Teaching the EU

Fostering Knowledge and Understanding in the Brexit Age

Anna Visvizi, Mark Field, Marta Pachocka, Anna Visvizi, Mark Field, Marta Pachocka

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781800432765
• Topic: Pedagogía
• Subtopic: Educación superior

Against the backdrop of disintegrative tendencies in the EU, where Brexit perhaps most profoundly captures the spirit of current developments in the EU, this book offers a detailed understanding of the key issues, challenges, and opportunities that educators across Europe and beyond encounter on a daily basis when teaching EU-related course content at higher education institutions.
Written by a team of international academics and practitioners engaged with teaching, researching, and explaining European integration to successive generations of students, this edited collection showcases expert voices on the issues and developments central in the debate on how to teach the EU efficiently today. Using a wide variety of case studies, the chapters examine how novel approaches to teaching and learning, and especially technology-enhanced tools and methods, can lead to better teaching and learning outcomes in the Brexit age. A cutting-edge collection of insights from experts teaching and researching the EU, this book will serve as a timely resource for educators, researchers, administrators, and decision-makers.

Part 1

Why Bother? Higher Values and the Universal Cause in Teaching the EU

Chapter 1

What Is at Stake in Teaching the EU in Times of Brexit? An Introduction

Anna Visvizi, Mark Field and Marta Pachocka

Abstract

“Teaching the European Union” is a term as elusive as the notions of “EU Studies” or “European Studies,” both discussed and debated by generations of scholars and practitioners. The case of the EU, and of the art of teaching EU-related content, is one of the most striking examples, where the emphasis on values and principles cannot be passed by indifferently. What is being taught and how it is being taught have a direct impact on the trajectory of the European integration process today and in the years to come. The objective of this introductory chapter is to offer a brief insight into the book’s context and the book’s relevance. Against this backdrop this volume’s content is outlined. A few points for the readers to consider follow.

Tempting as it might be, we cannot afford to sacrifice critical political analysis, and with it the very possibility of progressive social and political change, on the altar of the respect for difference. (Hay, 2002, p. 250)

1. Introduction

“Teaching the European Union” is a term as elusive as the notions of “EU Studies” or “European Studies,” both discussed and debated by generations of scholars and practitioners (Bigo, Diez, Fanoulis, Rosamond, & Stivachtis, 2021; Rosamond, 2016). As the process of European integration continues, even if at multispeed, so has the question of what teaching the European Union (EU) should entail, and how to teach EU-related content. As the variable geometry inherent in the European integration process sends tremors across the EU, today, the debate is as salient as ever. In other words, beyond the n=1 paradigm, what content to include in teaching the EU, which disciplinary boundaries to apply, which timeframes to adhere to, which principles to elaborate on must be considered. Moreover, and perhaps most importantly, we should determine/consider how to elaborate on these issues, from which perspectives and in which manner.

In times defined by events as groundbreaking as Brexit, as recurrent attempts to curb-free trade, events as puzzling as politicians openly questioning the results of democratically held elections, in times of uncertainty stirred by the Covid-19 pandemic, the key question is if educators, and so higher education institutions (HEIs), can “remain indifferent to the difference” (Hay, 2002, p. 250) specific sets of values and principles make for the society and its development and growth. What applies for critical political analysis, as above, applies also in the context of education.

The case of the EU, and of the art of teaching EU-related content, is one of the most striking examples, where the emphasis on values and principles cannot be passed by indifferently. What is being taught and how it is being taught have a direct impact on the trajectory of the European integration process today and in the years to come. The objective of this introductory chapter is to offer a brief insight into the book’s context and the book’s relevance. Against this backdrop this volume’s content is outlined. A few points for the readers to consider follow.

