Current European topics

leusl2107  2019-2020  Louvain-la-Neuve

Current European topics
Note from June 29, 2020
Although we do not yet know how long the social distancing related to the Covid-19 pandemic will last, and regardless of the changes that had to be made in the evaluation of the June 2020 session in relation to what is provided for in this learning unit description, new learnig unit evaluation methods may still be adopted by the teachers; details of these methods have been - or will be - communicated to the students by the teachers, as soon as possible.
4 credits
15.0 h + 15.0 h
Q2
Teacher(s)
Traversa Edoardo;
Language
English
Prerequisites
None.
Main themes
The course is designed to address EU current issues. As it relies on EU current topics, the specific content of the class varies from week to week.
Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

1 The aims of the course are
1. to familiarise students with a broad array of EU issues, most specifically with political, institutional, economic, social, cultural and environmental issues faced by the EU;
2. to help students develop a critical understanding of EU current affairs and how to deal properly and swiftly with information sources;
3. to ensure that students are able to express a well-argued position on various issues, actively drawing upon knowledge acquired in other classes.
 

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.
Content
Course LEUSL2107 has three components:
  1. the ‘European special week’ (alternative week, Q1)
  2. the debate sessions organised by the lead professor on EU topics (Brexit, 2019 European elections, EU Neighbourhood policy, EU Trade policy), guests may also be present (Q2)
  3. the current affairs monitoring and comment sessions, moderated by IES lecturers and prepared by the students (Q2).
Evaluation methods
The assessment consists of a piece of written work, an oral presentation, and, if necessary, a (written or oral) exam. Further details are given to students at the beginning of the course.
To have their credits validated for this teaching unit, students must be examined on all three components of the course mentioned in the ‘Content’ section above. Unjustified absence or a ‘zero’ attendance-only mark for one (or more) of these three parts will be classified as an justified absence for the whole of the teaching unit.
The final mark will be made up of 2 parts:
  • assessment of the European Week activities (alternative week, 1st term) will account for 25% of the final mark;
  • participation in the debate sessions organised by the lead professor, the oral presentation on a topical theme, and participation in the current affairs monitoring and commenting sessions moderated by the IES lecturers and prepared by the students, will be assessed together, giving a mark making up 75% of the final mark.
A mark obtained for one of the two parts may be carried over from one session to the next during the same academic year, as long as it is (i) not less than 2.5/5 for the activities of the special European week and (ii) not less than 7.5/15 for participation in the debating sessions organised by the course leader, the oral presentation on a topical issue and participation in the current affairs monitoring and commenting sessions moderated by the IES assistants and prepared by the students.
Marks may not be carried over from one academic year to the next.
Bibliography
Background documents will be distributed during the classes
Faculty or entity
EURO


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Aims
Master [120] in European Studies