Hocbigg - European Studies
Contents
Summary
This roadmap is designed to provide a university-level foundation in European Studies, an interdisciplinary field combining history, politics, culture, economics, languages, and international relations with a focus on Europe and the European Union.
Note: When there are courses or books that don't fit into the curriculum but are otherwise of high quality, they belong in extras/courses, extras/readings.
Communities
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Curriculum
- European Language Proficiency
- Foundations of European Studies
- Historical Foundations of Europe
- European Politics and Governance
- European Economies and Political Economy
- European Cultures, Ideas, and Society
How to use this curriculum
Study these sections in this order:
Foundations of European Studies: Start here. This section gives you the basic conceptual tools, vocabulary, and geographic framework you need before anything else.
Historical Foundations of Europe (Chronological Core): Move to this section next. It builds the timeline and major turning points that explain why Europe is the way it is today. Almost everything else in the curriculum refers back to this history.
European Politics and Governance: Study this third. It shows how modern European societies organize power, make decisions, and cooperate (especially through the European Union). This section ties the history to the present-day political reality.
European Economies and Political Economy: Money, markets, economic crises, the euro, or how economic forces shape European politics and society.
European Cultures, Ideas, and Society: Art, literature, philosophy, identity, migration, media, or the everyday cultural life of Europeans.
European Language Proficiency
Continuous study of one modern European language (French, German, Spanish, Italian, etc.), progressing from beginner to advanced (CEFR A1 → B2/C1). This runs alongside all stages.
Foundations of European Studies
Conceptual & Geographic Foundations
| Subject | Book/Text | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to European Studies | Europe: A History — Norman Davies (Archive.org PDF) | European Culture and Politics — FutureLearn |
| European Geography and Regional Diversity | Europe: Geography & Society — University of Colorado (open lecture notes) | — |
Historical Foundations of Europe
Ancient and Medieval Europe
| Subject | Book/Text | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Ancient European Foundations | World History, Volume 1 — OpenStax (Ancient Europe sections) | — |
| Early Medieval Europe (c. 284–1000) | — | Yale Open Courses — HIST 210: Early Middle Ages |
| High Medieval and Renaissance Europe | The Making of Europe — Robert Bartlett (authoritative text) | — |
Early Modern to Modern Europe
| Subject | Book/Text | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Early Modern Europe (1500–1815) | A History of Modern Europe — John Merriman | Yale Open Courses — HIST 202: European Civilization, 1648–1945 |
| Modern Europe (1815–1945) | — | Continuation of HIST 202 |
Contemporary Europe
| Subject | Book/Text | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Europe Since 1945 | Postwar — Tony Judt | — |
European Politics and Governance
National and Comparative Politics
| Subject | Book/Text | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to European Political Systems | European Politics: A Comparative Introduction — Tim Bale | — |
| Comparative European Politics | Foundations of European Politics — de Vries et al. | — |
European Union Studies
| Subject | Book/Text | Course |
|---|---|---|
| History and Institutions of the EU | Understanding the European Union — John McCormick | EU Policy and Implementation: Making Europe Work — Coursera |
| EU Policies and External Relations | The Foreign Policy of the European Union — Federiga Bindi | — |
| Europe in Global Affairs | The European Union as a Global Actor — Bretherton & Vogler | — |
European Economies and Political Economy
| Subject | Book/Text | Course |
|---|---|---|
| European Economic Integration | The Economics of European Integration — Baldwin & Wyplosz | — |
| The Eurozone and Economic Crises | The Euro and the Battle of Ideas — Brunnermeier et al. | The Eurozone Crisis — Marginal Revolution University |
| Globalization and Europe | And the Weak Suffer What They Must? — Yanis Varoufakis | — |
European Cultures, Ideas, and Society
| Subject | Book/Text | Course |
|---|---|---|
| European Intellectual History | Yale Open Courses — HIST 202 (intellectual themes) | Introduction to Theory of Literature — Open Yale |
| European Art, Media, and Representation | Ways of Seeing — John Berger | — |
| Contemporary European Society and Migration | Migration in Europe — European Commission Joint Research Centre (open-access) | — |
| European Cultures and Identities | — | Cultures and Identities in Europe — FutureLearn |