Lecturer: Philip Schnaars

Course Nr.: 15304.0133

Date/Time: Mon. 17:45-19:15h

Location: online

Credit Points: 3

When governments regulate energy markets, they might have different goals in mind. They can aim at reducing market power in a monopoly in order to keep prices at a certain level, maintain security of supply of critical goods such as natural gas or, in light of climate change, incentivize firms and consumers to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. This course introduces the economic principles of energy markets in Europe and investigates the reasons and consequences of various forms of regulation. Students will learn how the European Union and individual member states interact in the regulatory process and understand the reasons for implemented policy measures.

Appearance during the first session is mandatory.

Lecturer: Dr. Thilo Zimmermann

Course Nr.: 15304.0126

Date/Time: Wed.16:00-17:30

Location: online

Credit Points: 3

What is European integration? When did European integration start? How did people try to modelize and legitimate European integration? Where should Europe, according to these theories, lead to?

This course provides an introduction into theories of European integration. We will analyse the origins and presumptions of the most important theories, such as federalism, neo-functionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism. The course will highlight the historic background on which these theories have been developed. Furthermore, it will be shown how theories of European integration combine theories of polical science and economics. It will be demonstarted that different presumtion of these theories do also lead to different understandings of what is the scope of European integration. Should Europe become a federal super state, or a loose economic confederation?

Troughout the course students will also be invited to compare European integration to other processes of regional integration, such as in Latin America, the Arab world, in Africa (African Union), Asia (e.g. ASEAN) and especially the historical evolution of the United States political system.

Finally, the course will give an outlook on current topics in European integration (such as Brexit or the consequences of the Corona pandemic), how do the different theories anayse these challanges?

Appearance during the first session is mandatory.

All core courses listed under Basic Module 1 may be chosen as an elective course as well (granted that three BM1 courses have been selected as BM1 core courses).

The offers of the Department for German as a Foreign Language may be counted towards the Elective Module, if the requirements for the Basic Module 2 have been fulfilled already. 

Semester German course (9CP)

Lecturer: Prof. Paul Silva

Course Nr: 14213.0212

Time/Date: Tue.12:00-13:30

Location: Face-to-Face

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Points: 3

In the first part of this course our main interest will be in philosophical questions about the nature of time, the identity of persons across time, and the conditions for free will. In the second part of this course our main interest will be in questions about the nature of human knowledge: what is knowledge, what are our sources of knowledge, and how–if at all–we can show that we have knowledge and deal with the problem of skepticism. Throughout the course there will be various introductory lectures on inductive and deductive logic.

Lecturer: Prof. Paul Silva

Course Nr: 14213.0252

Time/Date: Thu.12:00-13:30

Location: Face-to-Face

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Points: 3

We will examine a range of topics/ problems/ issues in contemporary epistemology. These will include the puzzling nature of human knowledge, the lottery paradox, the preface paradox, the problem of epistemic circularity, the nature of belief and its relation to credences, faith, and pragmatic encroachment. We will spend time investigating the nature of philosophical knowledge and the nature of intuitions and their epistemic value. We will conclude by looking at issues regarding ignorance and its implications for human rationality.

Lecturer: Mrinalini Shinde

Course Nr: 13980.2082

Time/Date: Thu.12:00-13:30

Location: online

Course Type: Lecture

Credit Points: 6

This course is about International Environmental Law. The historical development of international environmental law is systematically traced and illustrated with practical examples. The course is taught from a US perspective and uses US jurisdiction as a benchmark.

Lecturer: Maria das Dores Girão da Cruz

Course Nr: 14501.2247

Time/Date: Tue.14:00-15:30

Location: hybrid (online/face-to-face)

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Points: 3

Gender is a socially inclusive concept and refers to social constructs. It is variable, flexible, unbounded and it comprises assigned beliefs, attitudes, symbols, behavior and actions that define women and men, third genders and non-normative sexualities. Debates and studies of African gender and sexualities have been framed by western analytical tools and theoretical frameworks, particularly western feminism and queer theories. This course examines gender and sexuality in Sub-Saharan Africa, using a critique of western conventional categories and approaches to highlight African feminism and theories from the south. Illustrations of how masculinity and femininity are variably performed across sub-Saharan African cultures will be drawn primarily from anthropology and historical anthropology, through the analysis of ethnographies, movies, novels and other types of material. Theoretically, the course asks how African contexts challenge western conventions of gender and sexualities. Specifically, case studies will explore the impact of the colonial legacy, of women-centered development policies, homosexuality and trans-sexual practices, constructions of masculinities and femininities, among other themes.

Lecturer: Prof. Wilfried Hinsch

Course Nr: 14213.0001

Time/Date: Wed.12:00-13:30

Location: face-to-face

Course Type: lecture

Credit Points: 3

Lecturer: Prof. Stefan Neubert

Course Nr: 14387.0017

Time/Date: Tue.16:00-17:30

Location: face-to-face

Course Type: Seminar

Credit Points: 3

The seminar will address internationally influential, important, and innovative debates concerning Democracy and Education.

Lecturer: Dr. Wulf Reiners / Eva Lynders

Course Nr.: 15304.0122

Date/Time: Mon, 16:00-17:30h

Location: virtual

The course provides an introduction to economic cooperation and its relationship with sustainable development in Europe and beyond. It concentrates on two main components. First, we will analyse the contemporary global architecture for economic cooperation and development and its main characteristics, including relevant actors, international organisations, treaties, and patterns in trade and development economics. Second, we will examine the European Union as an example of regional economic integration, its internal market, the framework for economic coordination and its external economic relations. The course will take up topical economic and political processes such as the United Nation’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development, China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the EU’s trade and economic partnership agreements. In this way, the course seeks to contribute to the understanding how economic cooperation and development are interconnected with environmental and social questions.

Lecturer: Dr. Thilo Zimmermann

Course Nr.: 15304.0127

Date/Time: Wed, 16:00-17:30h

Location: virtual

The course provides an introduction into economic theories, which are used to describe, explain and justify European integration. The course presents theories on economic integration and explains how they have applied to the case of the European unification process. Presented theories are for example international trade theories, such as Ricardo’s model of comparative advantage or the Heckscher-Ohlin model, fiscal federalism, public goods, as well as theories of monetary integration, such as monetary theories in general and the optimum currency areas approach. The course will set a special focus on the link between theories of economics and political science. Does economic integration presuppose political integration? To which degree do economic theories deal which questions of sovereignty and institution building?

The course will present economic theories and therefore also its mathematical equations. However, the focus lies on the description and discussion of these theories and how they have been used to explain and justify European integration. It is therefore possible to follow the course without previous knowledge of economic theories and methodology. The course is therefore addressed for an interdisciplinary audience with different backgrounds and might also be of interest for students of economics in order to debate about theories and their political implications.

Lecturer: Dr. Wulf Reiners / Eva Lynders

Course Nr.: 15304.0122

Date/Time: Mon, 16:00-17:30h

Location: virtual

The course provides an introduction to economic cooperation and its relationship with sustainable development in Europe and beyond. It concentrates on two main components. First, we will analyse the contemporary global architecture for economic cooperation and development and its main characteristics, including relevant actors, international organisations, treaties, and patterns in trade and development economics. Second, we will examine the European Union as an example of regional economic integration, its internal market, the framework for economic coordination and its external economic relations. The course will take up topical economic and political processes such as the United Nation’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development, China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the EU’s trade and economic partnership agreements. In this way, the course seeks to contribute to the understanding how economic cooperation and development are interconnected with environmental and social questions.

Lecturer: Dr. Johannes Müller

Course Nr.: 15304.0121

Date/Time: Mon, 14:00-15:30h

Location: virtual

The European Legacy in the History of a Central European City

Historiography tends to focus its objects like through an optical device: From bird’s eye view World History and panoramic European History, to macroscopic National History, to microscopic Local History. However, these levels are, of course, interconnected and overlapping.
In this course we will look at the historical trajectory of Cologne during the 19th Century and ask how the local events and experiences reflect Europe-wide historical processes, in which ways they are interconnected with overarching transnational trends, and if and how they are comparable or contrasting to contemporary developments in urban centers elsewhere in Europe. In doing so, we will recreate the history of Cologne from a pre-modern city to a regional economic and industrial hub. But at the same time, we will identify the European legacy within this development and outline the specific “Rhenish” variant of the European Identity in Cologne.
As we will try to argue during this course: European Identity – as any identity in historical perspective – is polymorphic and a result of local, regional, national and transnational experiences. But it relates to a core of common historical references, common developments and trends, of which the particular local historical mix is one possible combination. Some European Identities are more spicy than others, some are less contoured than others, but all are brewed in the same European kitchen.
Let’s see, what defines the European Identity of Cologne in the 19th century.

Lecturer: Benjamin Naujoks

Course Nr.: 15304.0125

Date/Time: Tue, 14:00h-15:30h

Location: virtual

Can we learn from history?
On the one hand, Susan Neiman postulated in 2019 that one can “learn from the Germans” — with regard to the Erinnerungskultur (culture of remembrance) and Vergangenheitsbewältigung (coping with/working through the past) that is considered to be successful. Many experts share this view. On the other hand, with the onset of the pandemic, those socio-political developments that were already visible before are intensifying: quite a few observers speak of a global shift to the right.
This course therefore aims to provide an insight into various European Erinnerungskulturen and Vergangenheitsbewältigungen (as plurals) since 1945. So, the course follows three leading questions:
1. Basic knowledge: What is Erinnerungskultur? What is Vergangenheitsbewältigung? Which types and forms of both exist? And, what is remembered, especially where, how and when?
2. Practical approach: What concrete historical examples are there? How can these be critically classified, especially with regard to national or nationalistic narratives? In other words: What role can or do these play in forming (collective) identities and memories and do they also have functions of social integration?
3. Theoretical approach: How do both work? What forms are there? Are the forms of
Erinnerungskulturen as well as of Vergangenheitsbewältigungen dynamic or static?
The course aims to answer these and — most important — your questions by working on concrete examples in modern European history. In doing so, emerging competitions of memories will also be discussed in order to show that in most cases this concurrences can lead to relativizations, which are very evident in current developments. Special attention will be paid to the differentiation of written, oral and visual history.

All core courses listed under Basic Module 1 may be chosen as an elective course as well (granted that three BM1 courses have been selected as BM1 core courses).

