, consumerism, and its ‘others'; digital dystopias.

This version of the European Public Health in a Globalizing World course includes an Independent Study Project (ISP) done under the direction of the instructor. The ISP is 10-12 pages and counts for 1/3 of the overall grade for the course. The course provides an overview of modern health challenges in Europe and how they are shaped by a variety of themes within stakeholders in policy, research, and practice. Such themes include developing a unified system of population health monitoring across sovereign countries; coping with population aging and rising healthcare expenditures; managing commercial and social determinants of health; supporting cross-border collaboration between national health systems; fostering learning and the exchange of expertise in social and health policy; and identifying a global role for European Public Health. The current course combines theory with practice through lectures, tutorials, and a masterclass. Lectures introduce the content and initiate discussions on topics covered by the course. In addition, the course makes use of problem-based learning (PBL), a prominent learning method widely used at Maastricht University, in which students actively engage in their own learning. Finally, the course includes an exchange of views in the form of a masterclass with a senior expert in European health policy. To facilitate a fruitful learning environment a moderate level of health-related knowledge is required. Hence, the course is directed toward students attending bachelor or master's courses in medicine, public health science, sociology, anthropology, political science, or economics.