THE FUTURE OF EUROPE  IN THE LIGHT OF THE MODERNIZATION PROCESS
                           (SOC465)
                     (FALL TERM 2004/2005)
                               
INTENSIVE COURSE: OCTOBER 6 -- OCTOBER 12, 2004

Teacher
Prof. Dr. Bart van Steenbergen
Beweton Chair in Future Studies
Nyenrode University
The Netherlands
Phone: 31-(0)33-4634453
e mail: B.vansteenbergen@fss.uu.nl

Classes

      Day          Time                 Place
Wednesday (6.   10.00--13.0  Continetal Hotel, conference
10.)            0           room
Thursday  (7.   10.00--13.0  Room G12, FSS
10.)            0
Thursday  (7.   14.00--15.0  Room G12, FSS
10.)            0
Friday (8. 10.) 10.00--13.0  Room G12, FSS
               0
Monday (11.     10.00--13.0  Continetal Hotel, conference.
10.)            0           Room
Monday (11.     13.00--15.0  Continetal Hotel, restaurant
10.)            0
Tuesday (12.    10.00--13.0  Continetal Hotel, conference
10.)            0           room


The course
The course will focus on a number of social, political and
cultural aspects of the Europeanization process with an empha
sis on future options and possibilities. The course requires an
active participation of the students. Apart from the lectures
there will be an emphasis on debate based on opposite
statements and positions and presentations by the students.
Fluency in English is imperative.

The requirements are:
  ÿ  presence during the lectures,
  ÿ  short presentation based on an assignment,
  ÿ  paper sent within three month after the course to the lectu
     rer.


Content of the Lectures :

1. What you always wanted to know about the future, but never
dared to ask.
What are the different approaches in the social sciences with
regard tot he future (each one with relevant examples):
- the prognosis/forecast (conditional and unconditional, the
Delphi-method),
- the historical models for the future,
- the notion of progress. To what extent does modernization
imply progress or not?
- the role of utopias and utopian thinking,
- Scenario-writing, the design for the future,
- the historical analogy or comparative prognosis,
- 'looking into the seeds of time' (Shakespeare),
- empirical studies with regard to the future.


2. Alternatives to Modernization: Holism and Postmodernity.
Social scientists are familiar with the notion of modernizati
on. Here two alternative and oppositional views on the concept
of modernization will be discussed.
-  Holism: the new paradigm. the emphasis on totality, process.
The relationship with systemstheory. The societal visibility of
the holistic paradigm:
social medicine, health care, transpersonal psychology, femi
nism, social ecology.

- Postmodernity.
PM in the arts, architecture, philosophy.
The vision of a postmodern society: the end of the 'grand narr
atives'.
Visibilty of postmodernism in society.

- Holism and postmodernity compared: differences and communali
ties.

- The future of modernity, holism and postmodernity.
The picture of the 'good society' based on 'the Active Society'
by Amitai Etzioni


3. The revival of citizenship, civil society and civic culture

- Three types of citizenship (Marshall) and critique,
- The revival of citizenship around 1990.
  a. the UK: Thatcherism as a threat,
b. Central/Eastern Europe: the need for a civil society and a
civic Culture (Almond and Verba).High and low trust cultures.
  c. Western/Southern Europe: The problem of Inclusion and
     Exclusion:
     1. what to do with the newcomers (migrants, regfugees,
       asylumseekers)
          -  New citizens in society. Policy choices and dilemmas
            between assimilation, integration and (self)segregation.

- Citizenship in the future:
Extension of the notion of citzenship:
European Citizenship (Habermas), Global Citizenship (Falk),
Ecological citizenship (van Steenbergen), Cultural citizenship
(Pakulski, Turner).


4. The Welfare State, a European invention

- what is a welfare state?
- typology of Welfare States according to Esping Andersen.
- the forgotten welfare states:
  the Mediterranean countries,
  the countries of Central/Eastern Europe.
- the recent problems of the welfare state.

- The future of the welfare state
The three possible routes of the modern welfare state:
the neo-liberal, the labour reduction and the social investment
route.
Is there a 'social Europe' in the making?
Developments and options,


5. Will Europe work? The role of labour in modern and post
modern society.

- the notion of work centrality as a cultural factor.
- the trend towards a decreasing centrality of work in the
seventies of the 20st century.
- The reversal of that trend since the eighties:
 from welfare state to workfare state.
- some empirical data on the 'work- ethos' in different coun
tries (among them Italy and the Netherlands).

- The role of work in the future.
Tendencies and trends strengthening and weakening the work-
centrality
Work as 'labeur' or work as 'fun'?
work in the future, a post modern view.


6. Europe in the world, the globalizationprocess.

- What is globalization, what aspects can we distinguish and
what are the main problems and dilemmas?
- Economic globalization: does globalization lead to greater
inequality?
- Political globalization. Does the absence of a world govern
ment imply global anarchism? The difference between global go
vernment and global governance.
- Social globalization. Does globalization mean the end of the
welfare state? The growing role of global actors like the IMF
and the Worldbank with regard to global social policy.
The special position of the countries of Central/Eastern Europe
in this respect.
- Cultural globalization. The dilemma of homogenization (McDo
naldization) and heterogenization (a post modern melange).

Globalization and the future.
Here special attention will be given to the problem of a 'clash
of civilizations' (Huntington); the tension between universa
lism and particularism.