European Studies
College of Liberal & Creative Arts
Dean: Paul Sherwin
European Studies Program
SCI 267
Phone: 415-338-2250
Director: Sarah Curtis
Faculty
Professors: Calderón, Christmas, Curtis, D'Agostino, Kovacs, Klironomos, Luft, Mann, Peel, Perret, Tsygankov, Vandergriff
Associate Professors: Clavier, Concolino, Hackenberg, Hammer, Hood, Khanmohamadi, Laden, Langbehn, Le Marchand, Millet, Nelsen, Rodriguez, Sowaal, Steier, von Wahl, Watts
Assistant Professors: Lisy-Wagner, Martin
Lecturer: Siskron
Program
Program Scope
The European Studies minor is a multidisciplinary program in European history, politics, and culture designed to provide undergraduate students with a broad understanding of European ideas and institutions over time. Europe is intrinsically connected to important concepts and historical developments such as revolution, religion, imperialism, capitalism, industrialization, individualism, democracy, communism, human rights, and welfare states. These concepts, formative for Western society, have had global significance as well. Though no longer dominant, Europe today remains a complex, fascinating, and vital region of the world, and one grappling with an array of fundamental political, socioeconomic, and cultural challenges, from enlarging the European Union to determining the future of the welfare state to integrating former colonial subjects into European societies as full citizens.
This minor allows students to engage critically in the examination of Europe past and present through courses in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. It is designed to accommodate a wide range of student interests in particular time periods and specific countries. It is especially recommended for students who wish to study abroad in one of SFSU’s exchange programs in Europe and for students considering careers in teaching, the arts, international politics, international business, and the foreign service. In an era of global interdependence, a minor in European Studies demonstrates interest in and knowledge of a region outside of the United States from a multidisciplinary perspective.
Minor in European Studies
The European Studies Minor consists of a core curriculum of 9 to 10 units which contain material and perspectives which reach across the normal disciplinary divisions of the university, plus 12 to 14 units of upper division courses taken from the following categories on advisement. A full list of approved electives is available from the European Studies director. The minor must include courses from at least three different disciplines (prefixes) and two colleges.
All courses are 3 units unless otherwise indicated. On-line course descriptions are available.
Core Courses
| Course | Title | Units |
|---|---|---|
| HIST 111 | Western Civilization II | 3 |
| HIST 346/ I R 346 |
Recent European History | 3 |
Units selected from the following: 3 - 4 units
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| HIST 348 | Modern European Intellectual and Cultural History |
| HUM 410 | The Modern Revolution |
| PLSI 352 | Political Theory: Reformation to Nineteenth Century (4) |
| PLSI 353 | Political Theory: Twentieth Century (4) |
| PHIL 303 | Modern Philosophy |
Total for core: 9 - 10 units
Electives
Under advisement, students are to select one course from Humanities and Literature, one course from Social Sciences, one course from Art History and the Performing Arts, and one course from any of the above areas. These selections may focus on Europe as a civilization (e.g., the formation of Europe, Europe in transition, and contemporary Europe), a section of Europe (e.g., Russia and Eastern Europe, Western Europe, the European community, etc.), or on European artistic and intellectual traditions. Elective courses are listed below.
Humanities and Literature (3 units)
Students may choose from appropriate electives in the following departments: Comparative and World Literature, English, French, German, Humanities, Italian, Jewish Studies, Modem Greek Studies, Philosophy, Russian, and Spanish.
Social Sciences (3 - 4 units)
Students may choose from appropriate electives in the following departments: History, International Business, International Relations, Jewish Studies, and Political Science.
Art History and the Performing Arts (3 units)
Students may choose from appropriate electives in the following departments: Art History, Cinema, Music, and Theater Arts.
Additional Elective (3 - 4 units)
Students may choose a fourth elective from any of the three areas (Humanities and Literature, Social Sciences, Art History and the Performing Arts) above.
Total for electives: 12 - 14 units
Total for minor: 21 - 24 units
Foreign Language Requirement
All students completing the European Studies Minor are required to demonstrate intermediate level competency in a language other than English, relevant to the area. This requirement may be met by completing the university entrance requirement of two years of high school language study, one year of successful college level language study, or demonstration of equivalent competency.
Study Abroad
Students completing the European Studies minor are strongly encouraged to participate in study-abroad programs. At the discretion of the European Studies director, courses taken in certified SF State Study-Abroad programs may be substituted for the minor requirements.
