The Making of Europe: from Middle Ages to Modernity

Taking the beautiful city of Utrecht as a starting point, this course will take you on a journey that illuminates the rise of modern Europe from the Middle Ages to the end of the 19th century. We will take the medieval city of Utrecht as a starting point to discuss the history of Europe and explore important political, religious and cultural themes during our lectures and various excursions.

This course takes you to some of the most crucial Dutch landmarks of the making of Europe like the Utrecht Cathedral, the wharfs and wealthy canal houses – still testifying to the incredible economic success of Europe in the Golden Age – , whilst the public parks and patrician houses attest to the rising bourgeoisie in the 19th century. Several historical museums in Utrecht, but also the cities of Amsterdam and The Hague are on the agenda, ensuring that you will be able to really ‘experience’ history during these two weeks!

Target audience

Students of humanities and social sciences, including economics and business, political sciences, European studies, international relations, history, culture studies and sociology, the sciences and engineering at senior undergraduate or graduate level with an interest in culture, society and politics. A general background in the social sciences may help, but no specific expertise is required.

Course aim

At the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Describe and evaluate different theories and conceptualisations of the historic development of Europe, including Europe’s role on the world stage
• Discern and analyse key factors in facilitating this development
• Demonstrate an understanding of political, socio-economic and cultural aspects of the European developments
• Demonstrate this detailed and critical knowledge and understanding in written and verbal form.

Course fee

€1295 (incl. housing)
Course fee includes entrance fees for all field trips that are part of the course programme.

Level

Advanced Bachelor

Study load

12 hours of lectures per week; 12 hours of field trips per week (obligatory part of the course programme); appr. 30 hours of self study per week