20th Century Europe: United in Diversity
In 2000, the European Union adopted “United in Diversity” as its motto. In this course we will look at the social, demographic, material, economic, and political forces that united and divided Europe in the twentieth century, such as war, migration, mass production, mass media, and decolonization. We will also look at the policies of unity, division, homogenization, and diversity that Europeans pursued in an attempt to manage these forces.
In addition, this course has a pedagogical goal. Among the most important things you can learn in college are skills of critical analysis and persuasive argument. Regardless of your field of endeavor, you will be called upon to make judgments about particular claims, assertions, and arguments made by others, sometimes in areas — like 20th century European history, perhaps — where you feel you cannot claim expert knowledge. In this class we will work on the skills you need to make good judgments in these situations, and in particular, strategies for evaluating the evidence that authors use to make their arguments.
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