3 CREDITS
PROFESSOR JOHN PICKLES
In this course we will focus much of our attention on what geopolitical changes in Central and Eastern Europe, post-colonial immigration, and economic globalization mean for our understanding of Europe Today. In particular, we will focus on a select number of themes that illustrate important aspects of the changing geographies and geopolitics of Europe, particularly as these relate to the complex spatialities and regionalizations we variously designate as ‘Europe’. We will investigate several historical geographies of Europe that have sought to domesticate and control these spatial and social heterogeneities, and we will investigate the new regional configurations emerging during the twentieth century and in the early years of this century. We will engage with post-colonial writings on Europe, ideas about the local and global, geopolitical relations of ‘Central Europe/Mitteleuropa’, the national state and national identity, regional interconnectedness, and emerging patterns of pan-European integration.