EUROPEAN IDENTITY

This eLearning course aims to familiarise you with the subject of European identity. Step by step, we will guide you through the meanders of this fascinating topic.The term ‘European identity’ is one of those key words that appears in various domains of contemporary discussion. Despite the frequency of its usage and numerous academic books written on the subject, it remains an inexhaustible topic.

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Course Description

This eLearning course aims to familiarise you with the subject of European identity. Step by step, we will guide you through the meanders of this fascinating topic.
The term ‘European identity’ is one of those key words that appears in various domains of contemporary discussion. Despite the frequency of its usage and numerous academic books written on the subject, it remains an inexhaustible topic.

This eLearning course is divided into five parts. Unit One, entitled ‘On European identity…. a very brief introduction’ aims to familiarise you with the concept of identity. We will discuss the different readings of Europe (Europe as a continent, Europe as a sphere of culture, Europe as a political project), and analyse the concept of European citizenship. In Unit Two we focus on different layers of European culture and symbols. We will deal with the notion of European borders through the analysis of an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ divisive narrative. In Unit Three we will engage in a debate on European values. Then, in Unit Four we will go into potentially problematic areas: we will look at European identity through national lenses, trying to define to what extent national and European identity go well together and what elements affect the positive relationship between ‘national’ and ‘European’; and finally in Unit Five we will tackle the issue of migration and multiculturalism.

This course was prepared by a group of three researchers/academics from the Institute of European Studies, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. Should you have any questions or doubts please do not hesitate to contact us.

Curriculum

  • Student code
  • UNIT 1. On European Identity… a very brief introduction
    • Step 1. Overview
    • Step 2. Identity: from personal to collective
    • Step 3. Europe: how do we define Europe (geography, culture and politics)?
    • Step 4. European citizenship
    • Step 5. Summary
  • UNIT 2. European culture
    • Step 1. European Culture or Cultures?
    • Step 2. The concept of European common culture in a historical perspective – shared roots and heritage
    • Step 3. Different faces of European culture: North, South, East and West
    • Step 4. Cultural symbols and everyday European cultures
    • Step 5. Europe and Its Others
    • Step 6. Conclusions
  • UNIT 3. In search for European values…
    • Step 2. EU values and European values
    • Step 3. Importance of European values
    • Step 4. The core of Europe
    • Step 5. Summary
  • UNIT 4. National and European identity - in (or out of) sync?
    • Step 1. Overview
    • Step 2. How exclusive or inclusive are collective identities (theoretical considerations)
    • Step 3. European identity and national identity (practical considerations)
    • Step 4. Image of Europe
    • Step 5. Summary
  • UNIT 5. Multiculturalism and migration
    • Step 1: Overview
    • Step 2: Statistical Overview
    • Step 3: Contemporary migratory frameworks – transnationalism, super-diversity and mobility
    • Step 4: Contemporary migratory challenges: the so-called refugee crisis, multiculturalism and its critics
    • Step 5: Summary
  • UNIT 6. Quiz

About Author

Karolina Czerska-Shaw, PhD: she holds a PhD in Sociology from the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. Her research interests include migration, theories and practices of migrant integration, transnationalism, citizenship and the construction of collective identities. Her empirical studies have focused on the analysis of citizenship testing schemes for immigrants, as well as the social implications of super-mobility amongst highly-skilled young adults. She has contributed to projects on migrant integration and authored several academic articles about British, French and Canadian citizenship testing schemes, issues of multiculturalism and approaches to migrant integration. She is currently a researcher in a H2020 project entitled EU Differentiation, Dominance and Democracy” (EU3D), and serves as the programme coordinator for the MA in Euroculture: Society, Politics and Culture in a Global Context, as well as the Jagiellonian University-Kobe University Double Degree Programme (European Studies/Political Science).

Joanna Orzechowska-Waclawska, PhD – is a sociologist (doctorate in sociology) and an economist (MA degree in economics). She has been mainly concerned with the influence of economic factors on the formation, development and the rebirth of national and nationalistic movements in Europe. Joanna was previously a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Deusto in Bilbao. She has participated in various educational projects concerning EU integration, European identity and nationalism. Since 2015, she has been involved in the actions of Poland’s Team Europe as an expert. Recently she has been involved in two scientific projects: Poprebel (Populist rebellion against modernity in 21st-century Eastern Europe: neo-traditionalism and neo-feudalism, Horizon 2020, 2019-2021) as well EU3D (EU Differentiation, Dominance and Democracy, Horizon 2020, 2019-2022).

Agnieszka Sadecka, PhD - Agnieszka holds a Ph.D. in Cultural and Literary Studies obtained in the framework of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Doctorate "Cultural Studies in Literary Interzones", coordinated by the University of Bergamo in Italy. Her double Ph.D. degree was awarded by Eberhard Karls Universitaet in Tuebingen (Germany) and Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi (India). Her doctoral research was centred on socialist-era Polish travel reportage from India. She is a graduate of the MA in European Studies at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Her research interests are interdisciplinary, linked with Polish and European contemporary culture and society as well as postcolonial studies. She is currently working on cultural aspects of populism in the research project POPREBEL: Populist rebellion against modernity in 21st-century Eastern Europe: neo-traditionalism and neo-feudalism, Horizon 2020, 2019-2021.