Inter-institutional Online Module on the EU’s Global Presence

ongoing

The purpose of the proposed module is to develop a graduate-level curriculum of three different modules that focuses on contemporary Europe and looks at it primarily through the disciplinary lenses of international relations and political science. To this end, the proposed modules build on a unique pool of research and pedagogical expertise that has developed in the field of EU studies and international relations on the European continent at the Open University, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and the University of Piraeus, in order to achieve synergistic combination. The modules, titled: EU’s Global Presence, Approaches and Methods in EU Studies, and EU’s Diplomacy will be largely online, for greater accessibility for Israeli students among different institutions, including outstanding high school pupils. The modules will offer an in-depth extensive and comprehensive introduction of the EU’s international presence, as well as a comprehensive review of the main theoretical approaches to the EU’s international actorness. The modules will each include four components: 10 pre-recorded lecturers, given by top European Studies scholars; a digital reader which will include seminal papers on the relevant subjects; a digital pedagogical apparatus that will tie together the lectures and the reader; The fourth components will be synchronous online class sessions for the students to ask clarifying questions, discuss the study materials, and apply what they learned to real-world developments in the EU’s international relations. In addition, each module will include an open online public event with the active participation of academics and policymakers, to make the themes of the modules accessible to a wider audience. By bringing together leading experts from Israel and Europe, to develop an online program, the module will offer a comprehensive introduction to the EU’s global presence that is both academically excellent and accessible to all sectors in Israeli society.