The offers of the Department for German as a Foreign Language may be counted towards the Elective Module, if the requirements for the Basic Module 2 have been fulfilled already. 

Semester German course (9CP)

Complementary German courses (3CP, depending upon availability)

Lecturer: Judith Berns

Course Nr: 15304.0120

Time/Date: Tue, 16:00- 17:30h

Location:             

Credit Points: 3

Today´s world, in both, private as well as professional/academic aspects, is characterized by fast changes, quick means of travel and instant communication. Physical distance has become less and less of an obstacle for interaction between people. COVID-19 was a push for digitalization and intensified digital communication across any kind of distance. Intercultural encounters, whether physical or digital, are very common, but the challenges that come along with that are often underestimated.
Universities are aiming to become more international and intercultural competence is considered a key skill to be expected by university graduates.
This course will not only provide knowledge, but more importantly help students to incorporate means to face intercultural challenges adequately in everyday life. A special focus will be put on academic challegenes.

Topics dealt with are (selection):

What is culture and what is intercultural competence?
Intercultural theories and models
Working on real-life cases (critical intercultural incidents)
Introduction to Communication
Performing in classes
- Support on how to deliver requested performances (e.g. how to do a presenation)
- Proper teacher-student-/student-student-interaction
- Comparing participants´ home Universities

The seminar will be held digitally

Lecturer: David Kern

Course Nr: 14569.3304

Time/Date: Mon, 10:00- 11:30h

Location: virtual        

Credit Points: 3

In this course we are going to explore the intellectual and imaginative pull of Science Fiction (SciFi), a vast literary and artisitc genre spanning across a wide array of forms: the (graphic) novel, the novella, short fiction, film and TV serialization. We are going to look at some of the the classics in the field to then move beyond them in order to think about SciFi as a vast archive of ideas, their history and transformations. We are going to trace how traditional tropes of/in SciFi writing (space exploration, technology, alien encounters, technological advance...) keep transforming to account for and speak to ever-changing social, cultural and political issues, concerns and anxieties. The majority of theoretical texts, short stories and digital formats will be made available to you in ILIAS. However, you should purchase (and read) your own copies of:

- Margaret Atwood: Oryx and Crake, 2013, Virago (Other editions and/or eBook are fine)

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Birgit Hellwig, Tobias-Alexander Herrmann

Course Nr: 14659.6001

Time/Date: Mon, 14:00-15:30h

Location: virtual

Credit Points: 3

The lecture series will be held digitally via Zoom.

The CCLS Lecture Series offers a forum to linguists from many different areas to present findings from current research. In this way, students will have access to up-to-date work done locally at the University of Cologne, as well as to work done internationally. Topics will cover a variety of languages, methodological approaches, and theoretical perspectives. Individual class sessions will be divided up in a lecture part and a question and answer session. Open to all interested.

Soon, you can find the full program on ILIAS and here: http://ccls.phil-fak.uni-koeln.de/ccls-lecture-series.html

Students receive credit points (please check departmental regulations and study programs) if they provide the following “Studienleistungen”:

2 CPs: 3 summaries of lectures
3 CPs: 5 summaries of lectures

All students have to provide a short bibliography (at least 10 titles) referring to one of the summaries about the topic of the lecture.

You can send your summaries at any time during the semester. I strongly recommend that you don’t submit your summaries close to the deadline. However, you are required to submit (all of) your summaries by 11 February 2022, 11.59 p.m. Please send your summaries as a PDF document to ccls-info@uni-koeln.de.

Lecturer: Victoria Herche

Course Nr: 14569.3503

Time/Date: Tue, 10:00-11:30h

Location: virtual

Credit Points: 3

This seminar considers the tremendous adaptability and rich afterlives of Mary Shelley’s iconic novel, Frankenstein, in such fields and disciplines as film, theatre, dance, comic books, and performance art as well as Frankenstein’s global impact for the twenty-first century across a myriad of cultures and nations, from Japan, Mexico, and Turkey, to Britain, Iraq, Europe, and North America. Thereby this seminar interrogates its sustained relevance over two centuries during which it has engaged with such issues as mortality, global capitalism, gender, race, embodiment, neoliberalism, disability, technology, and the role of science.

Please read in preparation for the seminar: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: or 'The Modern Prometheus': The 1818 Text (preferably Oxford World's Classics Edition).

This course is designed to practice oral and written academic skills. Students will learn how to describe, analyze and compare literary and cultural texts in their respective historical, cultural, and genre context and discuss them with respect to issues of race and ethnicity, class and gender on an advanced level. Students will practice how to perform close readings of narrative texts and cinematic material, practice how to work with secondary sources, how to analyze primary materials by using critical and theoretical concepts, and, finally, in preparation for the end-of-module exams, how to come up with an interesting argument and thesis statement of your own.

Lecturer: Dr. Paul Silva

Course Nr: 14213.0237

Time/Date: Thu, 12:00- 13:30

Location: virtual     

Credit Points: 3

In the first part of this course our main interest will be in philosophical questions about the nature of time, the identity of persons across time, and the conditions for free will. In the second part of this course our main interest will be in questions about the nature of human knowledge: what is knowledge, what are our sources of knowledge, and how–if at all–we can show that we have knowledge and deal with the problem of skepticism. Throughout the course there will be various introductory lectures on inductive and deductive logic.

Lecturer: Dr. Paul Silva

Course Nr: 14213.0212

Time/Date: Tue, 12:00- 13:30

Location: virtual     

Credit Points: 3

Lecturer: Prof. Heinz Antor

Course Nr: 14569.3101

Time/Date: Thu, 14:00- 15:30

Location: virtual     

Credit Points: 3

The construction and definition of identity has always been connected with the drawing of borders separating the self from an other, the invention of an imagined line of difference allowing us to think about ourselves as a separate entity clearly distinguishable from the foreign and the alien. Such processes can be observed on many levels of identity construction, ranging from individual to collective or national identities, selfhood defined by species, race, ethnicity, class or gender, to name but a few of the defining factors. However, reality is often characterized by less clarity and ‘purity’ than our identity constructions would allow for. Border-crossings of all kinds are the order of the day, and hybridity blurs the conceptual boundaries we have invented. This frequently gives rise to conflict and to renegotiations of identity. In this lecture series, we will look at how such processes are depicted and negotiated in Anglophone texts from the early modern period to the present across a wide range of English-speaking cultures (e.g. Britain, the USA, the Caribbean, Canada, Australia, Malaysia, and others). The texts discussed will include William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus (1594), The Merchant of Venice (1596/7), and Othello (1601), Frances Brooke's The History of Emily Montague (1769), H.G. Wells’s The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), E.M. Forster's A Passage to India (1924), Hugh MacLennan's Two Solitudes (1945), Patrick White’s A Fringe of Leaves (1976), Joy Kogawa's Obasan (1981), K.S. Maniam's The Return (1981), Amy Tan’s The Joy-Luck Club (1989), V.S. Naipaul’s Half a Life (2001), and others. There will be an online test at the end of the semester.

Lecturer: Prof. Stefan Neubert

Course Nr: 14387.1000

Time/Date: Tue,16:00- 17:30

Location: virtual     

Credit Points: 3

The seminar will offer an introduction to internationally influential debates on education in connection with the philosophical tradition of John Dewey (1859-1952) and the sociology of Zygmunt Bauman (1925-2017).

Lecturer: Prof. Christiane Bongartz

Course Nr: 14569.2101

Course Type: Lecture

Time/Date: Wed, 17:45- 19:15h

Location: virtual     

Credit Points: 3

This lecture class investigates models and ideologies as they inform multilingual education. Invited speakers will present on various contexts in which they provide instruction or conduct research studies. In our class discussions, we will explore to what extent monolingualism or alternative notions such as translanguaging inform language instruction in the examples chosen by our presenters.

Lecturer: Prof. Frank Schulz-Nieswandt

Course Nr: 14344.0003

Time/Date: Wed,12:00-13.30

Location: virtual

Credit Points: 3

Lecturer: Prof. Kirk William Junker

Course Nr: 13980.2614

Time/Date: Wed, 08:00- 9:30h

Location: virtual     

Credit Points: 6

START: 12 April 2021

Lecturer: Dr. Wulf Reiners

Course Nr.: 15304.0113

Date/Time: Mon. 16:00-17:30

Location: online

Credit Points: 3

Investments on digitalisation affect personal, political, societal, environmental and economic processes across the globe and have enormous potential to radically change almost all sectors in the coming decades, from agriculture to industry and finance, from education to health, democracy and human rights. They will also influence the success of the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Digitalisation is understood to constitute one of the most powerful facilitators for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The course is an introduction to digital transformation and its relationship with sustainable development in Europe and other world regions. It provides an overview of the impact, the opportunities, but also the risks of digitalisation in three interdependent thematic fields: the economy, the environment, and the society. A particular focus will be put on the societal and political dimension of digitalisation towards sustainable development, for instance with a view to governance, privacy and security in the digital age, or the effects of social media on democratic practices. The course will take up topical developments related to the UN 2030 agenda for sustainable development, the EU Digital Strategy, the EU General Data Protection Regulation, the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, or social scoring systems. In this way, the seminar combines perspectives from Europe with experiences from other world regions.

Appearance during the first session is mandatory.

START: 14 April 2021

Lecturer: Dr. Thilo Zimmermann

Course Nr.: 15304.0116

Date/Time: Wed.16:00-17:30

Location: online

Credit Points: 3

What is European integration? When did European integration start? How did people try to modelize and legitimate European integration? Do economic or political considerations drive European integration? Where should Europe, according to these theories, lead to?

This course provides an introduction into theories of European integration. We will analyse the origins and presumptions of the most important theories, such as federalism, neo-functionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism. The course will highlight the historic background on which these theories have been developed and illustrate the impact of economic and political factors in different theories. It will be demonstrated that different presumption of these theories do also lead to different understandings of what is the scope of European integration. Should Europe become a strong political federation, or a loose economic confederation?

Throughout the course students will also be invited to compare European integration to other processes of regional integration, such as in Latin America, the Arab world, in Africa (African Union), Asia (e.g. ASEAN) and especially the historical evolution of the United States political system.

Finally, the course will give an outlook on current topics in European integration (such as Brexit or the consequences of the Corona pandemic), how do the different theories analyse these challenges?

Appearance during the first session is mandatory.

