This course addresses the notion of Europe and the construction of its cultural values from Classical Antiquity to the first steps of the European Union in the second half of the 20th century. The course represents an introduction to the cultural history and ideas of Europe through a systematic recapitulation of the most important periods that constitute the European development process. The main issue of the course consists in a methodical and systematic introduction to the way in which Europe was formed, starting with Antiquity and its religious heritages, continuing with the formative stages of Middle Ages and Renaissance, with the epoch of Enlightenment and French Revolution, with the “long 19th century”, finally reaching the “short 20th century” and the first attempts at European integration through the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community. Nevertheless, this means not a simple chronology of events in the geographical space of Europe, but an attempt to demonstrate that European identity is more a process than a fixed entity, more an interconnection than a sequence of events.
The main goals of the course are:
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E-learning
Continuous assessment is privileged: 2 or 3 digital written documents (e-folios) during the semester (40%) and a presence-based final exam (p-folio) in the end of the semester (60%). In due time, students can alternatively choose to perform one final presence-based exam (100%).