Contemporary European Studies Major, B.A.
The curriculum in contemporary European studies is designed to provide students with
- A broad interdisciplinary understanding of modern Europe and the European Union
- A focused understanding of contemporary Europe from the perspective of a selected social science discipline, and
- Advanced proficiency in a modern European language
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the contemporary European studies program, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the historical and political complexities of the European continent
- Demonstrate advanced proficiency in an approved language
- Demonstrate knowledge of the political, social, and economic integration of the European continent
- Show an interdisciplinary grasp of European cultures, histories, literatures, art, and ideas
- Report satisfaction with the major
- Gain admission to graduate programs or a job in a relevant field
Requirements
In addition to the program requirements, students must
- earn a minimum final cumulative GPA of 2.000
- complete a minimum of 45 academic credit hours earned from UNC–Chapel Hill courses
- take at least half of their major core requirements (courses and credit hours) at UNC–Chapel Hill
- earn a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.000 in the major core requirements. Some programs may require higher standards for major or specific courses.
For more information, please consult the degree requirements section of the catalog.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements 1 | ||
| EURO/HIST 159 |  From War to Prosperity: 20th-Century Europe | 3 |
| EURO/POLI 239 | Introduction to European Government H | 3 |
| Four courses from one of the two themes listed below | 12 | |
| One course chosen from the other theme | 3 | |
| One additional course from Theme 1, Theme 2, or the list of approved elective courses on contemporary Europe | 3 | |
| Additional Requirements | ||
| A modern European foreign language through level 5, chosen from the following languages: Arabic, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Czech, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish. 2 | 6 | |
| Total Hours | 30 | |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
- 1
Of the total eight courses required for the major, three must be numbered 400 or above. Special topics courses EURO 190 and EURO 490 may count for either theme, with approval based on topic.
- 2
Please see the list of global language courses in the “General Education Requirements” section of this catalog. The first three levels of a foreign language can count toward the General Education requirement and have not been included as additional hours for the major.
Contemporary European studies majors are required to complete a minimum of five semesters of a modern European language, or document fifth-semester proficiency through University placement tests. One approved literature course taught in the language may also count as a theme or elective course if included in the course listings above. Majors are strongly encouraged to apply their language proficiency skills in languages across the curriculum (LAC) courses and complete a UNC-approved study abroad program in the target language.
The Curriculum in Contemporary European Studies offers an honors program. Students who wish to pursue an honors thesis are advised to contact the director of undergraduate studies and will enroll in EURO 691H and EURO 692H.
New courses may be added to this list annually, as they are developed. An updated list of approved courses may be obtained from the contemporary European studies website. Other courses relevant to the study of contemporary Europe may be taken for credit in the major (including EURO 190 and EURO 490), if approved by the curriculum advisor.
Theme I. Contemporary Europe: Integration and Enlargement
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 461 | European Economic Integration | 3 |
| ECON 560 | Advanced International Economics | 3 |
| ECON/EURO/PWAD 460 | International Economics | 3 |
| EURO/POLI 442 | International Political Economy | 3 |
| GEOG 124 | Feminist Geographies | 3 |
| GEOG 448 | Transnational Geographies of Muslim Societies | 3 |
| GEOG 464 | Europe Today: Transnationalism, Globalisms, and the Geographies of Pan-Europe | 3 |
| GEOG/PLAN 428 | Global Cities: Space, Power, and Identity in the Built Environment | 3 |
| POLI 190 | Undergraduate Seminar *, H | 3 |
| POLI 232 | Politics of the United Kingdom H | 3 |
| POLI 236 | Politics of East-Central Europe H | 3 |
| POLI 255 | International Migration and Citizenship Today H | 3 |
| POLI 433 | Politics of the European Union H | 3 |
| POLI 438 | Democracy and International Institutions in an Undivided Europe | 3 |
| POLI 447 | Immigrant Integration in Contemporary Western Europe H | 3 |
| POLI 448 | The Politics of Multilevel Governance | 3 |
| POLI 451 | Race, Ethnicity, and Political Change in Comparative Perspective | 3 |
| POLI 490 | Advanced Special Topics in Political Science *, H | 3 |
| POLI 630 | Political Contestation in Europe | 3 |
| POLI 631 | European Security: The Enlarging European Union and the Trans-Atlantic Relationship | 3 |
| POLI 632 | The European Union as a Global Actor | 3 |
| POLI/PWAD 459 | Trans-Atlantic Security H | 3 |
| POLI/PWAD 469 | Conflict and Intervention in the Former Yugoslavia H | 3 |
| POLI/PWAD/SOCI 260 | Crisis and Change in Russia and Eastern Europe | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
- *
Asterisked courses require approval, based on topic.
