210154 SE EC: EU Institutions and Decision-Making (2023S)

Students are required to attend classes and come prepared (i.e., having done and thought a bit about the readings). In addition, there will be three types of assignments that together make up the final grade.

• First, students need to deliver a very short presentation, either summarizing key points of the text (in Part I) or making the case for one side of a key controversy (in Part II). The point is not to comprehensively summarize the reading; this is usually boring for most people involved. Rather, it is to identify key points of the reading and spin them further, for example by connecting them to other things you’ve read, real-world examples, or something you’ve seen in the news recently. For the presentations in Part 2 it is particularly important to actually make the case for whichever side of a controversy you were assigned to - a bit like in a debating class. 1 Presentations can be really short, perhaps 4 and not longer than 6 minutes per person. It’s more important that you independently think about the reading and about how to make it interesting for the class. For example, when we discuss whether the EU should have a common army, maybe you find a survey about what Europeans actually think about this topic. Students are required to kick off the discussion after their presentations. This can, for example, be a controversial claim or a discussion question (not too broad, not too specific). The presentation will make up 30% of your grade.

• Second, there is a short exam towards the end of the seminar that tests whether students remember key arguments from the readings and the sessions. The test ensures that students actually do the readings and pay attention in class. It will consist of around 15 short questions, most of them in multiple choice format. The test will take place in the first 10-15 minutes of our session in week 10 so you enough time over the break to go over slides and readings again. This will make up 20% of your grade.

• Lastly, you need to write a relatively short term paper, which will make up 50% of your grade. The term paper is actually a collection of two short papers of around 1000-1500 words each, held together by a short introduction. The two papers will focus on one key controversy of European integration (not necessarily one covered in the course). One paper is supposed to use the scientific (and policy) literature to make the case for one side of such a controversy (e.g. the Euro is good for Europe); the other paper is meant to take the opposing side on the same controversy. The idea is to encourage you to think as hard as you can about both sides of an issue, even if you have a personal preference. If you just make good arguments for your favored side, but bad ones for the ‘other side’, this will be reflected in your overall grade. The deadline for the term paper will be Sunday, Feb 19 2023.