Course Title：欧洲和欧盟：经济、政治、历史和社会

The objectives of the course will be to familiarise students with the history of Europe in the 20th century and the development of the European Union after the Second World War, its sociological and political underpinnings, its key economic policies, its primary political organisations, its social structure and diversity and its foreign policy, defence and security arrangements. It will cover the economic theory behind the economic policies of the EU, its single market, customs union and currency union, the Eurozone. It will discuss the reasons for the creation and existence of the EU, its steady growth in membership and functions, the advantages it provides for its members and the difficulties and problems that exist between its member nations from time to time. These problems are grounded in conflict brought on through diversity and inequality on the one hand and the socio-political pressures brought on by change on the other, often leading, particularly in recent years, to a populist and/or nationalist response. Key socio-economic problems pertaining to migration, the movement of refugees and the rise of nationalism and populism in Europe will be also discussed. These issues will be analysed through a historical socio-economic lens, the overall objective being to provide students with a comprehensive social-scientific understanding of recent developments in Europe as a whole, to include a thorough analysis of the structure, workings and dynamics of the EU, one of the most significant and unusual of international organisations. The course will also discuss the place of Europe and the EU in the world as a whole, its foreign policy, security and defence stances and objectives and address the challenges it faces, both internally and externally, currently and over the years ahead.