Field Trip in International Exchange Studies A

1Grade

2.00Credits

Have work experience

semester not specified

OSVATH TAMAS LASZLO

English (keywords of the course materials are going to be translated into Japanese)

Togane Campus

The main aim of the ‘International Exchange Study-abroad Program A - Traveling to the European Union’ is to give a broad overview of Europe and Europeanism geographically focusing on the most developed areas of Europe. Although only virtually can be done the course would like to recall the experiences of a study tour.

The course offers rather broad and synthetic knowledge about the western side of Europe but less in-depth analyses. Thus, a lot of different issues are going to be discussed, like the geographical location, the natural beauties, and concerns, the people’s attitude, the base and technics of supranational cooperation, the settlements, the cultural heritage, the religion, the languages, etc. The different topics are built up from the historical processes which help to understand the current situations and challenges of the future. The regular comparison with Japan and East Asia offers an opportunity to discover the possibilities and challenges in the bridge-building between these further cultures in the lessons.

Lectures are regularly interrupted by student activities and group works. A lot of maps, charts, and images help the understanding during the lessons.

Naturally, during a travel (even if it is only virtual) interesting things, natural and cultural beauties, impressive buildings and monuments, good tastes, and music are hunted. So will be this on the course.

Students on the course are invited to find similarities or contrasts in their own cultural background and to look for their position compared to the European people.  Knowing and understanding other cultures better fosters people also know and understand themselves better and this would be the ultimate goal of this course.

Defining and understanding Europe
What is Europe? Is it really a continent or only a peninsula of Asia? If the main character is heterogeneity how to talk about “Europeans”? Is there any and what is the common ground between European people?  What is the difference between the Americans (in the USA) and the Europeans?

Preview (online work): Preliminary materials uploaded for students: PowerPoint file (look through for English words), topography (learning), text (reading), music link (listening)

Review (online work): topography (practicing), PPT and own notes (learning), text content (learning), video link (watching and understanding)

Natural landscapes
Although in most peoples’ minds Europe is a part of the ‘Western World’ the real geographical distinguishing feature is more the northernness, not the western position. It seems European civilization is situated extremely close to the Pole. How could it be?  

Preview (online work): Preliminary materials uploaded for students: PowerPoint file (look through for English words), topography (learning), text (reading), music link (listening)

Review (online work): topography (practicing), PPT and own notes (learning), text content (learning), video link (watching and understanding)

Political fundaments
How could some little European countries which continuously have a war with each other become a world political and economic superpower next to bigger Asian Empires?  What was the way to this? What is the heritage of this?

Preview (online work): Preliminary materials uploaded for students: PowerPoint file (look through for English words), topography (learning), text (reading), music link (listening)

Review (online work): topography (practicing), PPT and own notes (learning), text content (learning), video link (watching and understanding)

The European Union
‘An economic giant, political dwarf and military worm’ is a well-known short description of the EU. Only a couple of years after World War 2 the biggest enemies together founded the most successful international regional integration. The EU, the second-biggest economy and market in the world is based on national reconciliation. What is this unique construction? Which are its achievements? How does it work?  

Preview (online work): Preliminary materials uploaded for students: PowerPoint file (look through for English words), topography (learning), text (reading), music link (listening)

Review (online work): topography (practicing), PPT and own notes (learning), text content (learning), video link (watching and understanding)

Economic development in Europe
‘Blue banana’ versus ‘red octopus’ are different understandings of the European spatial structure. What do they mean? Europe is widely considered a well-developed continent. However, this is only partly true. Where are the biggest development breaking lines in Europe?

Preview (online work): Preliminary materials uploaded for students: PowerPoint file (look through for English words), topography (learning), text (reading), music link (listening)

Review (online work): topography (practicing), PPT and own notes (learning), text content (learning), video link (watching and understanding)

Population
European people basically belong to the Europid race but walking in Paris or London as many African and Asian faces can be seen as European ones. The aging population, migration, cultural and national conflicts are burning challenges of the continent.  

Preview (online work): Preliminary materials uploaded for students: PowerPoint file (look through for English words), topography (learning), text (reading), music link (listening)

Review (online work): topography (practicing), PPT and own notes (learning), text content (learning), video link (watching and understanding)

Settlements
Paris – London – Amsterdam - Bruxelles - Berlin –  Vienna – Prague – Budapest – Barcelona – Lisbon - Rome – Venice – Athens, etc. are not only buildings and roads but they also mean unique life-feeling for the European people. All of them have their own ‘spirit’ that cannot be reproduced. All stone tells a story.

Preview (online work): Preliminary materials uploaded for students: PowerPoint file (look through for English words), topography (learning), text (reading), music link (listening)

Review (online work): topography (practicing), PPT and own notes (learning), text content (learning), video link (watching and understanding)

Infrastructure
Europe is the continent that is the most transformed by humans. There are some roads from the antique Roman Empire which are still used. The dense railroad system is the product of the industrial revolution. The oil and gas pipeline system toward Russia is a blessing and a curse at the same time causing a high interdependency. Huge harbors and airports wait for foreign goods and citizens. The recent continental infrastructure development follows the so-called Trans-European corridors.

