Undergraduate Course: Introduction to the European Union (VS1) (LAWS08121)
Course Outline
| School | School of Law |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 8 (Year 1 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Part-year visiting students only |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | **This course is not running in 2014/15**
'Introduction to the European Union' is NOT a law course, but is a social science based course taught by social scientists researching European integration. The course is aimed at students who have little or no previous knowledge about the history and development of European integration. It is a foundation course in which the central objective is to provide an introduction to the history, institutions and policies of the European Union (EU). Although some attention will be given to contemporary debates, the core aim of the course is to develop the underlying theoretical and public policy analysis of European integration.
The course provides a general introduction to the institutionalisation of the EU. It is divided into four central parts. First, we examine the history of the establishment of the EU, including the economic and political debates which have shaped its construction since the 1950s. Second, we look in some detail at EU organisations - the European Commission, the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament and the European Court of Justice - and their respective role in its daily government. Third, we examine theories of integration. How do scholars explain the establishment and form of the EU? Do they agree? What are the main academic controversies concerning how the institutionalisation of the EU has affected the powers of nation states? Finally, we re-explore general issues through a critical examination of the content and issues of core EU public policies - agriculture, competition, environment, and selected economic and social policies, including monetary union. What kind of Union is the EU?
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| Course description |
Not entered
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
| By the end of this course, students will have a firm grounding in the economic and political issues of European integration. In particular, the student will be expected to be able to do the following: to describe the content and structure of the main Treaties of European integration; to describe and compare the main institutions of the EU; to assess the role of each institution in the policy-making process; to explain crises and reforms in EU governance; to identify and contrast the key theories that have been advanced to explain European integration; to explain and assess the main EU-wide public policies which have been developed since the 1950s.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Andrew Scott
Tel: (0131 6)50 2064
Email: Andrew.Scott@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Krystal Hanley
Tel: (0131 6)50 2056
Email: Krystal.Hanley@ed.ac.uk |
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