Europe: culture and identities in a contested continent
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| 6 Tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) | |
| End-of-course assessment | No residential school |
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This course is available for study in the countries shown. Fees may vary by country.
Summary
How do individuals come to define who they are? What does it mean to be European? This interdisciplinary course examines the complex nature of identity in modern Europe. The course considers how identities are embodied and expressed in literature, drama, poetry, film and architecture, and looks at the relationship between identity and history, religion, nation and language. It also introduces the themes of Europe’s fluid borders, interaction between Europe and the non-European world, memory of conflict and challenges posed to European identities by Americanisation and globalisation.
This course is offered with online tutorials. It is also offered with face-to-face tutorials; the course code for that version is AA300.
Course content
The emphasis in this course is on Europe as a contested and a dynamic space, rather than as a fixed geographical entity. You will be given a set of tools for analysing and exploring cultural identities, and you will then learn to apply them to the interrogation of different texts/cultural artefacts. The culmination of the course is a project essay in which you are asked to apply the skills you have learned through conducting a small research project into texts/cultural artefacts that you will choose yourself, and what they reveal about debates over cultural identities in Europe. Following the project, we ask you to review what you have learned over the whole course.
In Block 1, working with a study guide and the first book Exploring European Identities, you are introduced to the question of European subjective identity. The concept of personal identity as employed in philosophy, sociology, social movements and everyday speech is explored, then the book considers these issues in the context of a series of case-studies. The aim of your work for this Block, which includes two tutor-marked assignments (TMAs), (one which is introductory and designed to start you thinking about identity, and the second, an essay on a central issue related to identity), is to set up the framework and issues you explore in the rest of the course.
The focus of the course materials then shifts to applying these frameworks to key issues related to cultural identity in Europe. Block 2 starts by challenging the commonly held assumption that European identity is straightforwardly based on geography. This raises the question of where precisely the borders of Europe lie and how they are defined. The book introduces the notion that Europe is a cultural construct mapped on to geographical space. This questioning of Europe’s mental boundaries highlights issues of the relationship between Europe and its ’Other’, as well as the extent to which people feel that they ‘belong’: the extent to which they are ‘insiders’ within Europe.
Block 3 considers the issue of the impact of the cultural memory of twentieth-century warfare on identities in Europe. In many respects ‘hot wars’ – like the First and Second World Wars - and the ‘cold war’ were shared European experiences; but different parts of Europe, and different communities within those parts, had very different experiences of these conflicts. The aim of this block is to tease out the legacy of the conflicts, and to assess their influence on notions of European-ness and on the reconfiguration of national and other identities. The concept of remembrance binds the block together and provides a way through the exploration, which is developed through a variety of disciplines and artefacts that bring in history, literature, music, film and the visual arts. Block 4 examines the changes to European identities that have come about as the result of globalisation, consumerism and the mass media. You are asked in this block whether ‘post-modern’, ‘American’ or ‘global’ identities have supplanted European ones and, if not, how they have reshaped and reconfigured European identities.
A major part of your work for this course consists of researching and writing a 4000 word project essay, which forms the examinable component for this course. We ask you to define your own project, within the framework of a broad issue relating to cultural identities in Europe, and to explore texts/cultural artifacts of your choice. Your work with the course materials and the first five TMAs will prepare you for this task and develop the skills you need. This project will enable you to work on an aspect of the course that interests you and provides you with an opportunity, and time – after you have finished work with the course materials – is designated in the study calendar so you can work on your project essay. At the end of the course, a final TMA, based in part on exercises you have done throughout the course, asks you to review your work – this will give you the opportunity to ’sum-up‘ and think about the course as a whole.