START: 14 April 2021

Lecturer: Rada Popova

Course Nr: 15304.0114

Date/Time: Wed. 14:00 - 15:30h

Location: online

Credit Points: 3

The course will offer students an insight into the fundamental principles and characteristics of public international law (PIL) and of EU law. In its first part, this course will provide insights into the mechanisms that govern the international legal order, explore the fundamentals of inter-state relations, international treaty law and the role of the subjects of PIL within the international legal order. To illustrate the practical application and enforcement of PIL, some of the most relevant cases before the International Court of Justice will be discussed.

As the course progresses, an insight into the system of EU law will be given. Thereby, the institutional basis, the structure and the basic principles of European Union law will be presented. On the basis of case studies of milestone decisions of the ECJ, the role of EU Law for the national legal systems of Member States, and for the EU as whole will be explained.

Due to the digital format, the course will be structured similarly to a lecture and will be accompanied by materials and student assignments which will replace (physical) participation of the course participants.

Presence during the first session is mandatory!

Course Outline:
I.    The genesis of the international legal order in a historical timeline: The role of State sovereignty in international law

II.    The sources and the hierarchy the sources of public international law

III.    The legal basis of inter-state relations: formation of international treaties and of customary law

IV.    The role of international organisations and their statutes for the international legal order, exemplified by the UN and the UN Charta

V.    The increasing recognition of common concerns: must PIL be adapted vis-à-vis environmental concerns and community interests?

VI.    Examples of relevant cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ)

VII.    The genesis of modern European legal systems: historical and economic factors

VIII.    Overview on the system of European Union Law: sources, institutions and principles

IX.    The role of European Union law for the legal systems in Member States: case studies of milestone judicial decisions of the European Court of Justice (ECJ)

START:  13 April 2021

Lecturer: Dr. Claudia Hefftler

Course Nr: 15304.0115

Date/Time: Tue. 17:45 - 19:15h

Location: online

Credit Points: 3

The European Union (EU) is a unique project of international cooperation of 27 states in an “ever closer union” that has successfully secured peace and prosperity on the European continent for over 60 years. In the past decade however, European integration has been challenged due to the Euro crisis, increasing Euroscepticism and the Brexit. The Union has come under pressure to prove its added value and legitimacy to the people.

This course will start out with analysing the institutional structure and historical development of the EU. The democratic quality of the EU decision-making process will guide this analysis. What powers does the European Parliament have in the EU decision-making process? How is it elected and how does it contribute to EU legitimacy? Where do the member states guard their interests and how do they answer to their national voters? These are some of the questions we will critically discuss in this course.
The course is designed as an introduction to EU politics.

Due to limited number of participants, it is mandatory to show up at the first session in order to secure your spot.

START: 14 April 2021

Lecturer: Dr. Thilo Zimmermann

Course Nr.: 15304.0116

Date/Time: Wed.16:00-17:30

Location: online

Credit Points: 3

What is European integration? When did European integration start? How did people try to modelize and legitimate European integration? Do economic or political considerations drive European integration? Where should Europe, according to these theories, lead to?

This course provides an introduction into theories of European integration. We will analyse the origins and presumptions of the most important theories, such as federalism, neo-functionalism and liberal intergovernmentalism. The course will highlight the historic background on which these theories have been developed and illustrate the impact of economic and political factors in different theories. It will be demonstrated that different presumption of these theories do also lead to different understandings of what is the scope of European integration. Should Europe become a strong political federation, or a loose economic confederation?

Throughout the course students will also be invited to compare European integration to other processes of regional integration, such as in Latin America, the Arab world, in Africa (African Union), Asia (e.g. ASEAN) and especially the historical evolution of the United States political system.

Finally, the course will give an outlook on current topics in European integration (such as Brexit or the consequences of the Corona pandemic), how do the different theories analyse these challenges?

Appearance during the first session is mandatory.

START: 12 April 2021

Lecturer: Dr. Wulf Reiners

Course Nr.: 15304.0113

Date/Time: Mon. 16:00-17:30

Location: online

Credit Points: 3

Investments on digitalisation affect personal, political, societal, environmental and economic processes across the globe and have enormous potential to radically change almost all sectors in the coming decades, from agriculture to industry and finance, from education to health, democracy and human rights. They will also influence the success of the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Digitalisation is understood to constitute one of the most powerful facilitators for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The course is an introduction to digital transformation and its relationship with sustainable development in Europe and other world regions. It provides an overview of the impact, the opportunities, but also the risks of digitalisation in three interdependent thematic fields: the economy, the environment, and the society. A particular focus will be put on the societal and political dimension of digitalisation towards sustainable development, for instance with a view to governance, privacy and security in the digital age, or the effects of social media on democratic practices. The course will take up topical developments related to the UN 2030 agenda for sustainable development, the EU Digital Strategy, the EU General Data Protection Regulation, the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, or social scoring systems. In this way, the seminar combines perspectives from Europe with experiences from other world regions.

Appearance during the first session is mandatory.

START: 12 April 2021

Lecturer: Dr. Johannes Müller

Course Nr.: 15304.0111

Date/Time: Mon. 14:00-15:30h

Location: online

Credit Points: 3

European Integration was a result of postwar politics – first promoted after World War I it evolved in several stages after World War II within the context of European recovery and reconstruction after a disastrous continental conflict. Thus, European Integration right from its beginnings rested upon the convergence of idealistic concepts, and vital needs and necessities, combining utopian visions of a politically united continent with hard-bitten national interests. Under the premises of the Cold War, the European project continued on this double track – serving overlapping national interests and offering a vision for a peaceful and democratic future. Today, 30 years after the end of the Cold War, this vision still awaits to become true, while national interests more than quadrupled (as compared to the original members of the EEC).
This course revisits the origins and development of the project “Europe United”, the process that led first to the creation of the European Economic Community and later to the European Union, and the factors that defined the playground of European politics. In doing so, we will keep an eye particularly on the relationship between ideas and needs, between the utopian Europe and the babylonian cacophony of national interests.

Due to limited number of participants, it is mandatory to show up at the first session in order to secure your spot.

START: 13 April 2021

Lecturer: Benjamin Naujoks

Course Nr.: 15304.0112

Date/Time: Tue. 14:00 - 15:30

Location: online

Credit Points: 3

Fin de Siècle, Belle Époque, turn of the century - many of these terms  try to capture the (atmospheric) condensations around 1900. Here is implied that the turn of the century can also be understood as the apex or end of the "long 19th century": as a turn of time. The course takes up this variety of possible interpretations and illuminates the larger context from a cultural-historical perspective. "Europe 1900" thus resembles like a prism: multidimensional strands of development are thus made visible and analyzed in the interwoven contexts before and after 1900 — with a focus on pan-European relevance and taking into account the question of how the European perspective can be integrated in global history.

So, the course aims to break with and question supposedly typical perspectives on and of Europe by openingup new perspectives on Europe and its conception(s) through a deeper understanding of European cultural history — which is ultimately also a (pre-)history of European integration. Using selected examples, these questions will be exemplified above all in social, societal and cultural, and sometimes in political and economic aspects.

Lecturer: Dr. Wulf Reiners

Course Nr.: 15304.0104

Date/Time: Mon, Nov 2 2020, 16:00-17:30 (weekly)

Location: virtual

The course provides an introduction to economic cooperation and its relationship with sustainable development in Europe and beyond. It concentrates on two main components. First, we will analyse the contemporary global architecture for economic cooperation and development and its main characteristics, including relevant actors, international organisations, treaties, and patterns in trade and development economics. Second, we will examine the European Union as an example of regional economic integration, its internal market, the framework for economic coordination and its external economic relations. The course will take up topical economic and political processes such as the United Nation’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development, China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the EU’s trade and economic partnership agreements. In this way, the course seeks to contribute to the understanding how economic cooperation and development are interconnected with environmental and social questions.

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Frank Schulz-Nieswandt

Course Nr.: 15304.0108

Date/Time: Mon, Nov 2 2020, 17:45-19:15h (weekly)

Location: virtual

Inclusion as the radical alternative to the cultural reality of social exclusion of the homo patiens is an anthropological paradigm of philosophy of law. This leads to the idea of going beyond social structures of center and periphery in society.

Inclusion as a model of thought is driven by the United Nations and also by the catalogue of basic social rights, involved in the treaties of the European Union and is connected with der European Social Policy. The analysis put the emphasis on the policy of social services of general interest in connection with the European Charta of fundamental (social) right.

We cannot understand inclusion as if we switch on and off the light. Beyond legal frameworks and economic incentives as important preconditions to generate social change by Pareto-optimal solutions in allocation, successful inclusion is a process of social change understood as cultural transformation. Inclusion as metamorphosis (Gestalt-switch) of the collective agreement about the question of a good life needs time but during this time-span, society has to organize social learning processes that transform the psychodynamics of individuals and the cultural grammar of exclusion.

After a short overview about the theory the EU as multi-level-system and about the different dimensions and aspects of European Social Policy we want to read and discuss the central relevant legal article of the legal regime policy of the UN and of the EU and discuss as a re-construction a text of complex interpretation of the whole issue

Online course (content on Ilias) designed through Powerpoint-supported video and audio presentations. No classroom teaching and no live zoom sessions. Individual consultation hours in planning (for clarification of questions via zoom) at different times (not necessarily bound to the lecture times) .

Lecturer: Dr. Oliver Höing

Course Nr.: 15304.0101

Date/Time: Wed, Nov 4 2020, 17.45-19:15h (weekly)

Location: virtual

The institutional architecture of the European Union is constantly changing. This ‘institutional dynamic’ is not only a result of formalised treaty changes (such as the Lisbon Treaty in 2009), but also stems from personalities running certain EU institutions, a changing interpretation of treaty articles or the creation of new structures and institutions outside of the EU legal framework.

This class introduces all major EU institutions, e.g. their legal competences and evolution over time, and focuses in particular on the dynamic interplay of EU institutions vis-à-vis each other as well as vis-a-vis national actors.

Topics studied :

1. All major EU institutions will be introduced (the EP, the European Council, the Council, the European Commission, the High Representative and the Court of Justice).
2. These institutions are systematically introduced with the help of the TEDO-scheme: Tasks, Election, Decision-Making and Organisation.
3. The evolution of the competences of each institution is introduced
4. The dynamic interplay with other EU institutions is analysed.

Aims :

1. Students are familiar with the general functioning and the legal competencies of all major EU institutions
2. Students can critically assess the democratic legitimacy that each major EU institution is built upon.

