European Studies

The European Studies Concentration is a Regional Studies Concentration. Students pursuing these concentrations will focus their study in a particular geographical and cultural region. Attention will be devoted to exploring a region's unique history, institutions, assumptions and practices. Students selecting this concentration will be expected to complete a language requirement linked to their particular region of study.

The requirements for a major in global studies with a European studies concentration are 36 credits plus the language requirement:

  • GS 117 - Systems, Policies and Institutions: An Introduction to Global Studies, 4 credits
  • GS 118 - Culture, Identity, and Dialogue: An Introduction to Global Studies, 4 credits
  • 8 credits from courses that explore the question of Europe from historical and contemporary perspectives, chosen from the following:
    - HIST 131 - European History in Perspective to 1500, 4 credits
    - HIST 132 - European History in Perspective since 1500, 4 credits
    - PSC 241 - International Politics, 4 credits
  • 12 additional credits from courses that focus on European society and political perspectives. The question here is how one defines community in European context and what the issues are which either help provide cohesion whether on a regional, national or European-wide basis or place that sense of identity into question.
    - Students must take a minimum of 4 credits from each of the two areas listed below.
    - No more than one course may be taken within the same discipline.
    - Many of these electives require language proficiency at the 212 level or above. See catalog course descriptions for prerequisite information.
    Area 1: Defining Community through the Arts. Understanding the role of culture in providing a sense of identity.
    - ART 365 - Art of the Italian Renaissance, 4 credits
    - ART 367 - 20th Century Art, 4 credits
    - CRDO 131 - Germany, the Third Reich and the Holocaust, 4 credits
    - CRDO 232 - Arthurian Legends, 4 credits
    - ENG 336 - British Literature: Medieval to Renaissance, 4 credits
    - ENG 336 - British Literature: Restoration to Romanticism, 4 credits
    - ENG 346 - British Literature: Empire to Independence, 4 credits
    - ENG 401 - Shakespeare and the English Renaissance, 4 credits
    - FREN 410 - Introduction to French Literature through Poetry, 2 credits
    - FREN 411 - Development of French Theatre, 4 credits
    - FREN 412 - Development of French Prose, 4 credits
    - GER 321 - The Fine Arts in German Cultural History, 2 credits
    - GER 323 - Literature and Society, 4 credits
    - GER 360 - German Contribution to World Culture, 4 credits
    - GER 361 - Myth, Folk Heroes and Fairy Tales, 4 credits
    - GER 440 - Topics in German Film, 4 credits
    - MUS 356 - History and Literature of Music II, 4 credits
    - PHIL 220 - Modern Philosophy, 4 credits
    - PHIL 330 - Existentialism, 4 credits
    - PSC 241 - International Politics, 4 credits
    - REL 324 - The Legacy of Luther, 4 credits
    - SCAN 337, HIST 337 - Reel Norden: Scandinavian History and Film, 4 credits
    - SPAN 421 - Peninsular Spanish Literature, 4 credits
    - SPAN 423 - Topics in Spanish Literature, 2 credits
    - THR 334 - History of Western Theatre, 2 credits
    Area 2: Challenges in European Society. Historical and contemporary insights into the way in which politics, religion, social issues and economics impact an understanding of regional and national identity.
    - CRED 233 - Germany, Third Reich, Holocaust, 4 credits
    - FREN 370 - Current French Political, Social and Economic Affairs, 4 credits
    - FREN 360 - French in the Business World, 4 credits
    - GER 314 - German in the Business World, 4 credits
    - GER 320 - German Cultural History in Overview, 4 credits
    - GER 322 - Politics, Economies and Social Structure, 2 credits
    - GER 420 - Contemporary German Society and Culture, 4 credits
    - GER 421 - Advanced Topics in Swiss and Austrian Culture and Society, 2 credits
    - GER 422 - Advanced Topics in German Culture and Society, 4 credits
    - HIST 338 - Hitler's Germany, 4 credits
    - HIST 370 - Islam and the West, 4 credits
    - HIST 332 - Russian History, 4 credits
    - REL 324 - The Legacy of Luther, 4 credits
    - REL 327 - Russian Orthodoxy, 4 credits
    - SCAN 201 - Scandinavia in a Global Age, 4 credits
    - SCAN 380, PSC 367 - Arctic Environmental Governance, 4 credits
    - SPAN 341 - The Culture of Spain, 4 credits
  • 4 credits earned through a study abroad or experimental learning opportunity that includes a focus on contemporary issues. Credits must be approved by the chair of the concentration. Credits may be earned in the following ways:
    - completion of a relevant 4-credit cooperative education course (390)
    - completion of a relevant 4-credit course taken as part of a study abroad experience
  • GS 410 - Global Studies Senior Seminar, 4 credits

Language Requirement:
One year (8 credits) of a non-English European language in addition to the college's Core language requirement, fulfilled in one of the following ways:
- Demonstration of proficiency in a non-English modern European language at the level of a 212 (fourth semester) language course at Concordia. This may be achieved through the completion at Concordia of a 212 language course in French, German, Norwegian, or Spanish or through the transfer of credit earned at another institution for a course equivalent to the level of a 212 or higher course at Concordia
- Completion of two semesters of a second (in addition to the language used to fulfill the college's Core language requirement) non-English European language
- Completion of one semester each of two additional (in addition to the college's Core language requirement) non-English European languages

Recommended Study Abroad Options:

  • Credo in Crete
  • Malta
  • Friedrich Schiller Universität, Jena, Germany
  • Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Mainz, Germany, International Business
  • Lebnitz Universität, Hannover, Germany, International Business
  • National University of Ireland, Galway
  • Institut de Gestion, Université de Rennes, France, International Business
  • L'Université François-Rabelais, Tours, France
  • Centro de Estudio Hispanicos de Segovia, Spain
  • Universidad de Alicante, Spain
  • Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain
  • Center for Cross-Cultural Studies, Seville, Spain

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