European Union Politics and the European Social Model

In line with the general learning objectives of the Degree in Political Science, the course aims at providing students with the basic knowledge and analytical tools to study and understand the functioning of the European politico-institutional system and its social model. First, through an in-depth review of the main European institutions - European Commmission, Council of the European Union, European Council, European Parliament and European Court of Justice - and their interplay, students will develop their knowledge and understanting of the European political arena, its actors and underlying processes, with a specific focus on multilevel and interistitutional dynamics. Second, students will acquire the essential empirical knowledge and analytical categories to understand the specificities of the social dimension of the European integration process from a historical perspective, and its salience by shedding light on key contemporary political and institutional challenges.

Knowledge and understanding: students will acquire empircal knowledge and key analitycal tools to understand and analyse the functioning of the European politico-institutional system and its social model. More specifically, through the course students will acquire applied and theretical knowledge of: a) the politico-institutional arena of the European Union, its main acotrs and underlying processes; b) the specificities of the social dimension of the European integration process and its salience, shedding light on key contemporary political and institutional challenges.
Applying knowledge and understanding: Through the in-depth review of a number of case studies, students will learn how to apply their knowledge to analyse the functioning of the European politico-institutional system and its social model.
Making judgements: the course provides both knowledge and analaytical categories that will help students in making judgements and understanding, in a critical way, processes and mechanisms that characterize the functioning of the European political system.
Communication skills: the course aims at stimulating student's active participation. Small-group activities and in-depth review of case studies are meant to further develop their communication skills, through oral presentations and/or the preparation of short written notes.
Learning skills: During the course, students will learn how to access the main information sources and databases at the European level, which could be used, autonomously, to study a wide variety of issues from different perspectives.