Lecturer: Rada Popova

Course Nr: 15304.00102

Date/Time: Wed, 4 Nov 2020, 14:00 - 15:30h (weekly)

Location: virtual

In its first part, by outlining the relevant historical background, this course will introduce the genesis of the European legal tradition. In its second part, the institutional basis, the structure and the basic principles of European Union law will be presented. On the basis of case studies on milestone jurisprudence of the ECJ, the role of European Union Law for Member States will be explained.

• The genesis of modern European legal systems: historical and economic factors

• The main elements of Roman Law, the Germanic legal tradition and English (common) law and their influence on the European legal tradition

• Overview on the system of European Union Law: history, structure, organs institutions and principles

• The sources and hierarchy of European Union Law

• The role of European Union law for the legal systems in Member States: case studies of milestone judicial decisions of the European Court of Justice

Lecturer: Dr. Johannes Müller

Course Nr.: 15304.0106

Date/Time: Mon, 2 Nov 2020, 14:00-15:30h (weekly)

Location: virtual

Germany’s history in the second half of the 20th century was overshadowed by the disastrous outcome of World War II, both with regard to domestic policies and international affairs. The atrocities committed by Nazi-Germany left a monstrous legacy for generations of Germans to deal with. The aftermath of the defeat of the German Army by a discordant alliance set the scene for the division of Europe and the rise of the Cold War. Germany’s own trajectory from division to unification, with a history split into a Western and an Eastern narrative (still today difficult to merge into a common perspective), is as peculiar as it is emblematic for the history of Europe in this epoch.

This introductory course, taught in English, attempts to approach German history from the outside. The course is based on a broad selection of original texts and sources as provided by the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C. (http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/home.cfm?language=english) and will rely predominantly on international studies (in English). German students are very welcome, if they are ready to take on an external point of view; international students are invited to bring in their own perspective on German history based on studies/monographs from their home countries

.

Lecturer: Benjamin Naujoks

Course Nr.: 15304.0105

Date/Time: Tue, 3 Nov 2020, 10:00 - 11:30h

Location: virtual

The course deals with the person and biography of Sugihara Chiune, also called „Sempo“. Sempo’s life and biography include an almost global perspective: a Japanese diplomat, in service in Lithuania during WWII, and Righteous Among the Nations. In this course the focus will therefore be on the following: an introduction to European history before and during WWII (macro perspective), illustrated by exemplary biographical stations of Sempo (micro perspective). The connecting link is Lithuania: besides Lithuania, Eastern and Central Europe as an important region is taken into consideration, and within in the case of Lithuania, one of the decisive starting points for the Shoa/ Holocaust (cf. C. Dieckmann), the course will concretely ask about places, people and memories. Sempo’s biography functions at the same time as a „view from outside“ as well as a bridge into a global perspective. The overall aim of the course is to gain basic knowledge about key developments of the European history by using digitally prepared materials, which are then deepened in teamwork in video conferences and finally enable the participants to perform an independent transfer of learning.

Recommend for introduction Jonathan Safran Foer: „Everything is Illuminated“, a popular key to the topic „Holocaust and memory“ - Book, 2002 - Film, USA, 2005 Film: Persona non grata, JPN, 2015. Biographical drama about Chiune Sugihara. Book: Timothy Snyder, Bloodlands, 2010. https://www.yadvashem.org - „The World Holocaust Remembrance Center“ http://www.holocaustatlas.lt/EN/ - Atlas about the Holocaust’s sites in Lithuania

START: 20 April 2020 (digital format)

Lecturer: Dr. Wulf Reiners

Course Nr.: 15304.0096

Date/Time: Mon., 16:00-17:30

Location: 106 S12

Investments on digitalisation affect personal, political, societal, environmental and economic processes across the globe and have enormous potential to radically change almost all sectors in the coming decades, from agriculture to industry and finance, from education to health, democracy and human rights. They will also influence the success of the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Digitalisation is understood to constitute one of the most powerful facilitators for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The course is an introduction to digital transformation and its relationship with sustainable development in Europe and other world regions. It provides an overview of the impact, the opportunities, but also the risks of digitalisation in three interdependent thematic fields: the economy, the environment, and the society. A particular focus will be put on the societal and political dimension of digitalisation towards sustainable development, for instance with a view to governance, privacy and security in the digital age, or the effects of social media on democratic practices. The course will take up topical initiatives and processes such as the United Nation’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development, the European Union’s Digital Single Market (DSM), the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or social credit systems in China. In this way, the seminar aims to combine perspectives from Europe with experiences from other world regions.

Pre-liminary schedule:

Appearance during the first session is mandatory

START: 14 April 2020 (digital format)

Lecturer: Dr. Johannes Müller

Course Nr.: 15304.0091

Date/Time: Tue., 16:00-17:30h

Location: 106 S12

This seminar looks at early stages of the transformation processes in Eastern Europe since 1989. Starting with the astonishing revolutionary wave that swept away the soviet-communist regimes, we will discuss and compare political, economic and social change in central and southeastern Europe. Media coverage in the West usually avoids the necessary distinctions and differentiations, providing a narrative of democratization and liberalization, which overstates common trends and suppresses important differences. In this seminar we will try to achieve a general understanding of the post-1989 era by combining detailed case studies with a comparative approach.
During the semester we will also have a series of guest talks via video conferencing from specialists of the respective countries.

Due to limited number of participants, it is mandatory to show up at the first session in order to secure your spot.

START: 20 April 2020 (digital format)

Lecturer: Dr. Wulf Reiners

Course Nr.: 15304.0096

Date/Time: Mon., 16:00-17:30

Location: 106 S12

Investments on digitalisation affect personal, political, societal, environmental and economic processes across the globe and have enormous potential to radically change almost all sectors in the coming decades, from agriculture to industry and finance, from education to health, democracy and human rights. They will also influence the success of the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Digitalisation is understood to constitute one of the most powerful facilitators for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The course is an introduction to digital transformation and its relationship with sustainable development in Europe and other world regions. It provides an overview of the impact, the opportunities, but also the risks of digitalisation in three interdependent thematic fields: the economy, the environment, and the society. A particular focus will be put on the societal and political dimension of digitalisation towards sustainable development, for instance with a view to governance, privacy and security in the digital age, or the effects of social media on democratic practices. The course will take up topical initiatives and processes such as the United Nation’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development, the European Union’s Digital Single Market (DSM), the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or social credit systems in China. In this way, the seminar aims to combine perspectives from Europe with experiences from other world regions.

Pre-liminary schedule: 

Appearance during the first session is mandatory

START: 22 April 2020 (digital format)

Lecturer: Rada Popova

Course Nr: 15304.0097

Date/Time: Wed., 14:00 - 15:30h

Location: 106 S25

The course will offer students an introduction to public international law and to European Union law. In its first part, by outlining the relevant legal basis, this course will provide insights into the legal mechanisms that govern inter-state relations and the role of international organizations for the international legal order.  Parts of the course will be dedicated the sources of public international law and to the legal regime governing areas beyond national sovereignty and international spaces. To illustrate the practical application of public international law, some of the most relevant cases before the International Court of Justice will be discussed.

In the second part of the course, the institutional basis, the structure and the basic principles of European Union law will be presented. On the basis of case studies on milestone jurisprudence of the ECJ, the role of European Union Law for Member States will be explained.

Presence during the first session is mandatory!

START: 22 April 2020 (digital format)

Lecturer: Dr. Oliver Höing 

Course Nr: 15304.0099

Date/Time: Wed., 17:45 - 19:15h

Location: 106 S25

This course is designed as an introduction to the institutional architecture of the European Union. It will critically assess the democratic legitimacy of the EU system with a focus on its major decision-making bodies:

• The European Parliament
• The European Council
• The Council of Ministers
• The European Commission and
• The Court of Justice of the European Union.

The class will be taught in English. It does not require specific pre-knowledge, but you should be interested in the subject.

At the end of the class, you shall be familiar with the general functioning of all major EU institutions. You shall also be able to critically assess the democratic legitimacy of decision-making processes at the EU level.

Background:

The European Union (EU) is a unique project of international cooperation pursuing the goal of an “ever closer union”. It started out as a project of economic cooperation in the 1950s with only six founding member states and turned into a state-like entity with 28 member states (until January 2020). The democratic legitimacy of the integration process has been subject to academic and political discussions ever since.  

This course will start out by briefly discussing the historical beginnings of the integration processes before we turn to EU institutional architecture. The key question is: where do EU institutions derive their democratic legitimacy from? The democratic quality of the EU decision-making process will thus guide our analysis: What powers does the European Parliament have in the EU decision-making process? How can it contribute to EU legitimacy? Where do the member states safeguard their national interests and how do they answer to their national voters? Where are the limits of EU competences and who controls this?

Organisation

We will probably start this course (as everyone else at the moment) with online sessions, but will meet in ‘real life’ whenever the circumstances allow. We hope to give you updated information during the first session on April 22^nd.

If we meet online, we will inform you in time via email and give you further instructions.

You are expected to

• regularly attend the class (online or in real life)
• and prepare the compulsory readings before the beginning of each session. You will find the reading material on ILIAS in due time.

Due to limited number of participants, it is mandatory to show up at the first session in order to secure your spot.

START: 14 April 2020 (digital format)

Lecturer: Dr. Johannes Müller

Course Nr.: 15304.0091

Date/Time: Tue., 16:00-17:30h

Location: 106 S12

This seminar looks at early stages of the transformation processes in Eastern Europe since 1989. Starting with the astonishing revolutionary wave that swept away the soviet-communist regimes, we will discuss and compare political, economic and social change in central and southeastern Europe. Media coverage in the West usually avoids the necessary distinctions and differentiations, providing a narrative of democratization and liberalization, which overstates common trends and suppresses important differences. In this seminar we will try to achieve a general understanding of the post-1989 era by combining detailed case studies with a comparative approach.
During the semester we will also have a series of guest talks via video conferencing from specialists of the respective countries.

Due to limited number of participants, it is mandatory to show up at the first session in order to secure your spot.

