Geography of Europe - 1st semester
Code
711041018
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
Department
Geografia e Planeamento Regional
Credits
6
Teacher in charge
José Afonso Teixeira
Weekly hours
4
Teaching language
Portuguese
Objectives
a)To understand the processes of space-time integration, identity construction and fragmentation of Europe;
b) To evaluate the importance of the spatial dimension in the evolution of the political map of Europe;
c)To interpret the evolution of European landscapes considering the interaction between the natural environment and human activities;
d)To know the evolution of the economic and political blocs of Europe in the post-II WW;
e)To characterize the main stages of evolution of the EEC / EU;
f) To characterize the key EU policies and respective instruments;
g)To know the European Strategy 2020 and Portugal 2020;
h) To recognize the European diversity in population, economy and culture;
i) To recognize the importance of networks (transports, energy, urban linkages,
) in building the European identity and diversity;
j) To develop a critical thinking on European and EU issues;
k)To prepare reports (analysis, diagnosis and prospective) on European issues in a geographic perspective.
Prerequisites
None.
Subject matter
1) Europe: the significance of its historical limits, territorial unity and diversity, position in the world
2) Natural geographical environment: geomorphological and bioclimatic diversity
3) Evolution of the political map: unification processes; nations without state; political systems
4) Integration processes within Europe: EEC / EU, EFTA; COMECON
5) From the EEC to the EU: treaties; enlargements; institutions; policies and financing instruments
6) Population, society, culture: demographic dynamics; ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity; human capital
7) Economic activities: the rural spaces and the reorientation of agricultural systems; deindustrialization, tertiarization or servindustrialization of the economies?
8) European networks of transport and energy;international relations
9) Cities and urban systems
10) Regions in decline and emerging territories. Cohesion or territorial fragmentation?
11) Conflicts and crises in Europe today: The EU and Europe - what prospects?
Bibliography
Fundamental:
Azcárate Luxán, Mª. Victoria; Sánchez Sánchez, José (2013). Geografía de Europa, Madrid :UNED, 394p.
Frankland, E. (2014). Global Studies: Europe (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill/Dushkin. pp. 250-352.
Complementar:
Blouet, B. W. (2012).The EU and Neighbours: A Geography of Europe in the Modern World (2ª ed.). New Jersey: Wiley.
Brennetot A. & Rosemberg M. (2013). Géographie de lEurope et géographie de la construction européenne. L´Espace Politique, 19, http://espacepolitique.revues.org/2613.
Murphy, A. B., Bychkov, T. G., Jordan, B. B. (2014). The European Culture Area: A Systematic Geography (6th ed.). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
Kocziszky, G.; Nagy, Z.; Tóth, G.; Dávid, L. (2015). New Method for Analyzing the Spatial Structure of Europe. Economic Computation & Economic Cybernetics Studies & Research Vol. 49 Issue 3, p136-153. 18p.
Walton, N. & Zielonka, J. (ed) (2013).The new political geography of Europe. London: European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR)
Teaching method
Lectures: extensive explanation of program topics; analysis and discussion of textbooks´ chapters and papers. Development, presentation and discussion of a practical work.
Evaluation method
Evaluation:
1) Written test about a set of selected texts [50%].
2) Theoretical and practical work (about 20 pages.) [45%], which includes an intermediate evaluation element (10%), a written part (30%) and an oral presentation (5% of the final grade);
3) Class attendance and participation [5%].
[According to the assessment of FCSH rules, the proposed evaluation elements introduced to students in the first class may suffer readjustments, namely in the weight of each element].