Theme II. Contemporary Europe: Histories and Cultures
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ARTH 282 | Modernism I: Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism | 3 |
| ARTH 284 | Modernism II: 1905-1960 | 3 |
| ARTH 303 | Art and Colonialism: France in Africa/Africa in France | 3 |
| ARTH 330 | Art, History, and the Modern Museum | 3 |
| ANTH 377 | European Societies | 3 |
| ARTH 483/HIST 468 | Art, Politics, and Society in France, 1850-1914 | 3 |
| ASIA 490 | Advanced Topics in Asian Studies * | 1-4 |
| BCS 411 | Introduction to South Slavic Literatures and Cultures | 3 |
| BCS 490 | Topics in South Slavic Cultures | 3 |
| CMPL/GSLL 270/JWST 239/RELI 239 | German Culture and the Jewish Question | 3 |
| CMPL 281 | Holocaust Cinema in Eastern Europe | 3 |
| CMPL 469 | Milan Kundera and World Literature | 3 |
| CMPL 479 | What is a Medium? German Media Theory from Aesthetics to Cultural Techniques | 3 |
| CMPL 489 | Empire and Diplomacy H | 3 |
| COMM 464 | Collaborative Performance H | 3 |
| CZCH 280 | Closely Watched Trains: Czech Film and Literature | 3 |
| CZCH 411 | Introduction to Czech Literature | 3 |
| EURO/HIST 252 | Politics, Society, and Culture in Modern Germany (1871-1945) | 3 |
| EURO/HIST/WGST 259 | Towards Emancipation? Women in Modern Europe | 3 |
| EURO/HIST 347 | Fascist Challenge in Europe, 1918-1945 | 3 |
| FREN 262 | Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in the French-Speaking World | 3 |
| FREN 350 | Current Societal Issues: France and Beyond | 3 |
| FREN 377 | The Evolution of Frenchness since WWII | 3 |
| FREN 378 | French and European Transmigrations: Global Contexts | 3 |
| FREN 383 | Franco-Asian Encounters | 3 |
| FREN 504 | Cultural Wars: French/United States Perspectives | 3 |
| GERM 245 | Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud | 3 |
| GERM 265 | Hitler in Hollywood: Cinematic Representations of Nazi Germany | 3 |
| GERM 268 | Auteur Cinema | 3 |
| GERM 286 | (Un)Welcomed Guests? German Reflections on Exile and Immigration | 3 |
| GERM 349 | Vienna-Munich-Berlin: Revolutions in German Art c. 1900 | 3 |
| GERM 450 | Nietzsche, Hesse, and Mann | 3 |
| GSLL 246 | Reality and Its Discontents: Kant to Kafka | 3 |
| GSLL 259 | Ideology and Aesthetics: Marxism and Literature | 3 |
| GSLL 254 | The Division of Germany, Reunification, and Conflict with Russia H | 3 |
| GSLL 260 | From Berlin to Budapest: Literature, Film, and Culture of Central Europe | 3 |
| GSLL 268 | Cultural Trends in Post-Communist Central Europe: Search for Identity, Importance of Jewish Voices | 3 |
| GSLL 280 | The Dialectic of Whiteness and Blackness in Atlantic Cultures | 3 |
| GSLL 284 | Philosophy and the Arts | 3 |
| GSLL 285 | Dissent and Protest in Central Europe | 3 |
| GSLL 306 | Language and Nationalism | 3 |
| GSLL 465 | Literature of Atrocity: The Gulag and the Holocaust in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe | 3 |
| GSLL/PWAD 467 | Language and Political Identity | 3 |
| GSLL 475 | Magical Realism: Central European Literature in a Global Context | 3 |