START: 21 April 2020 (digital format)

Lecturer: Benjamin Naujoks

Course Nr.: 15304.0094

Date/Time: Tue., 14:00 - 15:30h

Location: 106 S25

Talking about neonationalism, uprising right-wing movements, and the manifestation of right parties all over Europe and the World, there is often talk of “Weimar conditions” (“Weimarer Verhältnisse”). While this term refers to the condition of a political system, this course will ask about the whole picture: what does “Weimar” in different times and ages stand for (as lieu de mémoire/memory space)? What does the positive connoted term “Weimar classic” mean in terms of near Buchenwald and the Holocaust? Furthermore, how “Weimar” – as a topos – was used during the German-German division? And, also afterwards since 1990 in global perspectives?

Following these questions, the course has three goals:
1. Giving an overview of the key developments of Modern European history.
2. Providing detailed knowledge about German(-German) history.
3. Embedding the results in global contexts.

“Memories of Weimar” follows interdisciplinary and multi-angle perspectives. While working with concrete examples of different dimensions (culture, politics, economy), the course offers and practices a variety of methodological approaches (culture, Holocaust, and memory studies as well as heritage studies, and questions of political economy etc.)

Introductory reading
• Michael H. Kater: “Weimar. From Enlightenment to the present”, New Haven/Conn., 2014 (online available).
• Peter E. Gordon/John P. McCormick: “Weimar Thought. A Contested Legacy”, Princeton/NJ, 2013 (online available).
• Pierre Nora: “Between Memory and History: Les Lieux de Mémoire”, in: Representations, 26/1989, 7-24 (online available).

Lecturer: Darius Ribbe

Course Nr.: 15304.0085

Time: Wed, 14:00 - 15:30

Location: 106 S25

The objective of this course is to introduce students to the general functioning of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), with main emphasis on the Common Currency (€). Starting from its historical roots, the class will follow the development and transformation of the EMU, aiming to comprehend the political, economic, social, and identity dimensions of the Common Currency especially.

Challenged by the Eurozone crisis, growing Euroscepticism, and re-nationalisation tendencies, the Common Currency of the European Union is – two decades after its introduction as ‘book money’ – still contested amongst politicians, practitioners, and the general public. As the Common Currency for 19/28 Member States, the EURO has effects on the daily life of millions of EU-citizens, global markets, and the political structures and future of the Union itself. However, analyses of the Common Currency vary heavily depending on the discipline, theoretical foundations, and emphasis. From failing safety and rescue mechanisms during the crisis, to – as some say – the most far-reaching deepening of the European Union in the aftermath, the EURO has shaped the European Union.

Further, the European Central Bank (ECB) has become a key-player in the inter-institutional balance and on global markets, leading to contestations and law suits from national banks of some Member States, hail and praise from other national governments. As the Common Currency itself, the underlying policies are reflecting a divide of the Member States and their economic policies.

These developments raise many questions such as:

Why do 19 out of 28 Member States have a Common Currency?

Who benefits from the current monetary system and policies?

Are all Eurozone members affected by crises the same way?

Does crisis management and prevention follow a specific path?

What is necessary to secure (sustainable?) economic growth and prosperity?

To answer these questions, this class will:

• discuss the various theoretical foundations of common currencies and optimum currency areas,
• use this theoretical background to analyse the situation of the European Union and the €-zone,
• take different, interdisciplinary perspectives on the Eurozone crisis,
• evaluate the benefits and short-comings of the €-regime,
• access various policy recommendations for reforms of the common European currency.

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Frank Schulz-Nieswandt

Course Nr.: 14344.0002

Time & dates:

28 Oct. 17:45-19.15 in Raum XVIII
18 Nov. 17:45-19.15 in Raum XVIII
25 Nov. 17:45-19.15 in Raum XVIII
05 Dec. 17:45-20:00 in Raum XVIII
06 Dec. 10:00-12:00 in Raum XII + 12:00-17:30 in Raum XVIII
09 Dec. 17:45-19:15 in Raum XVIII

Inclusion as the radical alternative to the cultural reality of social exclusion of the homo patiens is an anthropological paradigm of philosophy of law. This leads to the idea of going beyond social structures of center and periphery in society.

Inclusion as a model of thought is driven by the United Nations and also by the catalogue of basic social rights, involved in the treaties of the European Union and is connected with der European Social Policy. The analysis put the emphasis on the policy of social services of general interest in connection with the European Charta of fundamental (social) right.

We cannot understand inclusion as if we switch on and off the light. Beyond legal frameworks and economic incentives as important preconditions to generate social change by Pareto-optimal solutions in allocation, successful inclusion is a process of social change understood as cultural transformation. Inclusion as metamorphosis (Gestalt-switch) of the collective agreement about the question of a good life needs time but during this time-span, society has to organize social learning processes that transform the psychodynamics of individuals and the cultural grammar of exclusion.

After a short overview about the theory the EU as multi-level-system and about the different dimensions and aspects of European Social Policy we want to read and discuss the central relevant legal article of the legal regime policy of the UN and of the EU and discuss as a re-construction a text of complex interpretation of the whole issue area.

Lecturer: Dr. Claudia Hefftler

Course Nr.: 15304.0082

Date: Wed, 16:00 - 17:30

Location: 106 S24

The European Union (EU) is a unique project of international cooperation of 28 states in an “ever closer union” that has successfully secured peace and prosperity on the European continent for over 60 years. In the past decade however, European integration has been challenged due to the Euro crisis, increasing Euroscepticism and ultimately the Brexit. The Union has come under pressure to prove its added value and legitimacy to the people.

This course will start out with analysing the institutional structure and historical development of the EU. The democratic quality of the EU decision-making process will guide this analysis. What powers does the European Parliament have in the EU decision-making process? How is it elected and how does it contribute to EU legitimacy? Where do the member states guard their interests and how do they answer to their national voters? These are some of the questions we will critically discuss in this course.

The seminar will cover the case study of EU research policy to exemplify the workings of the EU institutions. Towards the end of the semester an excursion to Bonn will allow an insight into national EU policy-making. The course is designed as an introduction to EU politics.

Lecturer: Rada Popova

Course Nr: 15304.0087

Time: Wed, 12:00 - 13:30

Location: 106 S24

In its first part, by outlining the relevant historical background, this course will introduce the genesis of the European legal tradition. In its second part, the institutional basis, the structure and the basic principles of European Union law will be presented. On the basis of case studies on milestone jurisprudence of the ECJ, the role of European Union Law for Member States will be explained.
The structure of the lessons is interactive, where active participation is both desired and expected. 
In the end of the course, every student will prepare a topic and present the results in front of the course (10 to 15 minutes). After the presentation, the topic at hand will be discussed among the class.
The course will be concluded with a short multiple choice exam.

Course outline
I.    The genesis of modern European legal systems: historical and economic factors (1 week)

II.    The main elements of Roman Law, the Germanic legal tradition and English (common) law and their influence on the European legal tradition (2 weeks)

III.    Overview on the system of European Union Law: history, structure, organs institutions and principles (2 weeks)

IV.    The sources and hierarchy of European Union Law (2 weeks)

V.    The role of European Union law for the legal systems in Member States: case studies of milestone judicial decisions of the European Court of Justice (3 weeks)

VI.    Presentations and discussion (1 week)

Lecturer: Dr. Johannes Müller

Course Nr.: 15304.0083

Time/Date: Mon, 16:00 - 17:30

Location: 326 0.01

Even though the Anti-Hitler coalition, which successfully re-established peace after World War II, seemed to initiate a period of international cooperation, it quickly broke down and on the contrary paved the way to an epoch of bipolar tension and antagonism. From 1945 to 1989 the entire world was under siege by a conflict that was basically European. And it was Europe that suffered most directly its consequences: Forced into two antagonistic blocs, divided by the “Iron Curtain” – with Germany cut in two at the frontline – deadly armed and constantly on the edge of a Third World War. This seminar will deal with the origins, the development and the end of the Cold War, considering its ideological background, structural shape and political aftermath. But we will also shed light on political alternatives and look at attempts to overcome the geopolitical stalemate. 
It is of course a global history, but we will deliberately deal with it from a European perspective.

Lecturer: Dr. Benjamin Naujoks

Course Nr.: 15304.0084

Time: Tue, 14:00 - 15:30am

Location: 103 S67

Iran, sustainability, Russia, financial crises, Brexit, terrorism, China – just these few keywords sound like the headlines in today’s news. However, this list can also be used to characterize an entire decade: the 1970s. And this enumeration is – of course – not complete.
In this sense, the course has three goals:
Firstly, starting from a global perspective, the main developments in the 1970s will be named and then explored, why these were characteristic for the decade. It is also questioned whether the decade as such does not begin earlier (e.g. 1968) and when or with which event it could end. Secondly, the course examines both the immediate consequences for Europe and the various reactions in detail to the new challenges of the time. Thirdly, contemporary developments and challenges are thus contextualized and placed in a larger context. The overall aim is a discussion that connects history with the present.
So, this course provides an overview in a multi-angle perspective (political, economic, also cultural and technical) of the pan-European development lines of the 20th century, with retrospect on their origins in the 19th century and outlooks on the challenges of the 21st century.

Lecturer: Dr. Meltem Gürle

Course Nr.: 15304.0086

Time: Tue, 12:00 - 13:30am

Location: 106 S15

Course Description:

From Chekhov and Kafka to Joyce and Woolf, the Europeans play an important role in shaping the art of short fiction. This course, while focusing largely on the works of the European masters and the widely accepted characteristics of the modern short story, such as epiphany, fragmentation and formalist experimentalism, will occassionally visit other continents and authors less typical of the modernist canon in order to present a more diverse history of the genre.

The reading and writing assignments –linked with lectures and class discussions— are aimed at developing the students’ skills to analyze and interpret literary texts as well as familiarizing them with the elements of fiction, such as character, plot, point of view etc. Students will be expected to read the stories beforehand and come to each class prepared to discuss them.

Syllabus

Lecturer: Darius Ribbe

Course Nr.: 15304.0075

Date: Mon, 14:00 - 15:30h

Location: 106 S24

Foundation, Cornerstone or Misery of an “Ever Closer Union”?

European economic integration touches our everyday-life in many ways. The single market enables us to buy and sell products and services all across the European Union (EU), the Euro obviated the need to exchange national currencies in the 19 states of the Eurozone, and the instruments of European Economic Governance make regular headlines not only in times of crisis.

Understanding drivers of economic integration, the relevant actors in the multi-level system of the EU, and finding theoretical frames for analysis, however, can be difficult. Therefore, this course covers the theory, system, institutions, and effects of European Economic Integration on an introductory level.

