EURO 370 - European Cultures and Lives

Unit(s): 4

The goal of this course is to provide a cultural history of Europe that will inform students about the historical particularity of this region intended to guide further study of contemporary society and culture. The period roughly from 1750 to the present will be covered. The method that will be employed is to present a historical continuum brought to life through the voices of figures who lived through some of the central transformations of the epoch. The course is divided into sections and each section will include various contemporary texts, including autobiographies, essays and novels. The idea beyond this method is to make the historical changes tangible and to understand how a variety of developments in letters, the arts, and the sciences intersected. As a European Studies course, the material presented will allow for the overcoming national self-definitions and is intended to direct students towards a regional understanding of shared history. In effect, national developments were intertwined throughout the period under investigation and the course will underline these commonalities.

College of Arts and Sciences