Preview (online work): Preliminary materials uploaded for students: PowerPoint file (look through for English words), topography (learning), text (reading), music link (listening)

Review (online work): topography (practicing), PPT and own notes (learning), text content (learning), video link (watching and understanding)

Cultural heritage
Traveling throughout Europe people regularly bump into the material traces of a lot of historical art styles. However, not only material memorials but ideas like democracy, Christianity, humanism, enlightenment, liberalism, nationalism, fascism, communism, capitalism are also rooted in European history. Firstly colonialism and later globalization promoted the worldwide spread of these ideas which caused most cultures to more or less embraced these or part of these ideas. Colonial heritage can be even recognized in a lot of cultural and political relations in the world.  

Preview (online work): Preliminary materials uploaded for students: PowerPoint file (look through for English words), topography (learning), text (reading), music link (listening)

Review (online work): topography (practicing), PPT and own notes (learning), text content (learning), video link (watching and understanding)

Religion
The Vatican is the smallest country in the world but it is one of the most influential as being the most important sacral center of the Roman Catholic Church. However, a lot of huge branches of Christianity do not accept Pope as the head of their religion. Very strong breaking lines are between the different denominations, which highly influenced the cultures of different nations. Among the very rich Christian cultural heritage, fascinating archaic and antique memorials can also be discovered.

Preview (online work): Preliminary materials uploaded for students: PowerPoint file (look through for English words), topography (learning), text (reading), music link (listening)

Review (online work): topography (practicing), PPT and own notes (learning), text content (learning), video link (watching and understanding)

Languages
Language diversity is a fundamental characteristic of Europe. The European Union has 24 official languages. EU nationals have the right to use any of the 24 official languages to communicate with the EU institutions, and the institutions must reply in the same language. Legal acts and their summaries are available in all official EU languages. Meetings of the European Council and the EU Council are interpreted into all official languages. Members of the European Parliament have the right to use any official language when speaking in Parliament. This is a unique approach, unequaled by multilingual countries or international organizations.

Preview (online work): Preliminary materials uploaded for students: PowerPoint file (look through for English words), topography (learning), text (reading), music link (listening)

Review (online work): topography (practicing), PPT and own notes (learning), text content (learning), video link (watching and understanding)

Higher education in the EU
Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, Sorbonne, Humboldt University are well-known universities worldwide. Besides these emblematic institutions, there is a widespread well developed higher education network. Although the educational systems and contents of education are diverse and different in each country main goal of the current processes is to ensure the compatibility between the countries in the higher education standards and this way to ease the researchers’, teachers’, and students’ mobility.  A lot of scholarships, exchange programs promote youth mobility and language learning (even for Asian students)!

Preview (online work): Preliminary materials uploaded for students: PowerPoint file (look through for English words), topography (learning), text (reading), music link (listening)

Review (online work): topography (practicing), PPT and own notes (learning), text content (learning), video link (watching and understanding)

Summary and synthesis
This is the time for the summary and organization of the course information as well as direct preparation for the final assessment.

Preview (online work): Preliminary materials uploaded for students: PowerPoint file (look through for English words), topography (learning), text (reading), music link (listening)

Review (online work): topography (practicing), PPT and own notes (learning), text content (learning), video link (watching and understanding)

Final evaluation

Preview (online work): Preliminary materials uploaded for students: PowerPoint file (look through for English words), topography (learning), text (reading), music link (listening)

Continuous evaluation of the group work participation, homework assignments, group presentations, and total portfolio.

Assessment scale

S – Excellent 90-100 %
A - Very good 80-89 %
B – Good 70-79 %
C – Pass 50-69 %
F – Failed 0-49 %

Concerning assignments, feedback is given in regularly.

Class handouts

László Osváth

There is no single textbook for this course; all required reading and viewing materials will be provided either by means of printouts or else through digital files.

1. 『ヨーロッパ文化—その形成と空間構造』、テリー・G. ジョーダン (著), 山本 正三 (翻訳), 石井 英也 (翻訳)　（大明堂、1989年）
The European Culture Area: A Systematic Geography (Changing Regions in a Global Context: New Perspectives in Regional Geography) Alexander B. Murphy （著）、Terry G. Jordan-Bychkow（著）, Bella Bychkova Jordan（Rowman & Littlefield Pub Inc; 第7版 , 2020）
2. Hobbs, J. J. (2017) Fundamentals of World Regional Geography. Cengage Learning, Fourth Edition
3. Other reference works and recommended materials for the specific issues are suggested during the lessons.

There is no single textbook for this course; all required reading and viewing materials will be provided either by means of printouts or else through digital files.

Togane Campus H416

Monday 2nd period (11:00-12:45)
Wednesday 2nd period  (11:00-12:45)

1. https://european-union.europa.eu/index_en
2. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat
3. https://online.seterra.com/

Introductory video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hvVPiskJAY6b0Fe4_7xkHNu98lTHXtjP/view?usp=share_link