Elective Courses
Humanities and Literature (3 units)
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| CWL 415 | Literary Use of Legend (European variants) |
| CWL 420 | Studies in Comparative Literature (European variants) |
| CWL 421 | Celtic Literature |
| CWL 425 | Individual Authors (European variants) |
| ENG 501 | Age of Chaucer |
| ENG 504 | The Elizabethan Age |
| ENG 509 | Age of Humanism |
| ENG 510 | Age of Wit |
| ENG 512 | 18th-Century Women Writers |
| ENG 514 | Age of the Romantics |
| ENG 516 | Age of the Victorians |
| ENG 520 | Twentieth-Century British Literature |
| ENG 550 | The Rise of the Novel |
| ENG 552 | Modern British Novel |
| ENG 557 | Modern British Poetry |
| ENG 630 | Enlightenment and Revolution |
| FR 400 GW | French Culture - GWAR |
| FR 410 | Contemporary French Civilization |
| FR 450 | French/Francophone Literature, Linguistics, and/or Culture (metropolitan French variants) |
| FR 500 | Introduction to Literary Texts (in French) |
| FR 512 | Le Merveilleux (in French) |
| FR 525 | 17th and 18th Century French Theater (in French) |
| FR 535 | Les Philosophes (in French) |
| GER 401 | German Culture and Civilization I (in German) |
| GER 402 | German Culture and Civilization II (in German) |
| GER 502 | Contemporary Germany (in German) |
| GER 613 | The Weimar Republic and Its Principle of Discontent (in English) |
| GER 614 | Crisis and Quest or the Emergence of Modernism in German Literature (in English) |
| GER 617 | The Holocaust and Postwar Germany Taught in English |
| HIST 330/ HUM 403 |
The Early Middle Ages |
| HIST 331/ HUM 404 |
The High Middle Ages |
| HUM 375 | Biography of a City (Athens, Berlin, London, Paris, Rome, St. Petersburg, Vienna) |
| HUM 407 | Romanticism and Impressionism |
| HUM 410 | The Modern Revolution |
| HUM 415 | Contemporary Culture |
| HUM 432 | Nietzsche and Postmodernism |
| HUM 440 | Martin Heidegger |
| HUM 445/ JS 545/ GER 611/ PHIL 420 |
German-Jewish Ferment, 1920s-1950s |
| ITAL 401 | Italian Culture and Civilization |
| ITAL 510 | Italian Literature: Early Period (in Italian) |
| ITAL 511 | Italian Literature: Late Period (in Italian) |
| ITAL 525 | Literature of the Risorgimento (in Italian) |
| ITAL 550 | The Italian Theater (in Italian) |
| ITAL 560 | The Italian Novel (in Italian) |
| ITAL 570 | Italian Women Writers--l3th to 20th Centuries (in Italian) |
| ITAL 580 | Great Figures in Italian Literature (in Italian) |
| ITAL 581 | Divina Commedia (in Italian) |
| ITAL 600 | Italian Literature on Film (in English) |
| JS 437/ CWL 437 |
Holocaust and Literature |
| JS 480 | European Jewish Writers |
| MGS 315 | Modern Greek Folk Culture |
| MGS 426 | Kazantzakis |
| MGS 465/ CWL 465 |
Modern Greek Poetry in Comparative Perspective |
| MGS 497 | Modern Greek Literature |
| MGS 555 | Introduction to Modern Greek Literary Texts |
| PHIL 302 | Medieval Philosophy |
| PHIL 303 | Modern Philosophy |
| PHIL 365 | Science and Civilization |
| RUSS 401 | Russian Culture and Civilization (in English) |
| RUSS 511 | Survey of 19th-Century Russian Literature (in English) |
| RUSS 561 | Russian Short Story (in Russian) |
| RUSS 600 | Contemporary Russian Literature (in English) |
| RUSS 605 | Women’s Voices in Russian Literature (in English) |
| RUSS 610 | Dostoevsky (in English) |
| RUSS 611 | Chekhov’s Plays (in English) |
| RUSS 613 | The Russian Novel: Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol (in English) |
| RUSS 615 | The Russian Avant-Garde (in English) |
| SPAN 401 GW | Culture and Civilization of Spain - GWAR |
| SPAN 562 | Cervantes: The Quijote |
| SPAN 595 | Survey in Spanish Literature |
Social Sciences (3 - 4 units)
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| HIST 317/ JS 317 |
The Holocaust and Genocide |
| HIST 330/ HUM 403 |
The Early Middle Ages |
| HIST 331/ HUM 404 |
The Late Middle Ages |
| HIST 334 | The Renaissance |
| HIST 336 | The Reformation |
| HIST 338 | The Age of Louis XIV |
| HIST 340 | Europe during the Old Regime 1715-1789 |
| HIST 342 | Europe and the French Revolution |
| HIST 344 | Nineteenth Century Europe |
| HIST 347 | Women in Modern Europe |
| HIST 385 | The Russian Revolution |
| HIST 386 | Soviet Russia, the West, and the Cold War |
| HIST 389 | European International History: 1848-1918 |
| HIST 390 | European International History: 1918 to 1945 |
| HIST 400 | Modern European Imperialism |
| IBUS 593 | European Business |
| I R 327 | Europe: Forming a More Perfect Union (4) |
| I R 328/ PLSI 328 |
Domestic and Foreign Policy: Post-Communist Regions (4) |
| JS 632 | Jewish History I |
| JS 633 | Jewish History II |
| MGS 316 | Culture of Contemporary Greece |
| MGS 350 | Greece and the Balkans |
| MGS 510 | The Byzantine Empire |
| PLSI 352 | Political Theory: Reformation to Nineteenth Century (4) |
| PLSI 353 | Political Theory: Twentieth Century (4) |
| PLSI 407 | Politics of Russia (4) |
| PLSI 414 | Western European Politics |
Art History and the Performing Arts (3 units)
| Course | Title |
|---|---|
| ART 201 | Western Art History I |
| ART 202 | Western Art History II |
| ART 405/ HUM 405 |
Art, Literature, and Power in the Renaissance |
| ART 406 | Renaissance Art |
| ART 408 | Baroque and Rococo Art |
| ART 501 | Western Art: Special Areas (European variants) |
| CINE 401 | National/Regional Cinemas (European variants) |
| JS 405/ CINE 305 |
Film and the Holocaust |
| MUS 550 | Music from the Middle Ages to 1750 |
| MUS 551 | Classic and Romantic Music |
| TH A 401 | Theatre Backgrounds: 500 B.C.-1642 |
| TH A 402 | Theatre Backgrounds: 1642-1900 |
| TH A 534/ JS 534 |
Performing Yiddish Theater |