Entry
This is a Level 3 course. Level 3 courses build on study skills and subject knowledge acquired from studies at Levels 1 and 2. You need no special knowledge, but some experience of interdisciplinary work in arts or social sciences would be an advantage. If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
Qualifications
AAZX300 is a compulsory course in our
AAZX300 is an optional course in our
- BA (Honours) History (B01)
- BA (Honours) Humanities (B03)
- BA/BSc (Honours) International Studies (B11)
- BA (Honours) Literature (B02)
- BA (Honours) Language Studies (B21)
- BA (Honours) Modern Language Studies (B30)
It can also count towards most of our other degrees at bachelors level, where it is suitable for a BA. We advise you to refer to the relevant qualification descriptions for information on the circumstances in which this course can count towards these qualifications because from time to time the structure and requirements may change.
Excluded combinations
Sometimes you will not be able to count a course towards a qualification if you have already taken another course with similar content. To check any excluded combinations relating to this course, visit our excluded combination finder or check with our Student Registration & Enquiry Service before registering.
If you have a disability or additional requirement
The course materials are available in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Some PDF components may not be available or fully accessible using a screen reader and musical or foreign language materials may be particularly difficult to read in this way. Large print versions of the printed course materials can be provided on request. Written transcripts are available for the audio-visual material. The course materials are available on audio in DAISY Digital Talking Book format. Our Services for disabled students website has the latest information about availability.
This course include online activities such as tutorials, live discussions and text based forums so you will need to spend extensive amounts of time using a personal computer and the internet. If you use specialist software or hardware to assist you in operating a computer or using the internet and have concerns about accessing the type of materials outlined you are advised to talk to our Student Registration & Enquiry Service about support which can be given to meet your needs.
If you are a new student, or new to courses using a computer or the internet, you will need to inform us of your particular needs as soon as possible, as some of our support services may take several weeks to arrange. Details of how to do this and our range of support services are described in our booklet Meeting Your Needs which you can download or request from our Student Registration & Enquiry Service.
You can also find information about accessible course materials, financial support and the Disabled Students' Allowance, equipment and other services, on our Services for disabled students website. It also includes our contact details for advice and support both before you register and while you are studying.
Course materials
What's included
Course books, other printed materials, audio CDs, DVDs. As a registered student, you have automatic access to the online discussion rooms where you can talk to fellow students over the internet. You will also have access to text-based discussion forums.
You will need
Audio CD player and DVD player.
Computing requirements
This course includes online computer activities – you can access these using a web browser that can play Flash and Shockwave. Some of your course software will be provided on disk.
You will need internet access and a computer. If you have purchased a new Windows computer since 2002 it should meet your course computing requirements. Check our Technical Requirements section if your computer is older than this or is otherwise unusual. Please note that you can use an Apple Mac or Linux computer if you can run Windows using Boot Camp or similar.
You will need a headset with a microphone and earphones to talk to your tutor and other students online during some of the course activities.
Materials to buy
Set books
- Schlink, Bernhard The Reader, Phoenix £7.99 - ISBN 9780753804704
Teaching and assessment
Support from your tutor
You will have a tutor who will help you with the course material and mark and comment on your written work, and whom you can ask for advice and guidance. Contact with your tutor will be through e-mail, online tutorials and text-based discussion forums. Tutorials will be held online using a system that allows you to speak with your tutor and fellow students in real time over the internet. We may also be able to offer group tutorials or day schools that you are encouraged, but not obliged, to attend. Where these events are held will depend on the distribution of students taking the course. Contact our Student Registration & Enquiry Service if you want to know more about study with The Open University before you register.
Assessment
The assessment details for this course can be found in the facts box above.
You can choose whether to submit your tutor-marked assignments (TMAs) on paper or online through the eTMA system. You may want to use the eTMA system for some of your assignments but submit on paper for others. This is entirely your choice.
One of the TMAs is a project outline. The project outline and project together make up the end-of-course assessment (ECA). You submit your assignments electronically, through the eTMA submission system, although you will need to submit printed copies of your project.
Students also studied
Students who studied this course also studied at some time:
Future availability
The details given here are for the course that starts in February 2010. We expect it to be available at the same time once a year.
How to register
To register a place on this course return to the top of the page and use the Click to register button. For more information and advice about registration see OU Study Explained.
About this page
An undergraduate course in Arts and Humanities, Environment, Development and International Studies and Social Sciences.
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