Catalog
European Studies
Professors Duina (Sociology), López (Spanish), and Richter (Politics); Associate Professors Browne (Russian), Cernahoschi (German, chair), Kazecki (German), and Shaw (History); Senior Lecturer George (Spanish); Lecturer Balladur (French and Francophone Studies)
The Program in European Studies reinforces the college's mission to engage students in a journey of intellectual discovery and informed global citizenship. European studies is a multifaceted interdisciplinary program that broadens students' understanding of the region since 1789 and encourages them to question assumptions about Europe's role in the world in this era. Courses offered in European studies (EUS or EU) are taught in English.
The establishment of the European Union and the intricate processes of negotiating national identities are recent and contentious steps toward greater political, economic, and cultural collaboration. At the same time, national politics, cultures, histories, sports and entertainment, arts, economies, and languages continue to play a role in defining what Europe is today and what it will become in the future.
The contemporary complexities of European history, society, politics, and languages can only be fully understood by transcending disciplinary boundaries. Courses offered by a variety of departments and programs provide a rich resource for European studies and ensure an interdisciplinary approach to cultural texts and their sociopolitical contexts. More information on European studies may be found on the website (bates.edu/european-studies/).
Major Requirements
The major in European studies consists of ten courses plus a thesis. The courses are distributed as follows:1) Two Foundation Courses.
EUS 101. Introduction to Europe
One course on the history of modern Europe (EU/HI 104. Europe, 1789 to the Present, or the equivalent).
2) Languages and Cultures. Four courses, taken in either of the following sequences:
Four courses in French, German, Russian, or Spanish.
Two courses above the 100 level taught in each of two of the following languages: French, German, Russian, and Spanish.
3) Electives. Three elective courses taken from at least two different disciplines from the list below:
AVC 279. Abstract Expressionism.
AVC 281. Realism and Impressionism.
AVC 282. Modern European Art.
AVC 284. Revolutions and Romanticisms.
BSAG 009. Mapping the City: The Urban Landscape as Text.
BSAG 010. Culture, Controversy, Cryptography, Calculus.
BSAS 003. Spain in the Twentieth Century: National Narratives Old and New.
ENG 243. Romantic Literature (1790-1840).
ENG 254. Modern British Literature since 1900.
ES/RE 216. Natures in the Culture of Russia.
EU/HI 206. The Empire Strikes Back: The Ends of European Empires in the Twentieth Century.
EU/RU 213. Russian Identities and National Values in Russian Literature.
EUS 215. Jewish Lives in Eastern Europe: History, Memory, Story.
EU/GR 220. Remembering War: The Great War, Memory and Remembrance in Europe.
EUS 240. Daily Life Under Hitler and Stalin.
EU/GR 254. Berlin and Vienna, 1900-1914.
EU/HI 255. Revolutionary Europe and Its Legacies, 1789–1989.
EUS 261. Slavic Europe.
EU/SO 290. Political Sociology.
INDS s18. Wilde Times: Scandal, Celebrity, and the Law.
EU/PT s22. Politics of Memory in Central and Eastern Europe.
EUS s24. Slavic Europe.
ES/EU s28. Green City Germany: Experiments in Sustainable Urbanism.
EUS s50. Independent Study
FR/GS 151. Introduction to French and Francophone Film.
FRE 207. Introduction to Contemporary France.
FRE 240G. Science and Literature.
FRE 250. Power and Resistance through Writing.
FRE s24. Cooking up French Culture.
FRE s24. French Drama.
FRE s36. The Evolution of French Cinema.
FYS 297. Idea of Europe.
FYS 266. Fakers, Forgers, Looters, Thieves.
FYS 404. On the Road to Spain.
FYS 423. Humor and Laughter in Literature and Visual Media.
FYS 433. Reimagining Europe.
FYS 480. Communism.
GER 241. German Modernisms.
GER 244. Staged Marriages.
GER 251. The Age of Revolution: The German Enlightenment, Classicism and Romantic Rebellion, 1750-1830.
GER 252. Tracing the Autobiographical: Personal Narratives in Twentieth-Century German Literature.
GER 256. The Age of Materialism, 1830-1899.
GER 264. World War I in German Culture.
GER s26. The Split Screen: Reconstructing National Identities in West and East German Cinema.
HIST 217. Fortress Europe: Race, Migration, and Difference in European History.
HIST 256. British Modernity, 1688 to the Present.
MUS 210. Classical Music in Western Culture.
