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Political History of Europe
Study Course Description
Course Description Statuss:Approved
Course Description Version:1.00
Study Course Accepted:19.03.2024 11:01:10
| Study Course Information | |||||||||
| Course Code: | SZF_004 | LQF level: | Level 6 | ||||||
| Credit Points: | 2.67 | ECTS: | 4.00 | ||||||
| Branch of Science: | Politics | Target Audience: | Political Science | ||||||
| Study Course Supervisor | |||||||||
| Course Supervisor: | Andris Sprūds | ||||||||
| Study Course Implementer | |||||||||
| Structural Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences | ||||||||
| The Head of Structural Unit: | |||||||||
| Contacts: | Dzirciema street 16, Rīga, szf rsu[pnkts]lv | ||||||||
| Study Course Planning | |||||||||
| Full-Time - Semester No.1 | |||||||||
| Lectures (count) | 12 | Lecture Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Lectures | 24 | ||||
| Classes (count) | 8 | Class Length (academic hours) | 2 | Total Contact Hours of Classes | 16 | ||||
| Total Contact Hours | 40 | ||||||||
| Study course description | |||||||||
| Preliminary Knowledge: | General understanding of historical and political processes. | ||||||||
| Objective: | The aim of the course Political History of Europe is to analyse and understand the problems and processes of European political history, which at the same time would also make it possible to understand the domestic specificities and complexities of European countries and foreign relations between European countries today. Particular attention is paid to the political and military processes of the 20th century in Europe, which led to the creation and existence of the current system of states. The material to be learnt is arranged chronologically, however, taking into account the scope of the information contained in the topic in question, the main focus will be on achieving understanding of the basic principles of historical development by comparing processes in different countries and at different times. | ||||||||
| Topic Layout (Full-Time) | |||||||||
| No. | Topic | Type of Implementation | Number | Venue | |||||
| 1 | Introduction. Concepts of Europe: geography and politics. Foundations of European civilisation: Heritage of Ancient Greece and Rome | Lectures | 2.00 | other | |||||
| 2 | Christianity in the history of Europe. Crusades. Interactions with other religions | Lectures | 1.00 | other | |||||
| 3 | Renaissance. Reformation and Counter-Reformation in Europe. Origins of national countries and modern international system | Classes | 2.00 | other | |||||
| 4 | Great Discoveries. Foundation of European empires in Europe. Absolute monarchies | Lectures | 2.00 | other | |||||
| 5 | Ideas of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution of 1789. Napoleonic Wars and Congress of Vienna | Lectures | 2.00 | other | |||||
| 6 | Europe in the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century: industrial revolution and change of political ideologies. International conflicts | Classes | 2.00 | other | |||||
| 7 | Realpolitik of Germany. New Imperialism. Outbreak of World War I | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 8 | World War I and changes on the European political map. Establishment of new national states | Lectures | 2.00 | other | |||||
| 9 | Russian Revolution and civil war. Impact in Europe | Classes | 2.00 | other | |||||
| 10 | Political processes in Europe in 20s and 30s. Authoritarianism. Outbreak of World War II | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 11 | Results of World War II and the fall of the Iron Curtain. Cold War | Lectures | 1.00 | auditorium | |||||
| 12 | Post Cold War Europe. Historical heritage in modern European policy and foreign policy | Classes | 2.00 | other | |||||
| Assessment | |||||||||
| Unaided Work: | Independent work includes preparation for seminars and drafting of opinion pieces and reports. In order to evaluate the quality of the study course as a whole, the student must fill out the study course evaluation questionnaire on the Student Portal. | ||||||||
| Assessment Criteria: | Quality and analyticity, critical thinking and expressing an opinion. Independent work (50%) and exam (50%). | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Full-Time): | Exam (Written) | ||||||||
| Final Examination (Part-Time): | |||||||||
| Learning Outcomes | |||||||||
| Knowledge: | Within the course, students should be acquainted with key developments in the history of European countries, which would enable them to gain knowledge of the political history of Europe and its impact on modern times. | ||||||||
| Skills: | Students strengthen their skills in opinion formulation, expression and reasoning, and promote their digital skills. | ||||||||
| Competencies: | At the end of the course, students will be able to critically assess historical trends, phenomena and events, identify causalities and build links to modern political processes. | ||||||||
| Bibliography | |||||||||
| No. | Reference | ||||||||
| Required Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Brendon, Piers. The Dark Valley: A Panorama of the 1930s. Vintage Books, 2002 | ||||||||
| 2 | Deiviss, Normans. Eiropas vēsture. Rīga: Jumava, 2009 (latviešu plūsmai) | ||||||||
| 3 | Hobsbawm, Eric. The Age of Extremes. Vintage books, 1996 | ||||||||
| 4 | King, Margaret L. Western Civilization: A Social and Cultural History, 1500 to the Present Prentice Hall PTR. 2002 | ||||||||
| 5 | Kisindžers, Henrijs. Diplomātija. Rīga: Jumava, 2001 (latviešu plūsmai) | ||||||||
| 6 | Ralfs, Filips Lī. Roberts Lerners, et al. Pasaules civilizācijas, to vēsture un kultūra. Rīga: RaKa, 1999 [4 sēj., 1998-2001] (latviešu plūsmai) | ||||||||
| 7 | Shirer, William. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1960 | ||||||||
| Additional Reading | |||||||||
| 1 | Birzer, Bradley J. “How Did Lewis and Tolkien Defend the Old West?” July 2015, The Imaginative Conservative. | ||||||||
| 2 | Remarks, Ērihs Marija. Melnais Obelisks. 1956 (latviešu plūsmai) | ||||||||
| Other Information Sources | |||||||||
| 1 | Bew, John. “Real Realpolitik: A History”. Library of Congress, 2014 | ||||||||
| 2 | Triumph of the Will. Directed by Leni Riefenstahl. Berlin: Universum Film AG, 1935 | ||||||||
| 3 | “Why the Industrial Revolution Happened Here”. Narrated by professor Jeremy Black, BBC, 2013 | ||||||||
