FSS:SOC465 Future of Europe - Course Information

SOC465 Future of Europe

Extent and Intensity

1/1/0. 15 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).

Teacher(s)

Dr. Wieger Bakker (lecturer)
prof. Bart Steenbergen, Dr. (lecturer), prof. PhDr. Ladislav Rabušic, CSc. (deputy)

Guaranteed by

doc. PhDr. Ing. Radim Marada, Ph.D.
Division of Sociology – Department of Sociology – Faculty of Social Studies
Contact Person: Ing. Soňa Enenkelová

Timetable

Thu 11. 11. 9:00–17:00 Aula, Fri 12. 11. 9:00–17:00 Aula, Mon 15. 11. 9:00–17:00 Aula, Tue 16. 11. 9:00–17:00 Aula

Prerequisites

Participants should have a good command of English, both reading and writing. Ideally, the course should be a balanced mix of Czech and foreign students. If there are more apllications than vacancies, then first year Czech students will not be enrolled.

Course Enrolment Limitations

The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 30 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/30, only registered: 0/30, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/30

fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with

there are 8 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display

Course objectives

In this course policymaking explicitly is placed first in the context of the process of European integration and unification. The emphasis here will be on the social and cultural aspects of that process, dealing with questions of citizenship and identity. Several scenarios for the future of Europe will be presented and discussed. Second, this course emphasizes the constraints and demands that result from this integration process and with which local and national policymakers have to deal; keywords are, among others, integrity, accountability, effectiveness and citizen participation. During this course we, thirdly, seek to bridge the gap between theory and practice by using the introduced concepts for the analysis and evaluation of actual (small scale) policies. As an exercise, we will experiment with the construction of policy proposal. There is also a direct link between policymaking and future studies, since we make policy plans on the basis of what we hope, fear and expect with regard to the future. In that context special attention will be given to the different approaches to the future like forecasting, 'looking into the seeds of time' and especially scenario writing.
Learning outcomes
After successfully passing the course, the student:
- Is able to analyze and discuss the meaning of –the social and cultural aspects of- European integration and unification for policymaking on the national and the local level.
- Is able to demonstrate basis knowledge on the characteristics of processes of policy formation and implementation; governance and public accountability.
- Is able to assess the relevance of future oriented methods (e.g. forecasting, scenarios) for developing policy plans;
- Is able to analyze local social problems on the possibilities and limitations for developing public policies;
- Is able to design, to present and to defend a concrete future oriented policy plan.

Syllabus

• Policymaking in a European Context.(Future Visions and Competing Powers)
• Dates of classes: November 11–16, 2010
• MAIN TOPICS:
• Policymaking between rationality, competing powers and future visions
• Developing policy strategy & European citizenship
• Preparing the case assignment
• Governance in between antagonism and cooperation
• Local policy design & Cultural Europe

Literature

• Ruud de Mooij and Paul Tang, Four Futures of Europe, CPB, The Hague, 2003
• White Paper on European Governance, European Commission, Brussels, 2001

Teaching methods

Module teaching, lectures, class discussions

Assessment methods

WORKING METHODS AND REQUIREMENTS
The working methods during this course require an active participation of the students. Apart from (introductory) lectures there will be an emphasis on debate, analysis, case solving and presentation. During the last day of the course subgroups of students present their own policy plan.
The schedule for this course is full time. Most of the five days (with the exception of Friday November 20th) there are 4 – 6 hours collective seminar sessions with a long break in between, partly needed for preparing (subgroup) assignments.
Some relevant articles will be made available in digital form (by e-mail) and/or handed out during the first session. Students are expected to study these articles during the course. Fluency in English is imperative.
The participants are expected to be present at all meetings.
Final Assignment
After the four days course students are invited to write a paper. The formal requirements are:
- 10-12 pages (3000 words min. / 4000 words max.) ‘pure’ text (i.e. excluding the front page with the title, name of the student, e-mail address, the content page and the bibliography at the end).
- The paper can be written in the form of a ‘classical’ academic paper as well as a scenario paper or a policy proposal. Precise instructions about the three options will be given during the course. The content of the paper can be based on the assignment one has worked on during the course, but has to show significant added value.
The paper has to be sent electronically (in MS word format) to both lecturers (see below for the e-mail addresses).
THE DEADLINE FOR SENDING IN PAPERS IS DECEMBER 15 2009
Dr Wieger Bakker: e-mail: W.E.Bakker@uu.nl
Dr Bart van Steenbergen: e-mail B.Vansteenbergen@uu.nl

SCHEDULE
(Nota Bene: the program as described below is flexible. Dependent on the interests of the participants and the experiences of the lecturers, changes in the program can be made on the spot. We expect the students to be available from 9.00 – 17.00 hours on course days.)

Wednesday November 18th:
Policymaking between rationality, competing powers and future visions
9.15-10.00 Opening and introduction to the course
10.00-10.45 Effective and accountable policymaking as a European imperative (Wieger Bakker)
10.45 - 11.15 Coffee break
11.15-13.00 Everything you always wanted to know about the future but never dared to ask: Forecasting, conditional prognosis, ‘seeds of time’; you name it, you’ll get it. (Bart van Steenbergen)
13.00 - 14.30 Lunch break
14.30 – 17.00 Sense and sensibility of scenarios; their meaning for policy making and ‘Bildung’. (Bart van Steenbergen)

Thursday November19th:
Developing policy strategy & European citizenship
9.15-10.45 From analysis to intervention: developing policy strategies for the near future (Wieger Bakker)
10.45 - 11.15 Coffee break
11.15 - 13.00 From problem to action on: starting at the local level. presentation case assignment / defining and selecting local social problems / constituting subgroups (Wieger Bakker)
13.00 -15.00 Lunch break (including small lunch assignment subgroups)
15.00 - 15.20 Subgroup reports
15.20 - 17.00 Towards European citizenship; a new identity in the making?(Bart van Steenbergen)

Friday November 20th:
Preparing the case assignment
9.15 - 11.15 Parallel Workshops Case Assignment I Wieger Bakker, II Bart van Steenbergen
11.15 - 11.45 Coffee break
11.45 - 13.30 Training presentation skills
Friday afternoon can be used by the subgroups for preparing their case assignement

Monday November 23th:
Governance in between antagonism and cooperation
9.15 – 11.00 From government to governance. Changing modes of dealing with social problems in Europe (Wieger Bakker)
11.00 - 11.30 Coffee break
11.30 – 12.30 Introduction Final Assignment and guidelines for writing the paper
12.30 -14.30 Lunch break
14.30 – 16.30 Europe in the world: are we facing a clash of civilizations? (Bart van Steenbergen)

Tuesday November 24th:
Local policy design & Cultural Europe
9.30 -11.00 Student presentations and discussion
11.00 - 11.30 Coffee break
11.30 -13.00 Student presentations and discussion
13.00 -14.30 Lunch break
14.30-16.00 Is there something like a cultural Europe and what about languages? (Bart van Steenbergen)
16.00-17.00 Course evaluation and conclusions (Bart van Steenbergen and Wieger Bakker)

Language of instruction

English

Further comments (probably available only in Czech)

Study Materials
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
The course is taught only once.
Information on course enrolment limitations: The course is designed for advanced students, enrolled in M.A programmes . Ideally, the course should be a balanced mix of Czech and foreign students.

• Enrolment Statistics (recent)
  
• Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/fss/autumn2010/SOC465