| GSLL 480 | Interrogating Cultures of Fascism: Introduction to Frankfurt School's Critical Theory 1923-Present | 3 |
| HIST 165 | 20th Century Britain: from the Great War to Brexit | 3 |
| HIST 206 | War, Diplomacy, and Statecraft, 1815-1945 | 3 |
| HIST 256 | France, 1940 to the Present | 3 |
| HIST/EURO/POLI 257 | Politics, Society, and Culture in Postwar Germany | 3 |
| HIST/WGST 259 | Towards Emancipation? Women in Modern Europe | 3 |
| HIST 260 | From Kings to Communists: East-Central Europe in the Modern Era | 3 |
| HIST 261 | France, 1870-1940 | 3 |
| HIST/JWST/PWAD 262 | History of the Holocaust: The Destruction of the European Jews | 3 |
| HIST 269 | Modern London: Empire, Race, and Culture H | 3 |
| HIST 302 | Movies Make History: Films as Primary Sources in Europe and America H | 3 |
| HIST 312 | History of France and Algeria | 3 |
| HIST 348 | History of Migration | 3 |
| HIST 353 | Cinema, Culture, and Society | 3 |
| HIST 354 | War and Gender in Movies H | 3 |
| HIST 390H | Special Topics in History * | 3 |
| HIST 398 | Undergraduate Seminar in History *, H | 3 |
| HIST 458 | Europe and the World Wars, 1914-1945 | 3 |
| HIST 462 | Germany, 1806-1918: Politics, Society, and Culture H | 3 |
| HIST 463 | Germany since 1918: Politics, Society, and Culture H | 3 |
| HIST 466 | Modern European Intellectual History H | 3 |
| HIST 468 | Art, Politics, and Society in France, 1850-1914 | 3 |
| HIST 469 | European Social History | 3 |
| HIST 474 | Britain in World Affairs: British Foreign Policy since World War II | 3 |
| HIST 476 | Religion and Ethnicity | 3 |
| HIST 477 | Revolution in Russia, 1900-1930 | 3 |
| HIST 478 | Stalin and After: The USSR, 1929-Present | 3 |
| HIST 481 | From Communists to Capitalists: Eastern Europe since 1945 | 3 |
| HIST 485 | From Fiddler on the Roof to the Holocaust: East European and Soviet Jewish History | 3 |
| HIST 486/PWAD 485 | Extremism, Terrorism, and Security in Postwar Europe H | 3 |
| HIST 490 | Special Topics in History *, H | 3 |
| HIST 578 | Transatlantic Relations and Contemporary Geo-Politics from the Cold War to the Present | 3 |
| ITAL 250 | Italian Fascism: Between History, Fiction, and Film | 3 |
| ITAL 320 | Italian Cities and Cultures: History, Power, and Ecology | 3 |
| ITAL 343 | Italian Culture Today: Modern Italy as a Nation 1860 to Present | 3 |
| ITAL 365 | Italian Food and Culture | 3 |
| ITAL 385 | Italian Landscapes: Italy in the UNESCO World Heritage List | 3 |
| PLSH 280 | The Modern Cinema of Poland | 3 |
| PLSH 411 | 19th-Century Polish Literature and Culture | 3 |
| RUSS 270 | Crimes and Punishments: Russian Literature of the 19th Century | 3 |
| RUSS 272 | Russian Literature from Chekhov to the Revolution | 3 |
| RUSS 274 | Russian Literature from the Revolution to Today | 3 |
| SPAN 340 | Iberian Cultural Topics | 3 |
| WGST/AMST 325 | Encountering Art in the Unexpected: Borderlands and Story in Contemporary American Visual Art | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
- *
Asterisked courses require approval, based on topic.
