Europe Concentration

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Europe

The concentration in Europe focuses on the history, politics, art, and literature of the countries of modern Europe.  

Note: Course offerings will vary from semester to semester, and there are invariably new courses or special topics classes which are applicable to this concentration but do not appear on the list below.  A scheduling guide listing course offerings will be circulated before scheduling begins for each semester.  Also students who study abroad can ask to count courses taken abroad toward their concentration.  Generally any course focusing on modern Europe (since 1500) can be applied to the concentration

Language Requirement:

Students must demonstrate competency in a European language other than English.  (Competency means the equivalent of six courses in Spanish, French, Italian, or German.)

LSU Courses in the Europe Concentration:

  • ARTH 4422 – History of Modern Design (3) Aesthetic theory and stylistic evolution of decorative arts from mid-19th century to the present; emphasis on crafts, architectural decoration, furniture, interior design and industrial design; Victorian period, arts and crafts movement, art nouveau, Bauhaus and international style.
  • ARTH 4450 – 19th Century European Painting (3) History of painting in European countries from the French Revolution (1789) to 1900; emphasis on neoclassicism, romanticism, realism, impressionism, post-impressionism and symbolism.
  • ARTH 4451 – Early 20th Century European Art (3) History of painting and sculpture in European countries from 1900 to 1960; emphasis on Fauvism, Cubism, geometric abstraction, Futurism, Dada and Surrealism, German Expressionism, British figurative art, and the School of Paris.
  • ENGL 3022 – British Literature II: Romantics, Victorians and Moderns (3) Survey of British literature from the French Revolution through the Industrial Revolution into the 20th century.
  • ENGL 4062 – Studies in the Victorian Age (3) May be taken for a maximum of 6 hours of credit when topics vary.Authors such as Dickens, the Brontës, Thackeray, Eliot, Tennyson, Browning, Arnold, Ruskin, Wilde; topics such as “The Bildungsroman,” “London, Crime, and Victorian Literature,” “The Victorian Heroine.”
  • FREN 3071 – Survey of French Literature (3) Prerequisite:FREN 2155 or equivalent; credit or registration in FREN 3060 or equivalent or permission of instructor.
    French majors are strongly urged to enroll in this course before their senior year.     Development of French literature from its beginnings through the 18th century.
  • FREN 3072 – Survey of French Literature (3) Prerequisite:FREN 2155 or equivalent; credit or registration in FREN 3060 or equivalent or permission of instructor.
    French majors are strongly urged to enroll in this course before their senior year. Continuation of FREN 3071.     The main authors and literary movements from the 18th century to the present.
  • FREN 3080/LING 3080 – French Culture and Civilization (3) Prerequisite:FREN 2155; credit or registration in FREN 3060 or equivalent or permission of instructor. Various aspects of French culture and civilization; emphasis on those factors necessary for understanding contemporary France and the Francophone world.
  • FREN 4031 – The French Film (3) Prerequisite:FREN 3060 or equivalent or permission of instructor. Art of the French film from Louis Lumière to the present; its interrelations with French literature; screening and analyses of representative films.
  • FREN 4040 – French Literature of the 19th Century (3) Prerequisite:FREN 3071 and FREN 3072 or equivalents; or permission of instructor. Major aspects of the literature of the period.
  • FREN 4050 – French Literature of the 20th Century (3) Prerequisite:FREN 3071 and FREN 3072 or equivalents; or permission of instructor. Major aspects of the literature of the period.
  • FREN 4051 – French for Business (3) Prerequisite:FREN 3060 or equivalent; or permission of instructor. Language acquisition for students preparing for careers involving trade or business activities with French-speaking areas.
  • GERM 2075/HIST 2075 – German Civilization (3) This is a General Education course. Knowledge of German not required.Development of the modern German states from early Germanic times; art, literature, music and philosophy in an historical context.
  • GERM 3082- Survey of German Literature and Culture: 1700-1830 (3) Prerequisite:GERM 2155 or equivalent. Readings from, and an overview of, the Enlightment, Storm and Stress, Weimer Classicism and Romanticism.