The students are introduced to the Economic and Monetary Union, mechanisms and institutions of economic governance, and the Single Market. On the foundation of European integration theory and with the toolset of political economy, different aspects will be discussed.

Additionally, small case-studies and a hands-on approach to assessing contemporary challenges of European economic integration will enable the students to a deepened understanding and critical thinking.

Lecturer: Benjamin Haas, MA

Course Nr.: 15304.0071

Date: Tue., 14:00-15:30h

Location: 326 0.03

Development policies traditionally aim to improve the lives of people in so called “developing countries”. However, due to the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world is currently renegotiating the concept of development. This seminar gives an overview about the policy field from a European perspective, including its history, theories, actors, instruments and current (critical) debates. It also includes a one-day study excursion to Bonn (the former capital of West-Germany), where students have the opportunity to discuss the topics of the seminar with different political actors and practitioners, for instance, from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Students learn to apply different theoretical approaches regarding the concepts of development to current practical cases and get an introductory overview about European Development Policies. No previous knowledge about the topic is required.

detailed semester plan

Lecturer: Dr. Wulf Reiners

Course Nr.: 15304.0073

Date: Mon., 16:00 - 17:30h

Location: 326 0.01

Investments on digitalisation affect personal, political, societal, environmental and economic processes across the globe and have enormous potential to radically change almost all sectors in the coming decades, from agriculture to industry and finance, from education to health, democracy and human rights. They will also influence the success of the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Digitalisation is understood to constitute one of the most powerful facilitators for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The course is an introduction to digital transformation and its relationship with sustainable development in Europe and other world regions. It provides an overview of the impact, the opportunities, but also the risks of digitalisation in three interdependent thematic fields: the economy, the environment, and the society. A particular focus will be put on the societal and political dimension of digitalisation towards sustainable development, for instance with a view to governance, privacy and security in the digital age, or the effects of social media on democratic practices. The course will take up topical initiatives and processes such as the United Nation’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development, the European Union’s Digital Single Market (DSM), the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or social credit systems in China. In this way, the seminar aims to combine perspectives from Europe with experiences from other world regions.

Preliminary Course Schedule

Requirements for successful participation

Basic Module Students

• Digital Knowledge Product (various formats)
• Presentation
• Written examination. Multiple-Choice, 20 Questions on this course

Elective Module Students (no grades)

• Digital Knowledge Product (various formats)
• Presentation

SI Students

• Written examination. Multiple-Choice, 20 Questions on this course

Lecturer: Rada Popova

Course Nr: 15304.0074

Date/Time: Wed., 14:00 - 15:30h

Location: 106 S14

The course will give an introduction to public international law and to European Union law. In its first part, by outlining the relevant legal basis, this course will provide insights into the legal mechanisms that govern inter-state relations and the role of international organizations for the international legal order.  Part of the course will be dedicated to the legal regime governing so-called areas beyond national sovereignty and international spaces – the environment, the High Seas and the Deep Seabed as well as airspace and outer space. In its second part, the institutional basis, the structure and the basic principles of European Union law will be presented. On the basis of case studies on milestone jurisprudence of the ECJ, the role of European Union Law for Member States will be explained.

The structure of the lessons is interactive, where active participation is both desired and expected. 

During the course, every student will prepare a topic related to the program of the course of their choice and present the results orally (10 to 15 minutes). After the presentation, the topic at hand will be discussed among the class.

• Definitions and the sources of public international law (1 week)
• The legal basis of inter-state relations (1 week)
• The law of international organizations (1 week)
• The United Nations and their special organizations (1 week)
• The legal order concerning international spaces: the High Seas and the Deep Seabed, the environment, air space and outer space (3 weeks)
• The genesis of modern European legal systems: historical and economic factors (1 week)
• Overview on the system of European Union Law: sources, institutions and principles (2 weeks)
• The role of European Union law for the legal systems in Member States: case studies of milestone judicial decisions of the European Court of Justice (1 week)
• Presentations and discussion (1 week)

Lecturer: Dr. Meltem Gürle

Course Nr.: 15304.0070

Time/Date: Wed. 10:00 - 11:30h

Location: 106 S15

"Smells Like Teen Spirit"

German philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey regards the Bildungsroman as the poetic expression of the Enlightenment concept of Bildung, and reads the novel of formation as a restricted genre, limited to a certain type of society and a certain period. The Bildungsroman, however, proved to be a world genre that has retained its influence to this day. Although it rarely follows the route that the German idealists suggest, that is to say, the one that reconciles the individual with the society, the contemporary Bildungsroman is still concerned with the young adult’s journey into self-actualization, a process historically in conflict with the existing social and cultural values. 

Taking into account the ever-expanding number of coming-of-age stories marked by existential despair and anxiety, this seminar is dedicated to the Bildungsromane written in the twenty-first century. It focuses on the narratives (novels, graphic novels, and films) of a new generation of authors that describe the painful transition from adolescence to adulthood at the age of global capitalism, while at the same time offering stories of hope and resistance. The aim of the seminar is not only to problematize the concept of Bildung and the idea of maturity in the contemporary European society, but also to uncover in these texts the characteristic themes of the classical Bildungsroman, such as provinciality, alienation, ordeal by love, and the search for meaning.

Week 1 Introduction: What is the Bildungsroman?: The classical Bildungsroman and the Enlightenment fantasy of maturity.

Secondary reading: Susan Neiman, Why Grow Up?: Subversive Thoughts for an Infantile Age, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2014.

Week 2: Modernity and the Bildungsroman: The discovery of youth.

Secondary Reading: Franco Moretti, “Kindergarten” in Signs Taken for Wonders: Essays in the Sociology of Literary Forms. Translated by Susan Fischer; David Forgacs; David Miller. London: NLB: Verso Editions. 1983.

Week 3: Modernity and the Poverty of Experience

Secondary Reading: Walter Benjamin, “The Storyteller“ in Illuminations trans. Harry Zohn (New York: Schoken Books 1969).

Week 4: Late Modernity and the Loss of Experience

Secondary Reading: excerpt from Giorgio Agamben, Infancy and History, Verso, London, 1993.

Week 5 Back to Childhood: The search for experience

Erlend Loe, Naïve. Super (1996) NORWAY

Week 6 The Dystopia: Identity and the Body

Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go (2005) UK

Film: Yorgos Lanthimos, Dogtooth (2009) GREECE

Week 7 The eternal child: Puer aeternus as the new model of the self in the culture of late capitalism

Paul Murray, excerpt from Skippy Dies (2010) IRELAND

Alper Canıgüz, excerpt from Sons and Suffering Souls (2004) TURKEY

Optional film: Disco Pigs (2001) Film - Director: Kirsten Sheridan, Writers: Enda Walsh (play), Enda Walsh (screenplay) IRELAND

Secondary reading: Karen Coates, “Saving the world before bedtime”: The Puer Aeternus as a New Paradigm for Selfhood, in Stories For Children, Histories of Childhood / Histoires d'enfant, histoires d'enfance. Tome II. Littérature / Literature. Presses universitaires François-Rabelais, 2017.

Week 8: The Journey

Why we took the car (2010) Wolfgang Herrndorf GERMANY

Optional: 303 (film) (2018) Hans Weingartner AUSTRIA

Week 9 Family and Trauma

Out in the Open (2018) Jesus Carrasco SPAIN

Loveless (2017) Film – Director: Andrei Zvyagintsev RUSSIA

Week 10: Of Mountains and Islands

The Eight Mountains: A Novel (2019) Paolo Cognetti  ITALY

Kruso (2014) Lutz Seiler GERMANY

Optional: Kruso (film) (2018) Thomas Stuber GERMANY

Week 11: All About Women

Two Girls  (2002) – Perihan Mağden TURKEY

Optional: Abdellatif Kechiche, Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013) Film - La vie d'Adèle (original title) FRANCE

Week 12: The Graphic Novel: Growing up in the Periphery

Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey (2015) Özge Samancı TURKEY

Persepolis (2000-2004) Marjane Satrapi IRAN

Week 13: The Gothic Bildungsroman

Let the Right One In (2004) John Ajvide Lindqvist SWEDEN

Week 14:  Conclusion and Review

***

Selected Bibliography

Theodor W. Adorno, Minima Moralia: Reflexionen aus dem beschädigten Leben (Frankfurt/ M.: Suhrkamp Verlag, 1951).

——, Minima Moralia: Reflections on a Damaged Life (London: Verso, 2005).

Giorgio Agamben, Infancy and History, Verso, London, 1993.

Louis Althusser, On Ideology (London/New York: Verso, 2008).

M. M. Bakhtin, “The Bildungsroman and Its Significance in the History of Realism: Toward a Historical Typology of the Novel,” in Speech Genres and Other Late Essays (Austin: University of Austin Press, 1986).

Walter Benjamin, Illuminations (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968).

——, “Der Erzähler: Betrachtungen zum Werk Nikolai Lesskows,” in Illuminationen: Ausgewählte Schriften 1 (Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp, 1982).

——, Selected Writings: 1931–1934, vol. 2., part 2, ed. by Michael W. Jennings &

Howard Eiland (Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap, 2004).

——, Gesammelte Schriften, ed. by Rolf Tiedemann, vol. 4 (Frankfurt am Main:

Suhrkamp, 1989).

Tobias Boes. Formative fictions; nationalism, cosmopolitanism, and the Bildungsroman. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2012.

Jonathan Bolton. Blighted Beginnings: Coming of Age in Independent Ireland. New Jersey: Bucknell University Press, 2010.

Gregory Castle, Reading the Modernist Bildungsroman (Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2006).

Karen Coates, “Saving the world before bedtime”: The Puer Aeternus as a New Paradigm for Selfhood, in Stories For Children, Histories of Childhood / Histoires d'enfant, histoires d'enfance. Tome II. Littérature / Literature. Presses universitaires François-Rabelais, 2017.

Erik H. Erikson, Childhood and Society (New York, NY: Norton, 1993).

——, Identity: Youth and Crisis (New York, NY: Norton, 1994).

Jed Esty, Unseasonable Youth: Modernism, Colonialism, and the Fiction of Development (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011).

Martin Jay, Songs of Experience. London: University of California Press, 2006.

Walter Jens, “Erwachsene Kinder: Das Bild des Jugendlichen in der modernen Literatur,” in Statt einer Literaturgeschichte (Munich: dtv, 1990).