Elective Courses on Contemporary Europe
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ANTH 449 | Anthropology and Marxism | 3 |
| ARTH 283 | Picturing Paris: 1800-2000 | 3 |
| CMPL 374/WGST 373 | Modern Women Writers | 3 |
| CMPL 375 | New Wave Cinema: Its Sources and Its Legacies | 3 |
| CMPL 385 | Modernist and Postmodernist Narrative | 3 |
| CMPL 466 | Modernism | 3 |
| CMPL 468 | Aestheticism | 3 |
| DRAM 289 | Contemporary Irish Drama H | 3 |
| ECON 434 | History of Economic Doctrines | 3 |
| ENGL/PWAD 659 | War in 20th-Century Literature H | 3 |
| FREN 372 | French and Francophone Studies since 1789 | 3 |
| FREN 386 | French New Wave Cinema | 3 |
| FREN 388 | History of French Cinema I: 1895-1950 | 3 |
| GERM/CMPL/WGST 271 | Women in German Cinema | 3 |
| GERM/CMPL 272 | History of German Cinema | 3 |
| GERM 280 | 20th-Century German Philosophy and Modern Youth Cultures | 3 |
| GERM 281 | The German Idea of War: Philosophical Dialogues with the Literary and Visual Arts in WWI | 3 |
| GERM/PWAD 283 | Freedom, Terror, and Identity: Modern Philosophy from Kant to Arendt | 3 |
| GERM 350 | Modern German Literature | 3 |
| GERM 381 | Berlin: Mapping a (Post) Modern Metropolis | 3 |
| GERM 382 | Representations of Violence and Terrorism in Contemporary German Literature and Film | 3 |
| GERM 390 | Topics in German Studies * | 3 |
| GSLL 88H | First-Year Seminar: Gender and Fiction in Central and Eastern Europe | 3 |
| GSLL 255 | Germany and Cold War: Occupation, Division, Reunification, Renewed Conflict with Russia (1945-Today) | 3 |
| GSLL 259 | Ideology and Aesthetics: Marxism and Literature | 3 |
| GSLL 283 | Hungarian Cinema since World War II | 3 |
| HIST 466 | Modern European Intellectual History H | 3 |
| HIST/ITAL 258 | Modern Italy since 1848 | 3 |
| ITAL 242 | Italy and Modernity: Culture in a Changing Country | 3 |
| ITAL 331 | Italian History and Culture II | 3 |
| ITAL 333 | Italian Film and Culture | 3 |
| ITAL 335 | Themes in Italian Film | 3 |
| ITAL 365 | Italian Food and Culture | 3 |
| ITAL 382 | The Italian Novel | 3 |
| ITAL 398 | Undergraduate Seminar in Italian * | 3 |
| JWST/PLSH 412 | From Communism to Capitalism: 20th- and 21st-Century Polish Literature and Culture | 3 |
| MUSC 284 | Beethoven and His Era | 3 |
| MUSC 285 | Musical Modernism | 3 |
| PHIL 224 | Existential Philosophy and the Meaning(lessness) of Life H | 3 |
| PHIL 229 | 20th-Century Western Philosophy | 3 |
| PHIL 494 | Existentialism and Phenomenology | 3 |
| POLI 432 | Tolerance in Liberal States | 3 |
| POLI 472 | Problems of Modern Democratic Theory H | 3 |
| PORT 375 | Portuguese and Brazilian Fiction in Translation | 3 |
| ROML 500 | Research Methods for Romance Languages and European Studies | 3 |
| SLAV 101 | Introduction to Slavic Civilizations: Peasants, Popes, and Party Hacks | 3 |
| H | Honors version available. An honors course fulfills the same requirements as the nonhonors version of that course. Enrollment and GPA restrictions may apply. |
- *
Asterisked courses require approval, based on topic.
Special Opportunities in Contemporary European Studies
Students may be interested in the resources available through UNC’s Center for European Studies (CES), a United States Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center and a Jean Monnet Center of Excellence funded by the European Commission. CES offers a range of ongoing programs including guest speakers, film festivals, conferences, and cultural events. CES hosts Europe Week at Carolina each spring, a week of events during which the diversity of Europe's history, politics, culture, and languages is showcased.
The center also houses the TransAtlantic Masters Program (TAM), an M.A. degree program that may be of particular interest to students who have completed the major in contemporary European studies. The TAM program includes study at UNC and at one or more partner universities in Europe. The new EURO-TAM B.A.-M.A. dual degree option allows students to complete both degrees in accelerated time. EURO-TAM students are not required to take the GRE.
Students interested in pursuing the B.A-M.A. program or learning more about funding for research and travel, the new Model EU program, European Horizons student group, study abroad, internships, publishing in CES' NC Journal for European Studies, career planning, and the alumni network are encouraged to speak with the director of undergraduate studies and to visit the website for more information.
Curriculum in Contemporary European Studies
FedEx Global Education Center Room 3210, CB# 3449
(919) 962-6765
Director
John D. Stephens
