The History of Belonging and Coexistence in Modern Europe

6 credits · Undergraduate

Once again, Europeans are questioning the limits of coexistence. Recently we have watched a refugee crisis unfold and in the process have reopened discussions regarding who “belongs” in Europe. This course approaches these vexing question from a unique historical perspective, that of coexistence and otherness in both the “old” and “new” Europe. Specifically our laboratory includes Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. We will utilize five case studies (the Jews of Europe; the Roma of Northern Bohemia; the Vietnamese in Prague, the Turkish in Germany and recent refugees across the EU) to better understand how ideas of “Europe” and “Europeaness” changed over the past century.