Alexandre Kojève, Introduction to the Reading of Hegel (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1980).

Todd Kontje. The German Bildungsroman: History of a National Genre. Columbia: Camden House, 1993.


Georg Lukacs. The Theory of the Novel: A Historico-Philosophical Essay on the Forms of Great Epic Literature. Trans. Anna Bostock. London: Merlin, 1971.

Alison Lurie, Don’t Tell the Grown-Ups: The Subversive Power of Children’s Literature (Boston: Little, Brown, 1990).

Franco Moretti, The Way of the World: The Bildungsroman in European Culture (London: Verso, 2000).

——,“Kindergarten” in Signs Taken for Wonders: Essays in the Sociology of Literary Forms. Translated by Susan Fischer; David Forgacs; David Miller. London: NLB: Verso Editions. 1983.

John Neubauer, The Fin-de-siècle Culture of Adolescence (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992).

Marc Redfield, Phantom Formations: Aesthetic Ideology and the Bildungsroman (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1996).

Jon Savage, Teenage: The Creation of Youth Culture (New York: Viking, 2007).

Lecturer: Benjamin Naujoks

Course Nr.: 15304.0072

Time/Date: Tue., 10 - 11:30am

Location: 106 S15

Stefan Zweig dedicates two of fourteen chapters in his work “Decisive Moments in History” to musical pieces of historical significance. However, historians have only recently discovered tones, sounds and music for themselves, even though they are ubiquitous. Although the perception is mostly limited to the moment. Sounds of everyday life in particular are rarely preserved: usually through targeted recordings, often to a picture or film. Music – in the classic sense of the word – has always behaved differently: composed, written down and interpreted in a variety of ways. So, how can sounds - including noises, sounds and music as a term - be understood historically? Is there maybe something like a European collective memory of sounds? Or vice versa: can modern European history also be told through sounds? The course pursues these questions with concrete examples and traces the European history of the 19^th and 20^th centuries through the context.

Introductory reading list and sound examples/samples will be presented in the 1^st session.

Lecturer: Dr. Wulf Reiners

Course Nr.: 15304.0056

Date: Mon, 16:00 - 17:30

Location: 103 S83

The course provides an introduction to global and European economic cooperation and its relationship with sustainable development. It concentrates on two main components. First, we will analyse the contemporary global architecture for economic cooperation and development and its main characteristics, including relevant actors, international organisations, treaties, and patterns in trade and development economics. Second, we will examine the European Union as an example of regional economic integration, its internal market, the framework for economic coordination and its external economic relations. The course will take up topical economic and political processes such as the United Nation’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development, China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the EU’s trade and economic partnership agreements. In this way, the course seeks to contribute to the understanding how economic cooperation and development are interconnected with environmental and social questions.

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Frank Schulz-Nieswandt

Course Nr.: 15304.0053

Date: Wed., 10:00 - 11:30

Location: 103 S57

Inclusion does not happen overnight. We can not understand inclusion as if we switch on and off the light. Beyond legal frameworks and economic incentives as important preconditions to generate social change by Pareto-optimal solutions in allocation, successful inclusion is a process of social change understood as cultural transformation.
Inclusion as metamorphosis (Gestalt-switch) of the collective agreement about the question of a good life needs time but during this time-span, society has to organize social learning processes that transform the psychodynamics of individuals and the cultural grammar of exclusion.
This broad problem has to be located in the legal context of the EU and the UN, connected with the national legal regime development in the structure of multi-level-system with final results on the local level.

Lecturer: Dr. Tobias Kunstein

Course Nr.: 15304.0051

Date: Wed., 16:00 - 17:30

Location: 103 S57

The process of integration among sovereign nation states embodied by the European Union (EU) is a unique attempt of organising the co-existence of peoples. The EU’s sui generis character – something between a federation of nation states, or “Staatenbund”, and a federal state, or “Bundesstaat” (which led the German Constitutional Court to invent the term “Staatenverbund”) – makes the EU an ideal test case for political scientists interested in international cooperation. 
Although the EU is used to sailing rough seas, recent years have seen a succession of apparently existential crises and frantic reforms. Most recently, Brexit – the first-ever exit of a Member State – may form a watershed moment for the Union as a whole. At the very least, it implies that fast-paced institutional adaptation will continue. For example, a number of proposals have been tabled on how to deal with the UK’s 73 alloted seats in the European Parliament, which will likely become vacant just before the upcoming European Elections in May 2019.
Against this background, the seminar aims to take a closer look at the political structures underlying the EU. Based on a systematic appraisal of the Union’s institutional foundations, its strength and weaknesses will be the subject of debate and assessment. In particular, the seminar will include two sessions organised along the lines of a Tilbury debate. Students will controversially discuss a statement in two teams and try to defend a point of view that is not necessarily their own.

Lecturer: Rada Popova

Course Nr: 15304.0050

Date/Time: Tue., 14:00 - 15:30

Location: 103 S92

In its first part, by outlining the relevant historical background, this course will introduce the genesis of the European legal tradition. In its second part, the institutional basis, the structure and the basic principles of European Union law will be presented. On the basis of case studies on milestone jurisprudence of the ECJ, the role of European Union Law for Member States will be explained.
The structure of the lessons is interactive, where active participation is both desired and expected. 
In the end of the course, every student will prepare a topic and present the results in front of the course (10 to 15 minutes). After the presentation, the topic at hand will be discussed among the class.
The course will be concluded with a short multiple choice exam.

Course outline
I.    The genesis of modern European legal systems: historical and economic factors (1 week)

II.    The main elements of Roman Law, the Germanic legal tradition and English (common) law and their influence on the European legal tradition (2 weeks)

III.    Overview on the system of European Union Law: history, structure, organs institutions and principles (2 weeks)

IV.    The sources and hierarchy of European Union Law (2 weeks)

V.    The role of European Union law for the legal systems in Member States: case studies of milestone judicial decisions of the European Court of Justice (3 weeks)

VI.    Presentations and discussion (1 week)

Lecturer: Dr. Johannes Müller

Course Nr.: 15304.0052

Time/Date: Mon., 10:00 - 11:30

Location: 326 0.01

European History during the 20th Century has been described as an “Age of Extremes” (Eric Hobsbawm), as a period in which the “Dark Continent” (Mark Mazower) went “to Hell and Back” (Ian Kershaw) and then had to be rebuild “Out of Ashes” (Konrad Jarausch). This is all the more surprising as the 19th Century seemed to forebode an age of culminating progress, characterised by scientific triumphs, civilizing achievements, accelerated discoveries and technological solutions for all problems and needs of mankind. Yet, the 20th century saw the most barbaric set-back Europe had experienced for ages: Two world-wars, slaughter and repression of entire people and populations, excesses of intolerance, hate and violence, dictatorship, tyranny and the spectre of nuclear apocalypse. 
Examining the first half of the 20th century is examining how Europe arrived at the edge of self-destruction. It also means to identify the lessons to be learnt by successive generations – as at least in part the second half of the century is reacting to and trying to avoid the errors of the first half.
Historiography has just started to historicize the last century as a whole. Hence, we will also deal with competing interpretations which try to integrate the first half of the century into a comprehensive view of the entire epoch.

Lecturer: Dr. Benjamin Naujoks

Course Nr.: 15304.0054

Time/Date: Tue., 10:00 - 11:30am

Location: 326 0.01

Euroscepticism is in vogue all over Europe. In addition, pictures seem to be omnipresent. As icons, they have a significant, maybe even overriding impact on the perception of public and private spaces as well as on private and political communication. In fact: iconographic communication is an integral part of the history of humankind. In this sense, pictures have a decisive influence on the idea of Europe.
Therefore, this seminar will deal with the Idea of Europe and the European History of the 19th and 20th centuries under particular consideration of Visual History. Its guiding question is: Do we already have a collective European iconographic memory or is there a variety of (and competition between) collective national memories related to European history?

Lecturer: Tatiana Lopez, Dipl. Reg.-Wiss.

Course Nr.: 15304.0037

Date: Mon, 8 - 11:30am (course will alternate with the course "Current Challenges of EU foreign and security policy")

Location: 103 S2.127

Course description will follow soon

Lecturer: Benjamin Haas, MA

Course Nr.: 15304.0034

Date: Tue., 2 - 3:30pm

Location: 103 S73

Development policies traditionally aim to improve the lives of people in so called “developing countries”. However, due to the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world is currently renegotiating the concept of development. This seminar gives an overview about the policy field from a European perspective, including its history, theories, actors, instruments and current (critical) debates. It also includes a one-day study excursion to Bonn (the former capital of West-Germany), where students have the opportunity to discuss the topics of the seminar with different political actors and practitioners, for instance, from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Students learn to apply different theoretical approaches regarding the concepts of development to current practical cases and get an introductory overview about European Development Policies. No previous knowledge about the topic is required.

Lecturer: Dr. Johanna Gereke

Course Nr.: 15304.0032

Time/Date: Mon., 12 - 1:30pm

Location: 106 S13

The focus of this seminar is on the interaction between migration and society. With unprecedented numbers of immigrants reaching the European Union, the analytical study of migration and immigration has become ever more important for social scientists. This seminar will be divided into two parts: In the first part of the seminar, we will examine questions, such as: Why do people migrate across international borders? What are the different flows of migrants? Can states control “unwanted” migration? And what are the consequences of migration on origin countries? In the second part of the seminar, the focus will be on issues of integration of immigrants. We will discuss questions, such as: How do social scientists theorize and evaluate immigrant integration? How are immigrants and their children becoming part of the mainstream in the receiving countries? And how do attitudes towards immigrants form and differ among individuals and across countries?

Lecturer: Tobias Flessenkemper

Course Nr.: 15304.0033

Date: Mon., 8 - 11:30am (start Apr. 23rd)

Location: 103 S2.127

Please note: This course is held in four-hour-session and will not be held weekly. Dates will be published soon. First session is on April 23rd. 

The Western Balkans countries - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia - are increasingly interconnected with the European Union on all levels. Croatia was the first Western Balkans country to join the EU on 1 July 2013. The others are at various stages of the integration process.

On February 6, 2018 the European Commission presented its new enlargement strategy which outlines the challenges ahead and also brought a fresh attention to the region which is increasingly vulnerable to external influences, in particular by Russia, China and Turkey.

