Undergraduate Course Catalog 2006-2007
College of Liberal Arts
» http://www.unh.edu/liberal-arts/
European Cultural Studies (ECS)
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European Cultural Studies (ECS) is an interdisciplinary major in which
students study the field of cultural analysis in conjunction with an
individually designed focus on a European topic. Each student will work
with an adviser and the ECS Steering Committee to design a course of
study that best suits the student’s interests and goals. The ECS major
is driven in part by the belief that language is an integral part of
culture and not merely a tool for the study of literature. By the same
token, the study of European history, philosophy, politics, and so
forth, can only be enriched by the addition of critical perspectives
developed in literature and language study.
The ECS major has five objectives:
1. It will introduce students to the major contours of European history, politics, languages and arts.
2. It will introduce students to the social, political, economic, and cultural developments of the new unifying Europe.
3. The cultural studies component of the major highlights the
contentious nature of this “unifying Europe.” Thus the major will
prepare students for work in fields related to Europe and
European/American relations. More generally it will encourage a nuanced
perception of cultural differences, which will in turn affect students’
perceptions of themselves and others as participants in an uneasily
shared world.
4. Cultural studies skills will facilitate and enable students to
consider the past not just as an academic subject but as an unfolding
inherited tradition.
5. A B.A. in European cultural studies will be a preparatory degree for
graduate study in numerous fields from international relations to the
humanities.
European Cultural Studies Major
The ECS major consists of 40 credits to be distributed in the following way:
1. Course on Europe (ECS 400). Course on European topics, covering art,
literature, history, political science or other domains. (4 credits)
2. Course on cultural studies (ECS 500). Introduction to the field of
Cultural Studies as applied to the study of Europe. In years when ECS
500 is not offered, students may take ENGL 619 (Critical Approaches to
Literature) or HIST 625 (Intellectual European History. (4 credits)
3. Foundation Courses (8 credits).
a. Languages: 504 or equivalent in a European language or an approved alternate course.
b. Arts/Humanities or Social Sciences: One course from the following
offerings: ARTS 580 or 581 (Survey of Art History), ENGL 651 or 652
(Comparative Literatures, when inclusive of European literatures),
Humanities 501, 502, 503 (when focused on European topics), Music 402
(Survey of Music History), ECON 630 (Comparative Study of Economic
Systems), HIST 435 or 436 (Western Civilization), HIST 565 (Women in
European History), HIST 650 (European Socialism), HIST 656 (20th
Century Europe), POLT 550 (Major Foreign Governments), POLT 552
(Contemporary European Politics).
4.Focus Courses: The focus of the major consists of an individually
designed grouping of four courses that will allow students to pursue
their interests and will give coherence to the major. Students will
discuss their proposed curriculum with an ECS adviser and submit a
proposal to the ECS Steering Committee. Possible foci include: European
art and identity; politics and culture in modern Europe; history of
European science and philosophy; focus by nation. At least two courses
for the focus must be at the 600-level or higher (16 credits).
5. Course on Critical Methods in Cultural Studies prepares student for
research and writing techniques needed to complete the senior thesis.
(4 credits).
6. Senior Thesis (ECS 798/799). Students will work together with their
advisers to formulate their topic, consider appropriate approaches,
locate relevant resources and write a thesis. At the end of the
semester, students present their work to a committee of three ECS
faculty members (4 credits).
European Cultural Studies Minor
The minor in European cultural studies consists of 20 credits (five
courses), including ECS 500, 504-level in a European language, two
foundation courses in (one in arts/humanities, one in social sciences),
and one elective.