PHIL 272. Philosophy from Descartes to Kant.
PHIL 273. Philosophy in the Nineteenth Century.
PLTC 232. The Politics of Post-Communism.
PLTC 248. The Arctic: Politics, Economics, Peoples.
PLTC 260. Nationalism and Nation Building.
PLTC 295. Reading Marx, Rethinking Marxisms.
SOC 395A. European Integration: Politics, Society, and Geography.
THEA 220. The Modern Stage: Ibsen to O'Neill.
THEA 222. The Modern Stage: Beckett to the Present.
THEA s33. Central European Theater and Film.
4) Senior Thesis Sequence.
a) one upper-level seminar from following courses at Bates:
AVC 377. Seminar in Architectural History.
AVC 381. Modernisms: A Global Perspective.
EUS 300. Sport in Europe.
INDS 301A. Sex and the Modern City: European Cultures at the Fin-de-Siècle.
EU/SP 366. Iberian Nightmares: Fantasy and Horror in Spanish and Portuguese Cinemas.
EU/SO 395Q. Populism in the Ages of Globalization.
FRE 373. Close-up on the Enlightenment: Film, Text, Context.
FRE 374. Écrire la Révolution: French Literature in the Nineteenth Century.
FRE 375. The French Dis/Connection in Contemporary Literature.
FRE. 376. Writing Gender in French.
FRE 378. Voix francophones des Antilles.
GER 350. Margins and Migrations.
GER 358. Literature and Film of the German Democratic Republic.
GS/SP 344. Gendering Social Awareness in Contemporary Spain.
HIST 301X. "Self-Evident Truths": A History of Human Rights and Humanitarianism.
PLTC 333. State Formation, State Development, State Collapse.
PLTC 344. Ethnicity and Conflict.
SOC 395A. European Integration: Politics, Society, and Geography.
SPAN 368. Realismo.
b) EUS 457, 458. Senior Thesis.
Double Majors
Students who are double majors in European studies and French, German, Russian, or Spanish must complete at least seven distinct courses (plus the thesis) that count toward the European studies major.Study Abroad
Study abroad in Europe is encouraged but not required to complete the major. Up to four courses from approved study-abroad programs may be counted toward the language or elective courses, with the approval of the program chair.Pass/Fail Grading Option
Students may count either one 100- or 200-level elective or one 200-level language course taken pass/fail toward the major.European Studies majors and minors may not use the Modern Europe GEC (C024) toward meeting General Education requirements.
Courses
EUS 101. Introduction to Europe.
This course introduces students to major themes in European studies, considering the dynamic processes by which Europe and European identities have been defined since the cold war. Students examine, among other questions, how Europe has changed in the wake of new economic and political realities, with the formation of international organizations, and in the face of shifting ethnic, religious, and cultural landscapes. By investigating these topics from various perspectives, students gain the interdisciplinary tools to understand the intricacies of an ever-changing Europe. Not open to students who have received credit for EUS 200 or FYS 297. Normally offered every year. D. Browne.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
EU/HI 104. Europe, 1789 to the Present.
What is modern Europe? How did the history of this small region impinge on peoples around the globe? What was particularly modern about this period? This course explores themes and events in European history from the French Revolution to the present. During this period of cataclysmic economic change, the world, once viewed as static, seemed dynamic: cities grew exponentially, new nation-states emerged, traditional hierarchies faded, and new inequalities grew up in their stead. How did Europeans respond, and how did those responses help to shape the world? Students consider these questions using secondary literature and a variety of primary sources, including newspapers, political tracts, novels, and films. Not open to students who have received credit for HIST 104. Enrollment limited to 49. (History: European.) (History: Modern.) [AC] [HS] C. Shaw.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
EU/HI 206. The Empire Strikes Back: The Ends of European Empires in the Twentieth Century.
In 1918, Woodrow Wilson famously outlined his Fourteen Points, emphasizing the right of subject peoples to self-determination. While Wilson's was hardly the first critique of empire, it provided a framework for increasingly organized anti-colonial movements. Just as European empires reached their zenith, older rationales for empire became harder to maintain. Yet the end(s) of European empires were long in the making. Many would argue that we have yet to live in a postcolonial world. This course explores the changing arguments over the future of European empires, the contests for power, and their effects on individuals' lives across the globe. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 39. (History: European.) (History: Modern.) C. Shaw.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
EU/RU 213. Russian Identities and National Values in Russian Literature.