15 years ago, the Thessaloniki European Council in  2003 declared the Western Balkans potential EU member states. The “Thessaloniki agenda” brought together EU foreign policy and enlargement. Enlargement was considered the most effective foreign policy towards the region of the Western Balkans. The process remains characterised by particular challenges for the European Union as an actor as well as the countries. These are:

1) Regional cooperation and security following the wars and crises of the 1990s - the region and the EU continue to deal with the legacies and consequences of the past (including, issues related to state recognition, disarmament, normalization of relations, bilateral disputes, confidence-building measures to border demarcation);

2) Increased conditionality and scrutiny of EU-related reforms following previous enlargement rounds -  the Western Balkans countries have to establish and maintain democracy and human rights, functioning institutions able to uphold the acquis communautaire and an economy able to compete within the common market  (Copenhagen criteria); despite being at different stages of the EU integration process, the countries of the region share similar difficulties in addressing those issues;

3) South Eastern Europe is an area of connection and transit - today the region is the link between zones of war and instability in the near East and Central and Western Europe; obvious challenges stem from the “border crisis”, which exemplifies this intertwined relationship the region has with both its South Eastern neighbourhood as well as with the EU and its member states (Balkans route); the region is also historically linked with Turkey and Russia, both of which play a political role in the countries, including in multilateral cooperation with the EU. In recent times the Balkans Silk Road of China challenges the EU model of connectivity in the region, which is being promoted also by the “Berlin process”, initiated by Germany, in 2014. 

Hence, the analysis of the Western Balkans enlargement offers an insight into several areas, inter alia:

-              the evolving enlargement policy and institutional framework, including methodologies and pre-accession assistance;

-              the development of the Commons Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) and the role of the EU in (member) state-building;

-              the interconnection between external and internal security of the EU for instance in areas such as visa, migration and border management policies as well as the renewed emphasis on fundamental rights and the rule of law;

-              the perspectives of the European Union as a whole since overtime EU enlargement to South Eastern Europe has also become linked to the question if the countries of the region eventually wish to join an ever changing EU, including Brexit;

-              the role of “other” actors and powers in Europe, on the one hand the allies of the European Union such as the US and in the future the UK and to a certain degree Turkey, and on the other hand of competitors and antagonists such as Russia and China but also in an ideological sense of ethnic nationalism, anti-liberalism and radical religious and other global movements. 

Schedule (sessions from 08h00-11h30) 

Monday, 23 April

Monday, 07 May

Monday, 21 May

Monday, 04 June

Monday, 18 June

Monday, 02 July

Monday, 16 July

Lecturer: Elias Deutscher, LL.M.

Course Nr: 15304.0030

Date/Time: Wed., 4 - 7:15pm (held from May 2nd until June 27th)

Location: 315 S234

In light of the current surge of Eurosceptic and anti-globalization movements, the EU’s role in regulating globalized markets has been the focal point of a plethora of various criticisms. On the one hand, the EU is recurrently portrayed as source of inefficient over-regulation and red tape. On the other hand, the EU is increasingly perceived as a neo-liberal catalyst of trade liberalization and deregulation, undermining the Member States’ regulatory autonomy and welfare systems. To decipher and critically assess current Eurosceptic and anti-globalization discourses, a solid understanding of how regulation of globalized markets works is key.

Therefore, this course proposes to study the role of the EU as central actor of international market regulation from a pluri-disciplinary, legal, political and economic perspective. The goal of this course is to provide the students with a solid and contextual knowledge of EU internal market and competition rules, which lie at the heart of EU economic law. This course will also equip the students with a good understanding of the development of the EU integration process, as well as of the functioning and decision-making of the EU institutions. Moreover, it will allow them to critically assess current political discourses on the EU and international trade. Relying both on legal texts and academic literature, this course will additionally provide students with important methodological tools to critically read and analyse EU legislation, case law and academic texts.

The course will unfold in four sections. A first section (4 hours) of the course will be dedicated to the basic concepts that underlie trade liberalization and regulation at global (WTO) and European (EU) level. This section will also give a brief historical overview on trade liberalization over the 20th century.

The second section will focus on the substantive EU internal market law (8 hours). In particular, it will retrace the role of the Court of Justice of the European Union in promoting EU market integration by striking down state barriers to trade through the interpretation of EU free movement rules. (The focus will lie on free movement of goods, services and establishment). It will also address the fundamental tension between trade liberalization and the regulatory autonomy of national welfare states, and will study the complementary role of negative (trade liberalization) and positive (trade regulation) integration. Moreover, this section will critically discuss the alleged democratic deficit and neo-liberal bias of the EU internal market policies.

The third section of the course will examine how EU competition law regulates private companies’ attempts to impose restraints of trade (8 hours). The course will provide the students with a basic understanding of the prohibition of anticompetitive agreements (Art. 101 TFEU) and the prohibition of abuses of a dominant market position (Art. 102 TFEU), as well as of EU merger control. Moreover, it will also address the application of EU competition rules to Member States: namely, the EU State aid rules and Art. 106 TFEU. Thus, the course will also critically discuss to what extent the application of EU competition law leaves EU Member States sufficient leeway to pursue social policies and national regulatory choices.

The fourth section will be dedicated to the external dimension of EU Economic Law (4 hours). It will explain how the EU exports its internal market and competition rules at a global level, by concluding comprehensive Free Trade Agreements with third (non-EU) countries. This section will also touch upon the current controversies surrounding TTIP and CETA.

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Stephan Hobe LL.M.; Banjamyn I. Scott

Course Nr.: 15304.0039

Date: Tue., 12:00 - 1:30pm (start Apr. 24th)

Location: 103 S83

This course introduces the basic principles and rules found in International Law and European Union law.

Students will be presented with reading materials and are expected to have read them before the class. This will facilitate discussion.

The structure of the lessons is interactive, where active participation is both desired and expected.

Every student will prepare a topic and present the results in front of the course (10 to 15 minutes). After the presentation, the topic at hand will be discussed among the class.

The course will be concluded with a short multiple choice exam.

Week    Date      Teacher               Topic

1             24 April Mr Scott              Introduction to Course and Law

                1 May             Public Holiday

2             8 May   Mr Scott              History and Background of Public International Law

3             15 May Prof. Hobe          Sources of International Law

               22 May            no lecture

4             29 May Mr Scott              International Court of Justice and Case Study

5             5 June  Prof. Hobe          Jurisdiction

6             12 June Prof. Hobe          History and Background to EU Law

7             19 June Mr Scott              Sources of EU Law

8             26 June Mr Scott              Institutions of the EU

9             3 July    Mr Scott              European Court of Justice and Case Study

10           10 July  Mr Scott              Presentations (International and EU Law)

Necessary law texts:      

Core reading will be provided in advance of the lecture.

Recommended law texts:           

Malcolm N. Shaw, International Law, Eighth Edition, (Cambridge University Press, 2017).

Rebecca Wallace and Olga Martin-Ortega, International Law, Seventh Edition, (Sweet & Maxwell, 2013).

Paul Craig and Grainne De Burca, EU Law: Text, Cases, and Materials, Sixth Edition, (Oxford University Press, 2015).

Lecturer: Dr. Johannes Müller

Course Nr.: 15304.0031

Time/Date: Wed., 8 - 9:30am

Location: 106 S13

Germany’s history in the second half of the 20th century was overshadowed by the disastrous outcome of World War II, both with regard to domestic policies and international affairs. The atrocities committed by Nazi-Germany left a monstrous legacy for generations of Germans to deal with. The aftermath of the defeat of the German Army by a discordant alliance set the scene for the division of Europe and the rise of the Cold War. Germany’s own trajectory from division to unification, with a history split into a Western and an Eastern narrative (still today difficult to merge into a common perspective), is as peculiar as it is emblematic for the history of Europe in this epoch. 

This introductory course, taught in English, attempts to approach German history from the outside. The course is based on broad selections of original texts and sources as provided by the German Historical Institute in Washington, D.C. (http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/home.cfm?language=english) and will rely predominantly on international studies (in English). German students are very welcome, if they are ready to take on an external point of view; international students are invited to bring in their own perspective on German history based on studies/monographs from their home countries.

Course Program (Overview)

1. Wed, 11 April – Introduction

2. Wed, 18 April – Unconditional Surrender – Resetting Germany and the Germans

Wed, 25 April – NO SEMINAR

3. Wed, 2 May – Troubled Allied Cooperation/Double State-Building

4. Wed, 9 May –  The West: Social Market Economy and Social Restoration 

5. Mon, 14 May – RECOVERY SESSION 

                                16:00-17:30 in COPT-Building (315) Room: S 232 

                                The East: Command Economy and Real Existing Socialism

Wed, 16 May – NO SEMINAR

Wed, 23 May – NO SEMINAR

6. Mon, 28 May – RECOVERY SESSION

                                16:00-17:30 in COPT-Building (315) Room: S 232

                                Resilience and Rebellion: 1968 and Its Aftermath

7. Wed, 30 May – “Ostpolitik” and Reform: BRD and the Willy-Brandt-Effect 

8. Wed, 6 June – The DDR from Ulbricht to Honecker

9. Wed, 13 June – Two States, Two Societies – The Germanies in the 1970s/80s

10. Wed, 20 June – “Deutschlandpolitik”

11. Wed, 27 June – The Iron Eighties and The Gorbachev Impact

12. Wed, 4 July – Revolution

13. Wed, 11 July – (Re-)Unification

14. Wed, 18 July – Conclusion(s)

Lecturer: Dr. Benjamin Naujoks

Course Nr.: 15304.0036

Time/Date: Tue., 10 - 11:30am

Location: 103 S73

Duyisibao – this is the Chinese name for the German city Duisburg, the destination of the New Silk Road from China to Western Europe. In this context, Duisburg is one example for the interdependences of the European Union in a globalized world. The seminar will question the history of Europe under a methodological approach of economic and social history. It will analyse key terms, like globalization or European Integration. Therefore, this seminar will deal with European History of the 19th and 20th centuries under particular consideration of the European Integration after 1945. Its guiding question is: What are the main parameters for trade, growth, and wealth in Europe – in a more and more globalized world?

Introductory reading

- Ivan T. Berend, An Economic History of Twentieth-Century Europe. Economic Regimes from Laissez-Faire to Globalization, Cambridge, 2016.

- John McCormick, Europeanism, Oxford, 2010.

- John Pinder/Simon Usherwood, The European Union. A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, 2013.