  • GERM 3083 – Survey of German Literature and Culture: 1830-1890 (3) Prerequisite:GERM 2155 or equivalent. Readings from, and a historical overview of, Biedermeier/Vormarz, Realism and Naturalism.
  • GERM 3084 – Survey of German Literature and Culture: 1890-to the Present (3) Prerequisite:GERM 2155 or equivalent. Readings from, and a historical overview of, Expressionism, New Objectivity, the Group 47, GDR literature and Post-Modernism.
  • GERM 3091 – Special Topics in German Literature in Translation (3) May be taken for a maximum of 6 hours of credit when topics vary.Knowledge of German not required.
  • GERM 4044 – Special Topics in the 20th Century German Literature and Culture (3) May be taken for a maximum of 6 hours of credit when topics vary.
  • GERM 4045 – Special Topics in Contemporary German Literature and Culture (3) May be taken for a maximum of 6 hours of credit when topics vary.
  • GERM 4046 – German Film (3) Knowledge of German not required.German film in its socio-historic contexts with some attention to cinematic technique.
  • GERM 4091 – Special Topics in German Literature and Culture in Translation (3) May be taken for a maximum of 6 hours of credit when topics vary.Knowledge of German not required.
  • HIST 2022 – Modern Europe (3) This is a General Education course.Political, economic and social developments and diplomacy from 1848 to the present.
  • HIST 2135/RUSS 2075 – Introduction to Russian Culture and Civilization (3) This is a General Education course. Taught in English; knowledge of Russian not required. Geography, history, religion, literature, music, art, architecture and scientific and technological achievements of Russia.
  • HIST 4016 – 19th Century Europe (3) The period 1815-1870.
  • HIST 4017 – 20th Century Europe (3) Survey of 20th century European history; emphasis on the role of total war in social, political and cultural change and the impact of modern nationalist ideologies.
  • HIST 4022 – France since 1770 (3) Cultural, political, economic, social and intellectual survey of France from the pre-revolution to the present.
  • HIST 4023 – Spain since 1469 (3) Political, economic and social development from the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella to the present.
  • HIST 4028 – The First World War (3) The First World War, 1914-1918, including controversies regarding its origin and aftermath.
  • HIST 4029 – Eastern Europe: 1700-1914 (3) Emphasis on the rise of nationalism in the 19th century.
  • HIST 4030 – Eastern Europe: 1914-Present (3) Emphasis on the independent nation-states after World War I, impact of totalitarianism and the current liberalization.
  • HIST 4032 – The Balkans: 1879-Present (3) Events leading up to and including World War I, problems of the inter-war period, World War II and rise and decline of Communism in Southeastern Europe.
  • HIST 4046 – 19th Century Britain (3) Emphasis on the acquisition of Empire, emergence of industrial society, and the rise of Victorianism between 1780 and 1900.
  • HIST 4047 – 20th Century Britain (3) Intellectual, political, social, and economic developments since 1900, including the experience of total war, construction of the welfare state, imperial decline and the significance of Thatcherism.
  • HIST 4048 – Modern Irish History: 1600-Present (3) Development of communities and conflicts in Ireland from the Tudors to the European community; emphasis on cultural, political and military affairs.
  • HIST 4049 – The British Empire and Commonwealth (3) British Empire and development of the British Commonwealth of Nations.
  • HIST 4112 – Modern European Intellectual History: the Enlightenment to 1850 (3) Modern thought in cultural, social, political contexts from Voltaire to Marx.
  • HIST 4113 – Modern European Intellectual History Since 1850 (3) European thought affecting society in the industrial age; realism, psychoanalysis, existentialism, the information explosion.
  • HIST 4130/MILS 4130 – World War II (3)Global crisis of the 1930s; Axis and Allied strategies; major military campaigns; great power diplomacy; life on the home-fronts; the Holocaust; espionage and resistance; the experience of combat; social, political and scientific consequences.
  • INTL 3994 – Study Abroad in Europe (1-6) May be repeated for up to 12 hours credit when topics vary.Studies in the history, culture, economics, politics or geography of Europe.
  • ITAL 3001 – Italian Culture and Civilization (3) Taught in English.Italian culture and civilization from the medieval era to present.
