NS4021 Europe and the United States

A historical-political advanced seminar on the evolution of U.S. policy towards Europe from the end of the 19th century until the present; the character of anti-European ideas in U.S. political and strategic culture; the role of leading personalities in the formulation of U.S. policy towards Europe in the critical periods of the twentieth century; the character of anti-U.S. sentiment in continental Europe; U.S. alliance cohesion and cultural diplomacy in continental Europe. The seminar analyzes readings in common and requires a larger independent research project. Prerequisites: None.

Lecture Hours

4

Lab Hours

0

Course Learning Outcomes

• Critical analysis of the leading themes of anti-Americanism in their political, social and cultural dimensions in continental European society in the past and present.
• Synthetic understanding of the layers of meaning that operate in perceptions, assumptions, stereotypes, and even disinformation of, in, and about the west today.
• Historically informed insights into how anti-Americanism and anti-European sentiment manifest in security policy in the Atlantic sphere.
• Creative engagement—and, where appropriate, debunking—of malevolent propaganda based on the well-honed trans-Atlantic misperceptions.
• Considered evaluation of the historical discipline and its possible relevance to the formation of policy, as well as the limitations or virtues of this scholarly discipline for the maker of policy.