2. The Context and the Book’s Relevance

The EU is a peace project. Notably, it is a peace project entrenched in the liberal democratic set of social and political values and norms, and their economic policy implications. This has been reflected, implicitly and explicitly, already in the Treaty of Rome and its subsequent amendments (cf. Schweiger & Magone, 2014; Warlouzet, 2019). The origins of the EU are rooted in the tragic and dramatic experiences of war and suffering that several generations of today’s member-states went through (Visvizi, Matysek-Jędrych, & Mroczek-Dąbrowska, 2020). The traumas of war, instability, historical injustice, deprivation, and loss are ingrained in the fabric of the common memory of the EU citizens. Nevertheless, the EU is also a success story of more than six decades of deliberation, collaboration, and forward thinking of men and women involved in the process. This is an issue worth highlighting and exploring in depth (Bua & Escobar, 2018; Fumagalli, 2019; Pernaa, 2017). But there is more to that. The case of the Economic and Monetary Union, the enlargement policy, or say, the Erasmus+ program and its predecessors, are three instances of tangible evidence that attest to the EU success story. However, this narrative of success and achievement is contested.

Indeed, especially the cases of the euro area, and of the enlargement policy, have been subjected to bitter and harsh criticisms, thus fueling Euroscepticism, and, at times, altering voters’ sentiments and the results of elections (cf. Molnár & Urbanovics, 2020; Mora-Cantallops, Sánchez-Alonso, & Visvizi, 2019; Visvizi, 2018). In all those instances, particular and vested interests are at stake. In itself, the realization that successive governments of the EU member-states are unwilling to shy away from the practice of using the EU as a resource of domestic political competition, opens a rich field of research and teaching ideas (cf. Field, 2019; Visvizi, 2013).

This volume stems from the recognition that if the citizens, and so the voters, are well-informed, equipped with basic knowledge and understanding of what the EU is, the less prone they are to manipulation and politicking. It is thus imperative that teaching EU-related content is not based on spoon-feeding, but rather that it seeks to turn students into self-learners (cf. Al-Murtadha, 2020; Daniela, Visvizi, & Lytras, 2018; Heard Laureote, Bortun, & Kreuschitz, 2019; Pachocka, Proczek, & Osuch-Rak, 2020). It is crucial that students are guided to understand what the EU is, what is does, and why it does what is does. It is paramount that students are equipped with basic skills to reflect critically on the content of the popular media/political discourse. It is equally important that they are familiarized with the very practical knowledge of tools and opportunities, the single market creates for the students as future professionals. This may include issues as “simple” as the understanding of the public consultation procedure (Chalmers, 2014) through the ability to write a good grant application.

Accordingly, the key message that this book conveys is that teaching the EU ought to be more than an examination of the EU’s history, institutions, policies, etc. (cf. Rosamond, 2015). Teaching the EU requires that the faculty recreates the reality in the classroom to an extent that an "aha!" moment is created (cf. Kgomotsego & Washington, 2018; Moore & Lewis, 2012; Nieto, 2013). That is, that the students grasp not only the essence of the mechanisms intrinsic to European integration but also their own agential role in the shaping of these mechanisms. In this context, it is paramount that the students recognize the value of economic and political integration, collaboration, and civic engagement. In brief, in times when democracy and liberal socioeconomic order are tested and contested, and the European success story is undermined, teaching the EU should be all about making students able to understand the relevance of the EU, and the degree of their own civic responsibility. The case of Brexit adds yet another twist to the discussion.

3. Brexit and Teaching the EU

While the tangible effects of the UK 2016 decision to withdraw from the EU are evident in complex but discrete and legally defined areas such as trade, free movement and fisheries policy, the broader implications for the European integration process are less clearly circumscribed (cf. Rosamond, 2020). It seems reasonable to assume that Brexit represents a rupture of sorts, but this seems to create more questions than answers (Courtois & Veiga, 2020; Dodourova, Clarkin, & Lenkei, 2020; Luo, 2017; O’Mahony, 2020). Does this rupture simply represent a perhaps temporary slowing of the trajectory of European integration? Or does it reflect something more profound: a challenge to the intersubjective way EU citizens think about or acknowledge the inevitability of the finalité politique?

While it seems clear that the debates around the meaning of Brexit will engage scholars for years to come, we are still trying to determine – individually, and as a discipline – the extent to which Brexit should affect the teaching of the EU. For some disciplines, this work is well underway (see e.g., MacLennan, 2020, for the teaching of EU law; Woodward & Veal, 2019, for the teaching of Brexit to business students). As an interdisciplinary subject, however, approaches to the teaching of EU-related content are varied and manifold. It follows that the extent to which Brexit should be factored into the content and/or the normative values underpinning our teaching, will also vary. The chapters included in this book reflect this diversity of approach and, it is hoped, will make a useful contribution to this important and unfolding debate.

