Center for West European Studies

Euromasters (Trans-Atlantic Track) 2012 Program Overview:

 

The Euromasters-Trans-Atlantic Track specialist module for 2011-2012 focuses on the policy-making process in North America and Europe by 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 one intensive session during Spring Quarter, comprised of four traditional academic classes, for a total of 18 UW credits. In addition, students on the Trans-Atlantic Track will participate in a series of extracurricular activities designed to complement their curriculum and maximize their experience in the Pacific Northwest. The 2011-2012 TAT module at the University of Washington will run March 26 – June 8.

 

 

The Suzzallo Library reading room
University of Washington

 

Spring Quarter session: March 26 – June 8, 2012

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, two additional courses selected from a menu of classes on US politics and society, plus one additional course related to the students' academic or professional field.

 

Core Course: United States and Europe in Comparative Perspective: “Comparative Institutionalism & the Advanced Democracies”
 

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. In addition, students will enroll in a class related to their academic fields of interest, chosen from the UW Spring Quarter class offerings list, in order to reach the required 18 credits required for completing the US specialist module. 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. 

 

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

 

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

 

 
 
Center for West European Studies
120 Thomson Hall
Box 353650
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-3650
(206) 543-1675 office
(206) 616-2462 fax
twitter.com/cweseuce
►cwes@uw.edu