Political and Public Spheres and Spaces in European History and Culture

The course is given within the Master's Programme in European Studies (two year programme) and is a compulsory core course within the Humanities Track. Students not enrolled in the programme may attend this course as an independent course if space is available.

The entry requirements for admission to the course is a Bachelor'sdegree of 180 credits, with a minimum of 90 credits in consecutive courses in a social sciences discipline, humanities discipline or equivalent. Students at the Law programme are also eligible the course after three years of studies (180 credits, equivalent of a bachelor degree). Applicants must prove their knowledge of English: English 6 or English level 2 from Swedish Upper Secondary School or the equivalent level of an internationally recognized test, for example TOEFL, IELTS.

The course highlights and problematizes, from the point of view of different disciplines, the political significance of public, private, and secret spheres and spaces in European history and present. The contingent division between these spheres can be considered as one of the fundamental factors in the development of core notions and distinctions between right and obligation, society and state, traditional kingship and modern division of powers in Europe. The course traces different contexts for both conceptual and spatial distinction of the public and private spheres from the Greek agora, through republican and imperial Rome, medieval and modern Europe well into the present. The focus on European public spaces and innovative political practices allows students to critically reflect on the historic and present conditions of access to the political sphere during its transition into the digital age.

On successful completion of the course the student will be able to:

Knowledge and understanding

• identify the basic distinctions between the concepts of the public and private in the political sphere.
• explain the historical and cultural conditions as well as infrastructural means for organizing the political spheres and spaces in different European regions and periods. 

Competence and skills

• apply concepts and analytical approaches in a written essay on a theme or problem within the study of public spheres and spaces in European history.
• independently produce text in accordance with good academic practice, including proper citation technique and use of references.
• communicate clearly and proficiently in English both orally and in writing.

Judgement and approach

• reflect on the power relations that mediates accession to the public and political spheres.
• scrutinize and critically assess your own and others’ assignments, as well as research literature.

The form of teaching will be a combination of lectures and compulsory seminars.

Language of instruction: English

The course is examined through a compulsory final assignment (7,5 credits) as well as active participation in seminars (2,5 credits).

Students can be asked to complement (e.g. either add to, or re-write) graded assignments and re-submit them. If the student does not re-submit the reworked assignment on time, the student will be failed on the assignment.

A student who is not able to attend a compulsory part of the course can do an alternative assignment. The assignment will be described in the course guide.

Restrictions on the use of generative AI are stated in the course guide. Students are obliged to inform themselves about the current rules for examining elements such as assignments, seminar papers and other forms of exams in the course in question.

If a student who has been failed twice for the same examination element wishes to change examiner before the next examination session, such a request is to be granted unless there are specific reasons to the contrary (Chapter 6 Section 22 HF).

If a student has received a certificate of disability study support from the University of Gothenburg with a recommendation of adapted examination and/or adapted forms of assessment, an examiner may decide, if this is consistent with the course’s intended learning outcomes and provided that no unreasonable resources would be needed, to grant the student adapted examination and/or adapted forms of assessment.

In cases where a course has been discontinued or has undergone major changes, the student shall normally be guaranteed at least three examination occasions (including the ordinary examination) during a period of at least one year from the last time the course was given. This may not be in conflict with Chapter 6 Section 21 of Higher Education Ordinance.

The grading scale comprises: Pass with Distinction (VG), Pass (G) and Fail (U).

To obtain the Pass grade (G) of the course, all mandatory assignments need a pass grade. To obtain the Pass with Distinction (VG), the final assignment (7,5 credits) needs to receive the grade Pass with Distinction (VG), while passing the other assignments. In other words, to obtain the Pass grade the student must fulfill all the learning outcomes by active participation in all obligatory parts of the course, and obtain Pass on the written assignment. To obtain Pass with Distinction the work of the student should, besides satisfying the requirements for the Pass grade, show a very good ability to connect theoretical analyses to practical examples, a good, independent analytical ability and that written assignment fulfills high academic standards in terms of structure and language.

The student will be given the opportunity to do a course evaluation. The results of and possible changes to the course will be shared with students who participated in the evaluation and students who are starting the course.