  • ITAL 3072 – Survey of Italian Literature (3) Prerequisite: ITAL 2155. Continuation of ITAL 3071. Principal authors and literary movements from the Renaissance to the present.
  • PHIL 3001 – Existentialism (3) Basic themes of existentialist philosophy; the works of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Jaspers, Heidegger, Camus, Marcel and Sartre.
  • PHIL 3003 – French Existentialism (3) Major themes, issues and theories of the French existentialist; existence, essence and the question of Being; death, nothingness and anxiety; freedom, responsibility and values; the ethical and the other; authors include Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone De Beauvoir, Maurice Merleau-Ponty; Albert Camus, Emmanuel Levinas, Jean Beaufret, Gabriel Marcel, Emmanuel Mounier.
  • PHIL 3090/GERM 3090 – Friedrich Nietzsche (3) Knowledge of German not required.Major works of Nietzsche studied in the context of the three periods of productivity and evolution of his thought.
  • PHIL 4003 – Contemporary French Philosophy (3) Major contemporary French philosophers, including Bergson, Sartre, Merleau-Ponty, De Beauvoir, Levinas, Derrida, Foucault, Nancy Ricoeur, Marion, Janicaud; themes such as the rethinking of ethics, the question of humanism and political thought; intellectual movements such as structuralism and post-structuralism, phenomenology, hermeutics and deconstruction, feminism and psychoanalysis.
  • PHIL 4939/REL 4939 – Kierkegaard (3) Study of his works, such as, Either/Or, The Sickness Unto Death, Fear and Trembling, Concluding Unscientific Postscript, Stages on Life’s Way and The Present Age.
  • POLI 4070 – Russian Politics and Government (3) Contemporary political institutions and policies of Russia; influence of internal forces, such as culture, ideology and social structure; political economic and social problems and policies.
  • POLI 4072 – Politics and Government of East Central Europe (3) Political systems of the former communist states of Eastern Europe; domestic institutions and policies; legacies of communism; political parties and elections.
  • POLI 4074 – Politics of the European Union (3) The political, social, legal and economic unification of Europe.
  • POLI 4075 – Politics of Western Europe (3) National political systems of Western Europe.
  • POLI 4076 – The Politics of France and Francophone Areas (3) The political development, institution and culture of the French Republic and selected Francophone areas.
  • SPAN 3073 – Advanced readings on Spanish Civilization (3) Prerequisite:SPAN 3010. Ethnological, geographical, historical, political, economic and sociological factors necessary for understanding Spanish culture.
  • SPAN 4063 – Spanish Literature from 1898 to 1936 (3) Prerequisite:SPAN 3071 or SPAN 3072. May be taken for a maximum of 6 hours of credit when topics vary. Literature in all genres from the early Modernists to the Avant Garde.
  • SPAN 4064 – Spanish Literature since 1936 (3) Prerequisite:SPAN 3071 or SPAN 3072. May be taken for a maximum of 6 hours of credit when topics vary. Literature in all genres since the Spanish Civil War.
  • SPAN 4201 – Cinema in Spanish (3) Prerequisite:consent of instructor. Screening and analysis of representative films from Spain and Latin America and their interrelations with literature.

Note: Course offerings will vary from semester to semester, and there are invariably new courses or special topics classes which are applicable to this concentration but do not appear on the list below.  A scheduling guide listing course offerings will be circulated before scheduling begins for each semester.  Also students who study abroad can ask to count courses taken abroad toward their concentration.  Generally any course focusing on modern Europe (since 1500) can be applied to the concentration

Study Abroad Options:

Study Abroad options for this concentration are too numerous to list. LSU offers semester and academic year exchange programs across the European continent.  Students are not limited to study in Italian, French, German, and English speaking nations.   Several European universities offer programs in English tailored to the needs of exchange students, allowing students to study in places like Denmark, Turkey, and Estonia as well as the large countries of France, the UK, Italy, and Germany.   LSU summer programs routinely visit Ireland, Britain, France, Spain, Germany, and Eastern Europe.  Please visit the Academic Programs Abroad for more information.

 

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