The present tensions between the United States and Russia have often been described as a clash of civilizations. This course places the contemporary debates into a wider historical context. Students analyze Russian literary texts from nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with some study of much earlier works. Students examine works by Alexander Pushkin, Nickolay Gogol, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Mikhail Bulgakov, among others, to critically consider Russian national values, the construction of a Russian national identity, and Russia's relationship to the "West." They also study Russian and Soviet films and their representations of these questions. Conducted in English. [W2] M. Loginova.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
EUS 215. Jewish Lives in Eastern Europe: History, Memory, Story.
An exploration of the cultural landscape of Eastern Europe in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries with a focus on Jewish experience. What did it mean to be Jewish under the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires and in the interior war republics that replaced them? How did Jews fashion their lives as political subjects, as members of diverse communities, and as individuals? How do historical research, personal and collective memories, a rich storytelling tradition, and mass media shape our access to a cultural landscape that no longer exists? R. Cernahoschi.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
EU/HI 217. Fortress Europe: Race, Migration, and Difference in European History.
European society, long-defined by entrenched economic hierarchies, began to look different with the arrival of African American GIs during World War II. Global migration began shortly thereafter, so the story goes. Though claims about race as a recent novelty in Europe have been repeated often, they should strike us as odd. Imperialism brought Europeans into contact with “others” for centuries. Didn’t these experiences “come home”? While concentrating on the twentieth century, this course examines race in Europe between the enlightenment and today’s “migrant crisis." Students explore the development, institutionalization, and impact of race in European thought, politics, and daily life. Not open to students who have received credit for HIST 217. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 39. (History: European.) (History: Modern.) C. Shaw.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
EUS 240. Daily Life under Hitler and Stalin.
In this course, students examine everyday life in two of the twentieth century's most brutal political systems: Hitler's Nazi Germany and Stalin's USSR. They pay particular attention to how these two totalitarian regimes dominated the public sphere from the late 1920s to the end of World War II, and examine the question of agency: To what extent were the citizens of the Third Reich and the USSR manipulated subjects, willing participants, or sympathetic fellow travelers? Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 29. (History: European.) D. Browne.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
EU/GR 254. Berlin and Vienna, 1900–1914.
From the beginning of the twentieth century to the outbreak of World War I, the capital cities of Berlin and Vienna were home to major political and cultural developments, including diverse movements in art, architecture, literature, and music, as well as the growth of mass party politics. The ascending German Empire and the multiethnic Habsburg Empire teetering on the verge of collapse provide the context within which this course examines important texts of fin-de-siècle modernism. Topics include urban growth and planning, German Expressionism, Austrian Impressionism, early German cinema, and Freud's case studies of hysteria. Conducted in English. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 29. R. Cernahoschi, J. Kazecki.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
EU/HI 255. Revolutionary Europe and Its Legacies, 1789-1989.
This course examines the European revolutions and their legacies—political, cultural, and ideological—over time. The French Revolution of 1789 brought unprecedented promises of political and social reform to Europe. Yet it also brought terror and authoritarian rule, a cycle that would seem to repeat itself, "the first time as tragedy, the second as farce," as Karl Marx said of the revolutions of 1848. In this course students consider these revolutions together with the Communist uprisings waged in Marx's name, and the "velvet" revolutions of 1989 that seem to have concluded this revolutionary cycle, at least for the moment. Not open to students who have received credit for HIST 254. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 39. (History: European.) (History: Modern.) C. Shaw.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
EUS 261. Slavic Europe.
A topical survey of Slavic culture as realized in a number of social institutions including the family, the church, the popular media, and the arts. Particular attention is given to texts, which examine both real and imagined communities and the unities and disunities that shape the identities of Europe's largest language family and the peoples who occupy more than half of the European continent. Not open to students who have received credit for EUS s24. Open to first-year students. [W2] [AC] [HS] D. Browne.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
EU/SO 290. Political Sociology.
This course offers an in-depth examination of core issues in political sociology. Attention turns to the formation of nation-states, nationalism, postcolonialism, neoliberalism and welfare states dynamics, international organizations, social movements and revolutions, democracy and regime change, violence, power, and related topics. Students encounter a variety of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches, with empirical analyses focusing on case studies from across the globe. Recommended background: one or more courses in the social sciences. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 29. F. Duina.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
EUS 300. Sport in Europe.
In this course students examine the development and significance of institutional sport in Europe from its birth in British schools and the amateur scouting and gymnastics movements of the nineteenth century to its diverse realizations and prominent place in contemporary European culture and society. Enrollment limited to 15. [W2] D. Browne.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
INDC 301A. Sex and the Modern City: European Cultures at the Fin-de-Siècle.
