Discourses on Europe / Honors program
Always wanted to know the insides of the EU? Convinced that you have a
solution to the eurocrisis? Greece in and we out – what about
solidarity? Here is the program that takes you further and makes you
think critically about Europe and it’s future.
European Discourses is a challenging Honors program for talented
students who are interested in and concerned with today’s world. The
focus of the 4 course-program is on Europe, which will be studied from
the vantage points of several disciplines in the humanities and social
sciences by discussing both historical and contemporary issues and
developments. The program aims at breaking down traditional distinctions
between the West and the East and the North and the South in the light
of important European and global transformations that are taking place
today. This includes questions pertaining to cultural, economic,
political and social discourses.
Europe has become one of the competitors for world leadership after the
reinvention of its democratic, political, and economic life since WWII.
Europe’s rich and complex national cultures have evolved into a new type
of international society with innovative legislative, juridical, and
executive structures. Europe’s unity and distinctiveness rest upon its
historical intellectual, artistic, and religious heritages and upon the
dynamics of the continuing interaction, mixing and blending of those
heritages with each other. However, there is also a more problematic
current perspective: while dealing with the euro-crises, the frictions
in immigrant societies, the growing weakness of the welfare state and
the emergence of populism, Europe is confronted with its boundaries.
Brought on by the global economic recession, the euro-crisis has been
exacerbated by serious faults built into the institutional structure of
the monetary union. The non-existence of centralized political control
over the European economy combined with a lack of democratic legitimacy
sets in motion processes that are undermining European solidarity.
Although individual European nations have fantastic media
infrastructures, a European public sphere is not yet a reality and it is
only with difficulty that ‘the circuits of national discourse join
together. Anno 2012 Europe has to reinvent itself; it has to re-imagine
its narrative as one that continues to incorporate the messages of
freedom, solidarity and peace. But how can this be done, whose stories
have to be told and listened to?
The European Honors Program offers students the opportunity to develop a
critical understanding of European topics through interdisciplinary
study. The Program aims to equip students with an awareness of the
richness of European cultures, societies, economies, and traditions,
that is fundamental to understanding Europe, as well as other parts of
the world.
The 4 courses present lecturers from 3 Faculties: School of Humanities, School of Economics and the School of Social and behavioral Sciences:
The European Honors Program
- Cultural History and Diversity (sem 1 Monday evening)
Coordinator: Prof. dr. Odile Heynders in collaboration with Prof. dr. Mirjam van Reisen en dr. Tineke Nugteren - Perceptions of Europe from Outside (sem 1 Wednesday evening)
Coordinator: Prof. dr. Paul Scheffer and several guest lecturers. - National and regional identities in an age of globalization (sem 2 Wednesday evening)
Coordinator: Prof. dr. Arnoud-Jan Bijsterveld, Tilburg University. - Economic Perspectives on Europe (sem 2 Wednesday evening)
Coordinator: Prof. dr. Henk van Gemert, Parade of Experts: you will meet outstanding experts in this field.
Global / English
Nederlands