Center for West European Studies
Euromasters (Trans-Atlantic Track) 2010 Program Overview:
In 2009-2010 the University of Washington will offer a new specialist module for students on the Euromasters-Trans-Atlantic Track program. The specialist module focuses on the policy-making process in North America and Europe, using contemporary policy challenges as a starting point to help students develop a more sophisticated ability to analyze and understand the similarities and differences in our respective societies. The module consists of two sessions: a Spring Quarter session consisting of three traditional academic classes, followed by an intensive five-week Summer Quarter session combining classroom learning with field research and site visits. The 2010 TAT module at the University of Washington runs from March 29 – July 23.
The Suzzallo Library reading room
University of Washington
Spring Quarter session: March 29 – June 11, 2010
The ten-week Spring Quarter session is designed to provide the academic foundations for the Trans-Atlantic Track specialist module at the University of Washington. The session consists of a comparative Europe-US Core Course and two additional courses selected from a menu of classes on US politics and society.
Core Course: United States and Europe in Comparative Perspective
The core course of the module, to be taught by Professor Steve Pfaff (UW Sociology), will focus on how U.S. and European institutional structures and political cultures have developed historically, the similarities and differences in their corresponding socioeconomic systems, and the extent to
which different policy outcomes in their respective polities can be explained by variance in these factors. Specific issues covered include the
historical absence of a strong socialist movement in the US, the seeming greater religiosity of American society, differences in cultures of civic engagement, and the stronger tendency for European societies to rely on state-centered social welfare mechanisms. The question of 'American Exceptionalism' will be addressed, as well as the extent to which it is possible to characterize distinctive and coherent American and European social models.
University of Washington's campus
The second part of the core course seeks to provide students with the intellectual tools for a sophisticated analysis of contemporary policy issues in comparative perspective. The course surveys recent approaches in comparative social sciences (e.g., comparative-historical analysis, historical institutionalism, path-dependency), and reviews some of the common methodological difficulties and intellectual pitfalls encountered in the comparative study of the United States and Europe. In addition, the course will provide analytical reviews of recent contested policy arenas. Specific examples might vary each year but could include the GMO debate, environmental standards, religious freedom, abortion, the death penalty, immigration policies, or the function of volunteerism in civil society. Trans-Atlantic Track students will come away from the course better able to interpret and evaluate the growing academic literature offering comparative trans-Atlantic analysis, as well as the increasingly common and prominent analytical formulations of U.S. and European politicians and pundits.
Cherry blossom at the Quad, University of Washington
Menu Courses:
In addition to the Core Course, students enrolled in the Trans-Atlantic Track module are expected to take two additional classes drawn from a menu of course offerings on contemporary US politics and society. Many of these courses are offered in the Political Science, Public Affairs, and International Studies programs. Course topics include American foreign policy, US domestic policy-making and constitutional and governmental structures. Specific course offerings will be announced approximately two months before the start of the module, with students being able to select and enroll in their courses before their arrival in Seattle.
Summer Quarter session (June 21 – July 23):
The five-week Summer Quarter session of the TAT module integrates the academic study of North American and European policy-making with real-life exposure to contemporary policy challenges. The session is built around an intensive course (meets daily) focusing on contemporary policy challenges being faced on both sides of the Atlantic including environmental degradation and sustainability, resource management, regional development and economic competitiveness in the global economy, border and port security in a ‘borderless’ world, and immigration and identity in developed countries. The course features guest lectures by local policy practitioners working in these areas. TAT students will also participate in a complementing series of site visits to Pacific Northwest organizations or institutions involved in or affected by the policy-making processes covered in the course curriculum. A typical schedule for site visits includes a visit to Washington State’s capital, a tour of the Boeing factory, a site visit at Costco's headquarters, and a meeting with US Rep. Jim McDermott. The direct exposure to policy makers and organizations has an additional goal of providing students with an opportunity to learn about possible policy career options when they leave the Trans-Atlantic Track program.
Program Logistics and Arrival:
The TAT module at the University of Washington is organized by the Center for West European Studies at the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. The center has hosted the TAT module for over ten years and is highly regarded for the efficient management of its student programs. The center organizes housing for visiting Euromasters students, and also assists them with UW administrative and US visa procedures required in order to study in Seattle. Students are normally housed in single-room apartments on the UW campus. Housing and visa costs are not included in Euromasters program fees. Students are also eligible to purchase a discounted transit pass, which gives them unlimited use of public buses in the greater Seattle area during their stay.
University of Washington:
The University of Washington is the largest and most highly regarded research university in the Pacific Northwest. It is considered a ‘Public Ivy”, and routinely ranks as one of the twenty best research universities in the world. The UW has an exceptional record of cutting-edge research, receiving the second most federal research funds of any university in the country, and featuring six Nobel Prize laureates on its faculty. It also offers students access to one of the best campus libraries in the nation. The University of Washington also has a wonderful manicured campus, and the Spring and Summer Quarters are the perfect time to enjoy the beauty of our campus and the mild pleasant weather of the region.
Seattle and the Pacific Northwest:
Seattle itself is considered to be on of America’s most livable cities, enjoying a cosmopolitan lifestyle in a stunning natural setting. It is also America’s most educated and literate city, famous for its bookstores, cafes, and music scene, as well as its high-technology industries such as aerospace (Boeing), software (Microsoft), and the Internet (Amazon.com). Seattle lets students combine studying with a range of urban and outdoor activities. Hiking, kayaking, canoeing and skiing are all close by activities and popular with locals. And if you are not much of an outdoors person, the selection of museums and live music venues in the city will keep you busy.
Seattle's skyline with Mt. Rainier in the background
Students will have at least a ten-day break (June 11-21) after Spring Quarter exams and before the start of the Summer Quarter session. The long summer days offer an excellent chance for exploring the Pacific Northwest region. Seattle is within close driving distance to the rugged beauty of three US National Parks (Mt. Rainier, Olympic, North Cascades). The Olympic National Park features a temperate rain forest (there are only three such forests in the world) where the average rainfall is 12 feet per year. Seattle is also close to the urban charms of Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada), and a short flight way from San Francisco, California.
For application instructions, please click here.
For detailed information please contact Mark Di Virgilio at:
University of Washington
Jackson School of International Studies
European Union Center of Excellence
Center for West European Studies
120 Thomson Hall
Box 353650
Seattle WA, 98195-3650
euc@u.washington.edu
Tel: + (206) 616-2415
Fax: + (206) 616-2462
