European studies is a field of study offered by many academic colleges and universities that focuses on current developments in European integration.
Some programmes offer a social science or public administration curriculum focusing on developments in the European Union. These programmes usually include a combination of political science, EU public policy, European history, European law, economics and sociology. Other universities approach the subject in a broader manner, including topics like European culture, European literature and European languages. While all programmes focus on the study of the European Union, they often cover national topics (in a comparative perspective) as well.
The subject combines humanities and social sciences. Disciplines that are involved in European studies include:
- Anthropology
- Cultural studies
- Economics
- European languages
- Geography
- History
- International relations
- Law
- Linguistics
- Literature
- Philosophy
- Psychology
- Political science
- Public administration
- Sociology
While European studies departments are obviously more common in Europe than elsewhere, there are departments dedicated to its study further afield, including in North America, Asia and Australasia.
Famous quotes containing the words european and/or studies:
“European society has always been divided into classes in a way that American society never has been. A European writer considers himself to be part of an old and honorable tradition—of intellectual activity, of letters—and his choice of a vocation does not cause him any uneasy wonder as to whether or not it will cost him all his friends. But this tradition does not exist in America.”
—James Baldwin (1924–1987)
“Even if one studies to an old age, one will never finish learning.”
—Chinese proverb.