ERASMUS Guest Teaching In Vienna 2026-2027
EUC Joins TANDEM Dialogue
European Union Center Events
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Featured News
- Please see below for a list of European Union and language courses that will be offered in Spring 2027. These lists are meant to be comprehensive but not exhaustive. If you are teaching a course that you think should be included, please contact eucenter@... Read full story
- The European Union Center is excited to announce and welcome our new, incoming graduate students this fall. They will begin their master of arts in European Union studies this semester, with varying research interests from human rights, to education, identities and policy. Our Fall 2026 MAEUS... Read full story
- Please see below for a list of European Union and language courses that will be offered in Fall 2026. These lists are meant to be comprehensive but not exhaustive. If you are teaching a course that you think should be included, please contact eucenter@illinois... Read full story
Sara Benson
EURO 385: Politics of the European Union
Considers the history of the European Union and its current functions and operations. Focuses on the ongoing process of political and cultural integration. Consists of sections in Illinois and abroad, interacting extensively via the worldwide web.
EURO 415: Europe and the Mediterranean
Examines the governments, societies, and cultures on the shores of the Mediterranean. Examines ideas associated with the Mediterranean and practices followed by its people and governments from the perspectives of a variety of disciplines, paying special attention to the region's relationship with the European Union.
EURO 500: Dialogue on Europe
This seminar is a roundtable exploring a variety of topics related to Europe, transatlantic relations, the European Union, and the peripheries. Students will have an opportunity to participate in regular conversations about current issues ranging from cultural policies, migration, economic policies, bureaucratic politics, international security, sports, popular culture, and other topics of high salience to Europe and the European Union. Opportunities for guest speakers and readings on professionalization. Open to undergraduate and graduate students.
EURO 501: EU Institutions and Governance
This seminar provides a multidisciplinary exploration of the institutions, competencies, policy areas, and governance modes of the European Union. By paying particular attention to the history and institutional arrangement of both Europe and the European Union, this course asks how it became possible for multiple, powerful, historically hostile nation-states to coordinate policies and eventually surrender elements of their sovereignty, sometimes in significant and meaningful ways. EURO 501 takes seriously the challenges that the EU poses to scholars in thinking about nation-states, sovereignty, and contemporary problems in Europe. The EU is often described as sui generis. The course uses this as a departure point to explore how unique the European Union is and how its structure has conditioned its responses to historical and modern challenges, both domestic and global. EURO 501 is a theory-driven course, and links between theory and practice will be frequently established. The relationship between “the components” and “the whole” of the European Union will be assessed. The relationship between the EU and other nations and regions of the world – particularly the United States and China - will also be considered. Finally, the course will also engage the students in thinking about policymaking and leadership at the European Union level versus at the member-state level.