G53.2524: France in Europe

(Graduate) This course begins with the assumption that important areas of politics and policy-making in France can no longer be understood solely from the perspective of the French political system. Although there has been a considerable debate about the nature of policy-making at the European level, as well as the direction in which this process is moving, there can be little doubt that there are few policy-making areas in France that are not touched in some way by the evolution of “Europe” during the past half-century. Between common European policies and policy-making structures, and harmonized policies marked by “European standards” that constrain domestic choices, French policy-making has been gradually transformed by the evolution of Europe. This course will permit us to view the system of European governance through the prism of the French political process. (Spring 2004)

V53.0595: Undergraduate Seminar on Immigration and Politics in Western Europe

The purpose of this course is to train undergraduates who are interested in European studies in approaches to research, and in the sources and uses of research materials on Europe. The theme "Immigration and Immigrants in Western Europe" will provide the framework around which the readings and discussion will center. Focusing on a common theme will help reveal the range of research questions and strategies pursued by scholars from diverse disciplines in the social sciences and humanities while also allowing for substantive exploration of an issue that has become central to social relations and political competition in contemporary Western Europe. This focus will provide us with abundant material that is both cross-disciplinary and comparative. Class-time will be divided between the discussion of assigned readings intended to introduce interesting methodological and substantive examples of research on a series of subjects within the literature on immigrants and the introduction of library resources available to help conduct such research.