Economic and political change during the 1800s revolutionized the daily lives of Europeans more profoundly than any previous century. By the last third of the century, the modern city became the stage for exploring and enacting new roles, new gender identities in particular. This course examines the cultural reverberations of these cataclysmic changes by focusing on sex, gender, and new urban spaces the decades around the turn of the twentieth century. Students consider the writings of Zola and Freud, investigate middle-class flirtations with the occult, and read about sensational crimes like those of Jack the Ripper. Cross-listed in European studies, gender and sexuality studies, and history. Enrollment limited to 15. (History: European.) (History: Modern.) [W2] C. Shaw.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
EU/HI 301L. Nazi Germany and the Holocaust.
This course charts the origins and rise of National Socialism in Germany and the crimes that were committed in its name. A considerable portion of this course focuses on the Holocaust and the systematic murder of Jews, Roma, Sinti, homosexuals, Communists, and the handicapped. Students trace the escalation toward the "Final Solution" and the importance of World War II in the implementation of the Holocaust. Using a variety of sources, students learn about everyday life within the Third Reich and in occupied Europe. Among the topics considered are the motivations of German and non-German perpetrators, bystanders, and collaborators. New course beginning winter 2020. Enrollment limited to 15. (History: European.) (History: Modern.) [W2] One-time offering. R. Kazyulina.EU/PT 305. Money and Power.
This seminar investigates the political power of money and finance. Topics may include the relationship between money and the state, the emergence of central banks, the creation of international financial institutions, the role of money as an instrument in political lobbying, and the deepening significance of money in contemporary political discourse. Students explore questions such as: What is money? What is debt? How did money and debt become instruments of power and coercion? To what extent and how does money influence politics and vice versa? How are money and financial institutions regulated at the national level? How is international finance governed? What are the economic and social impacts of public debt? Does finance undermine democracy? New course beginning winter 2020. Enrollment limited to 15. (Politics: Institutional Politics.) (Politics: Political Economy.) [W2] One-time offering. A. Grahame.EU/PT 306. Economic Liberalism and its Critics.
The 2008 financial crisis, extreme wealth inequality, climate change, and Brexit are a few examples of developments that disrupted what we thought we knew about political economy. For the first time in decades, big political economic ideas are back on the table. This course offers students the opportunity to conduct sustained reading of foundational texts in political economy, including works by Adam Smith, Karl Marx, Karl Polanyi, and Friedrich Hayek. We ask what these texts have yet to teach us about both historical and contemporary political economic dilemmas. Recommended background: prior coursework in the philosophical, literary, and legal studies or political economy concentrations of the politics major. New course beginning fall 2020. Enrollment limited to 15. (Politics: Philosophical, Literary, and Legal Studies.) (Politics: Political Economy.) [W2] One-time offering. A. Grahame.EUS 360. Independent Study.
Students, in consultation with a faculty advisor, individually design and plan a course of study or research not offered in the curriculum. Course work includes a reflective component, evaluation, and completion of an agreed-upon product. Sponsorship by a faculty member in the program/department, a course prospectus, and permission of the chair are required. Students may register for no more than one independent study per semester. Normally offered every semester. Staff.EU/SP 366. Iberian Nightmares: Fantasy and Horror in Spanish and Portuguese Cinemas.
This course explores the genres of fantasy and horror in Spanish and Portuguese cinemas from the silent era to the present. It considers how such films represent the supernatural, the diabolical, evil violence, fear, paranoia, and magic; create, perpetuate, and subvert categories of gender, class, race, and sexuality; and adapt and participate in key European literary and cinematic genres such as the Gothic, parody, adventure, family drama, magical realism, and science fiction. Special attention is given to how these particular forms of popular cinema reinterpret Iberian traditions and how they reflect the anxieties of contemporary Spanish and Portuguese societies vis-à-vis processes of modernization, democratization, integration in Europe, and globalization. Taught in English. Recommended background: RFSS 120, 240, or SPAN 228 or other introductory film studies course. Only open to juniors and seniors. Enrollment limited to 15. D. George.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
EU/SO 395Q. Populism in the Age of Globalization.
