Does anyone know of any programs dealing with the sociology, politics, history and/or economics of Europe, preferably(but not exclusively) from UK universites? I only found a Masters in European Social Policy from the Open University, and I think there are a couple of LLMs dealing with EU Law. It seems strange that a region that is posed to be one of the key players in global politics and international economics for many decades to come has attracted so little attention from universities with DL programs. The same can be said of the US(I opened a different thread for this). Perhaps there are programs, but they are either too new or with very little publicity/advertising. I appreciate your comments joi
Sheffield Hallam University has the MA in History: Imperialism and Culture. I took two modules and enjoyed them very much. I might go back at a later date and complete the program. It looks at Imperialism and Culture primarily from a British perspective, but not exclusively. There is one module that is available on the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia. There is discussion of European Imperialism in the middle east, a la Edward Said's viewpoints. clint
Hi decimon. I don't think that the fact that European countries might or might not think of their neighbours as unworthy of study is tthe eason for the dearth of programs in this field. There are several excellent residential programmes in European Studies, European Public Policy, European History, European Politics, and the like. I think that universities don't see much market for a DL program. University of Wales Lampeter has a MA in European Philosophy, which seems quite interesting but falls out of my scope for the moment. cdhale, the program you mentioned seems quite interesting. I took the time to review it already. If British history is your field of study, try the University of Wales, Lampeter Masters in History, with a British focus. This is their website: http://www.lamp.ac.uk/history/dl.htm I am trying to find a program in European Studies more focused on Politics, Public Policy and Economics. It seems to me that such a program doesn't exist yet.
I should have put a after that comment as I was just half serious. Europe is blessed (or cursed) with a rich enough written and archeologically accessible history to make individual nations worthy of individual study.
I suspected you were joking, but didn't want to be disrespectful. I agree with you, Europe seems to me a gigantic museum. I prefer the Amercican free-market system, though Regards, joi
University of Ulster offers a Masters in Irish Cultural Heritage. http://campusone.ulster.ac.uk/course_details.cgi/23 Not certain if this is even close to that which you seek, but I would like someone else from degreeinfo to be in the programme with me.
Of the University of Strathclyde's MLitt in Cultural Studies, the website notes, It seems that it's focused on British culture, but the comparative aspect of it may give one more flexibility in this. Matt
Sheffield Hallam University I completed the MA History; Imperialism and Culture last year. It was a two year programme with four courses and a dissertation. As was pointed out by a previous reply there are courses that are not necessarily Anglocentric. The dissertation is also an opportunity to step outside the British perspective. I have also considered the M Litt from Strathclyde and not merely from the perspective of the fancy letters after my name. There is another good reason for enrolment into these programmes and that is the course fees. When I did Imperialism and Culture it cost less than $5000 American. Roy Maybery
According to the British Council website, St. Andrew's offers a MLitt in Central and East European Studies through DL. I checked St. Andrew's website and the program indeed exists, but doesn't mention DL. The program deals with Russia, the Soviet Union and the East European countries. It seems very interesting and St. Andrew's is among the top universities in the UK. I liked the University of Ulster program, and it's quite affordable too. As for Troy, I had already checked its program, but is is more IR focused. You can, however, take courses such as "Germany in International Affairs, France in International Affairs",etc. I'll try to see the Strathclyde program today. Thanks to all for posting. joi
I think that there are at least three main issues at work here. The first is money the second is language and the third is money. In order to create a graduate level DL program in anything there has to be sufficient demand (over an extended period of time) to support such a program. My age old lament has been, "Why are there not more DL Philosophy programs?" The answer? No one wants to learn Philosophy! Joi - you go out into the DL academic world and ask, "What about American Studies," "What about European Studies," etc. Why don't these programs exist? I'll tell you why. Everyone is too busy earning their DL MBA!!! (after all, Jonathan Liu has demonstrated that there are over 180 DL MBA programs available to all.) Not enough people are willing to pay for such degrees. The universities would be delighted to produce such degree programs if there was sufficient demand. It's just not there. These degrees don't exist because (the perception is that) the demand does not exist. Perhaps you would be willing to locate the existing B&M degree programs in the areas you've mentioned and write to the Department Heads and tell them that there are people out here who would like to study within such (DL) programs if they existed. Do you think that there's a Dept. Head on the planet that wouldn't like to have there Department become a money-make, to become bigger, better? Disappointed that DL doesn't extend farther? Welcome to the club. Jack (Oh, yeah. Sometimes there's a language barrier too.)
Jack, I do agree wwith you to a certain extent. However, I think most departments, even those offring DL degrees, are not conducting good marketing strategies. Using the philosophy programs you mentioned as an example, a university such as Wales Lampeter offers almost all their programs through DL, including a MA in Nature and another in European Philosophy. In contrast,there is not a single Masters in European Studies I think that just the post available in International Organisations and NGOs merit such a program. I personally think that philosophy is a very respectable field, and I have considered completing the BA available through UoL External Programe in the future. However, as for market size, I refuse to believe that the number of potential students for philosophy is greater than that for European Studies, or American Studies for that matter. Another example is Ulster's Masters in Irish Cultural Heritage. Do you really think this Masters degree has a higher business potential than a masters dealing with the politics and economics of the European Union? A possible explanation could be that certain departments, even with little resources, are much more entrepeneurial than their better funded counterparts. This may explain why we can find several masters in very speciallized fields (Celtic Christianity, Imperialism and Culture, Hindic Experience, Classics, just to mention a few at lampeter) or even and virtually none of the ones I opened threads on. Another marketing issue is advertising. If a person does not have the latest copy of BG, he/she may miss several interesting opportunities. For instance, somebody in this thread mentioned a MLitt from Strathclyde. When I conducted a Google search, a MS in Operational Research from the same university appeared. The MSc. in Economic Policy and Management offered by the same Business School did not. Many institutions do not even have a specific DL link to their studies. So, IMHO, it is not just a matter of money, it is a matter of entrepeneurial spirit, focus and leadership.. Just see what has hapenned at a national level in some developed nations and in the Newly Industralialised Countries(NIC). Japan,Hong Kong, Singapur and Taiwan are little more than tiny pieces of land. How can they be much more developed than Brazil? Sometimes, greater natural and financial resources can be a liabity, not an asset. This may be happening to several well-established departments who just feel content with their current situation or even do not see that DL, particularly online programs, are the trend of the future. joi
Re: Strathclyde Thanks, Roy! It was only after you posted this that I scrolled up and realized that I'd "spaced" on including the link! Matt
I found the kind of program I was talking about!!!! It's offered by Robert Gordon University in the UK. It's a MSc. in European Policy, Law and Management. For basic course info: http://campus.rgu.com/RGCatalog/coursedisplay_catalogue.cfm?CATID=56&subject=Law&CFID=622373&CFTOKEN=36681355 For more detailed course info: http://www.rgu.ac.uk/prospectus/disp_pgProspectusEntry.cfm?CourseID=MSPAEP&year=2003 It costs GBP 7900 for overseas students, not exactly a bargain. I found the structure and sillabii very interesting. Joi