4. About the Book, and the Conceptual Framework it Adopts

This volume does not engage itself with questions of disciplinary boundaries of EU studies. Rather, it seeks to answer the question of how to enhance teaching and learning excellence on EU-related issues in times of Brexit. In this case, Brexit is treated as a symbolic development mirroring our societies’, and so the voters’, confusion as to what the EU is and what it is for; their limited ability to assess the media coverage critically, and an overall ignorance of the scale of success that can be attributed to the European integration project.

This volume builds on the recognition that generational changes play a role in our societies’ attitudes toward European integration, with the younger generation being generally oblivious of the horrors of war and communism. This makes the younger generation dangerously ill-informed when it comes to assessing, understanding, and appreciating the status quo that has been worked out in Europe since the end of the WWII and following the collapse of communism. The Editors of this volume recognize as well that in times of increased social media presence, in times where all individuals can act as editors of media content, the question of citizens’ attitudes toward the EU is also a matter of (strategic) communication on the part of the EU itself. This being a two-way street, it requires informed citizens.

This volume builds on the positive recognition that by promoting teaching and learning excellence with regard to EU-related content, our students can acquire a sense of sensitivity as far as the EU and its role in our lives is concerned. Advances in information and communication technology (ICT) offer a new set of tools and enable novel, blended approaches to teaching and learning. In this view, the plea to promote teaching and learning excellence has never been timelier and more promising. Accordingly, this book examines in which ways ICT-enhanced approaches to teaching and learning EU-related content yield positive results in the form of greater student engagement, enhanced acquisition of knowledge and understanding of EU-related matters as well as development of skills necessary to reap the diverse benefits of European integration process.

The chapters comprising this volume make a case for a multifaceted ICT conscious, comprehensive, and integrated approach to teaching and learning EU-related content across the curriculum. Comparative insights from across Europe place the challenge of teaching and learning excellence in the center of the discussion in this volume. As a result, this volume serves as a guide into best practices in the field of teaching and learning EU. In certain ways, it also serves as a primer for all those willing to understand how to design a course, how to employ technology-enhanced approaches in the teaching and learning process, and how to deliver the learning outcomes effectively and sustainably.

By engaging in interdisciplinary, concept-driven and case study-led conversation, the contributing authors, all of them practicing lecturers and researchers, this volume offers an insight into the specificity of teaching EU across the European Union, it gives an overview of the key challenges educators across the EU face in this respect, and showcases how technology-enhanced tools and approaches add value to the teaching and learning experience. By so doing, this volume provides also intrinsic knowledge of the developments related to the EU, teaching, learning, and ICT. As a result, this volume is bound to serve not only as the first source of reference in the debate of teaching and learning the EU, but also a one-stop-shop for all those who seek to make sense of the value added of ICT in education.

5. Review of the Chapters’ Content

The discussion in this volume is organized in three parts and 13 chapters. Part 1 (Chapters 1–3) titled “Why Bother? Higher Values and the Universal Cause in Teaching the EU,” addresses the question of values and principles in teaching EU-related content. Accordingly, this part of the volume dwells on questions of engaged and responsible citizenship, and the exercise of rights and duties. The focus of the discussion is directed at the notion of equipping students with skills and worldviews conducive the development of skills and attitudes today’s students need to exercise their rights and duties as citizens, while at the same time taking the opportunity the EU creates.

The chapters included in Part 2 of the volume (Chapters 4–8) titled “Innovation in Teaching and Learning the EU in HEI in Times of Brexit,” deal with the question of how novel and ICT-enhanced ways of course content delivery may improve the ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Part 1  Why Bother? Higher Values and the Universal Cause in Teaching the EU
• Part 2  Innovation in Teaching and Learning the EU in HEI in Times of Brexit
• Part 3  Country and Regional Dimensions of Teaching the EU: Issues and Implications
• Index