Teaching the EU in NZ

ended

This proposed teaching Module simultaneously teaches three groups: 1. Campus EURA101 students studying at the University of Canterbury (UC), New Zealand (NZ) 2. STAR EURA101 Understanding the EU: advanced secondary school students 3. DISTANCE EURA101 Understanding the EU: extramural undergraduate students around NZ. EURA101 EUNZ is a compulsory course for students wishing to pursue a Major in European and European Union Studies at the UC. The course introduces students to the processes of EU integration, its wider consequences, and impact on our region. The EU is the world's wealthiest region, biggest development aid actor and NZ's 3rd largest trading partner with an EU-NZ Free Trade Agreement on the horizon. Yet, the EU is often misunderstood and even ignored in NZ, requiring a unique pedagogy and multi-faceted teaching approach. In response to this need, where possible, the course makes links between challenges facing Europe, and the EU, with New Zealand’s own multicultural, postcolonial society. There are a number of innovations introduced in this course. Firstly, students are exposed to European Studies in a locally relevant context. The University of Canterbury is the only institute in New Zealand which includes ‘biculturalism’ as a core competence of all graduates. This means acknowledging the impact of New Zealand’s founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi. The course will also include a fieldtrip to Tūhaitara Coastal Park, an area of Māori historical and cultural significance which is being restored to its original habitat by the local iwi (tribe), Ngai Tahu. Secondly, the tutors for the course will be new and emerging scholars in the field of EU studies and encouraged to work closely with the course lecurers, co-teaching where appropriate. Thirdly, the course content will adapt according to the changing nature of the EU, focussing on specific policies of relevance to the EU and include current research.