Populist movements and parties have gained power and prominence in recent years. Often defying traditional left-right distinctions, they have in many cases adopted anti-globalization, nationalist or nativist, and anti-elitist positions. They have enjoyed electoral and other successes in Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia, and Africa. This course examines the causes of their rise, nature of their rhetoric and policies, and profound impact on cultural, political, economic, and other social processes and dynamics. Prerequisite(s): SOC 103, 290, 395A, or one course in politics. Enrollment limited to 15. F. Duina.EUS 457. Senior Thesis.
This course involves research and writing the senior thesis under the direction of a faculty advisor. Students register for EUS 457 in the fall semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for EUS 457 in the fall semester and EUS 458 in the winter semester. [W3] Normally offered every year. Staff.EUS 458. Senior Thesis.
This course involves research and writing the senior thesis under the direction of a faculty advisor. Students register for EUS 458 in the winter semester. Majors writing an honors thesis register for EUS 457 in the fall semester and EUS 458 in the winter semester. [W3] Normally offered every year. Staff.INDC s18. Wilde Times: Scandal, Celebrity, and the Law.
Oscar Wilde, an icon today, was popular in his own time as well. His relationship with Alfred Douglas was an open secret despite the fact that homosexuality was at the time a criminal offense. Indeed, Wilde’s sexuality was tolerated until he sued Douglas' irascible father for libel. This course begins with the 1895 trials, seeking to understand cultures of sexuality in a period notorious for sexual repression, and contextualizing issues they raise of scandal and the law, celebrity, gender, and sexuality. Designed to encourage independent research, the course guides students through the research process, drawing to the fore histories often hidden from view. Cross-listed in European studies, gender and sexuality studies, and history. Not open to students who have received credit for INDS 107. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 30. (History: European.) (History: Modern.) C. Shaw.ConcentrationsInterdisciplinary Programs
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
EU/PT s22. Politics of Memory in Central and Eastern Europe.
The twentieth century cast a long shadow over Eastern and Central Europe: two world wars, several mass expulsions and deportations, the imposition of Soviet-style dictatorships, and, most tragically, the Holocaust. Each country has its share of victims, villains, heroes, cowards, and collaborators. Efforts to make sense of this history, even after all these years, remain a topic of intense political debate. This course examines historical writings, films, museums, and monuments to examine the politics of memory in East and Central Europe. Why does historical memory of these events continue to have such emotional and political power in this region? What choices are made in memorializing history, and what are their contemporary political implications? Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 29. (Politics: Identities and Interests.) (Politics: Philosophical, Literary, and Legal Studies.) J. Richter.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
INDC s23. Creativity and Conscience: Modern Russian Women's Writing and Film.
Women writers, artists and film makers have made significant, often controversial contributions to Russian culture for at least two centuries. This course provides an introduction to this diverse body of work by focusing on how women’s cultural productions have manifested resistance – political, emotional and aesthetic. In a political context dominated by patriarchal and masculinist ideals, women have found ways to articulate alternative visions, whether responding to oppressive cultural models, political terror or the liaisons of church and state. The course begins with the present day and the remarkable efforts of Russian women journalists and performers to expose human rights abuse and environmental degradation (Anna Politkovskaya, Masha Gessen, Pussy Riot), and then considers work by late Imperial and Soviet writers and film makers. Crosslisted in European studies, gender and sexuality studies, and Russian. New course beginning short term 2020. Enrollment limited to 30. One-time offering. J. Costlow.Interdisciplinary Programs
This course counts toward the following Interdisciplinary Program(s)
EUS s24. Slavic Europe.
A topical survey of Slavic culture as realized in a number of social institutions including the family, the church, the popular media, and the arts. Particular attention is given to texts, which examine both real and imagined communities and the unities and disunities that shape the identities of Europe's largest language family and the peoples who occupy more than half of the European continent. Not open to students who have received credit for EUS 261. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 29. D. Browne.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations
ES/EU s28. Green City Germany: Experiments in Sustainable Urbanism.
Our cities are centers of intense economic activity and innovation as well as engines of tremendous pollution and environmental degradation. Can these two sides be reconciled? Is it possible to create a "sustainable city" and if so, what would it look like? Germany is at the forefront of countries trying to answer these questions. This course takes students to Freiburg im Breisgau, the country's self-styled "Green City," where in addition to learning about German language and culture, students explore the city's experiments in urban sustainability, including public transit systems, renewable energy, industrial ecology, brownfield redevelopment, green architecture, gentrification, and affordable housing. Open to first-year students. Enrollment limited to 15. Instructor permission is required. S. Pieck.Concentrations
This course is referenced by the following General Education Concentrations