ENG2452 Britain in Europe

Course Content
• This course examines Britain’s role in Europe from a
cultural, historical, and political perspective. Britain’s
tempestuous relationship with its continental
neighbours will be fully explored in order to throw
new light on some of the most important difficulties
facing Britain in Europe today.

• Teaching is a mix of traditional lectures and

discussion-based seminars
 Learning Outcomes
• Candidates who have passed this course
• - have significant knowledge about current political debates about Britain's role in Europe.
• - are familiar with European integration history.
• - are familiar with and able to analyse the problemtic nature of the Anglo-European
relationship from a historical and contemporary perspective.
• - can analyse conditions and factors of a social and political nature within a historical context.
• - have gained an important insight into academic approaches and methods relevant to the
analysis of the subject material.
• - have gained some understanding of the types of sources used by historians and political
scientists who are interested in Britain's role in Europe.
• - are able to produce independent analyses of aspects of Britain's role in Europe that have been
explored throughout the course.
• - are able to demonstrate a good command of written English.
 Assessment
• Written examination (4 hours) or bachelor's thesis (approx. 3200 words/7-8
pages).
Only students admitted to the bachelor's programme in foreign
languages, study option English, in the autumn semester of 2014
or more recently, or students admitted to the master's programme
in Language Studies with Teacher Education in the autumn of 2013
or more recently, may choose to write the bachelor's thesis.

• Compulsory assignments
One written assignment (maximum 2000 words/ 5 pages).
Or, project proposal for the bachelor's thesis (500-600 words).
 Timetable
Day Time Weeks Type Room
Thursday 10:15 - 12:00 34 – 39 Lecture D3
Thursday 10:15 - 12:00 40 – 47 Lecture D6
Tuesday 10:15 - 12:00 37 – 45 Seminar D150
Friday 12:15 – 14:00 37 – 45 Seminar D152

Use the detailed Course Schedule/ Timetable on Its Learning for details of the five
weeks we have seminars and for guidelines on reading.

Please sign up for one seminar group/ day only if you have not yet done so. Use
the link on Its Learning.
 Reading
This course demands a maximum of 700 pages of reading like others in the Faculty,
but this is demanding so you need to be organised now and read regularly to
prevent stress and ‘overload’ later in the semester.

Required Readings (‘pensum’)

For the first 8 weeks of the course we will be using the following two resources:

Reynolds, D., Britannia Overruled: British Policy and World Power in the 20th
Century (Harlow; Longman second edition, 2000).

Seminar reading consisting of primary source documents and online secondary

articles made available through It’s Learning.
For the remainder of the course we will use specific chapters
(approx., 300 pages) from the following books (in addition to
seminar reading):

Liddle, R., The Europe Dilemma: Britain and the drama of EU

integration (London, 2014).
Note that I have uploaded the necessary pages of this book
to Its Learning.

Bootle, R., The Trouble with Europe: Why the EU isn’t working,
how it can be reformed, what could take its place (London;
Second Edition, 2015).
Recommended additional readings (not ‘pensum’)
• Crowson, N. J., Britain and Europe: A Political History since 1918 (Oxon;
Routledge, 2011).
Crowson’s book is useful if you get lost in terms of the narrative/
chronology/ terminology in my lectures. It was ‘pensum’ the last three
years.

• Milward, Alan S., The European Rescue of the Nation State (London,
1999).
• Milward, Alan S., The Rise and Fall of a National Strategy 1945-1963:
The UK and the European Community Volume 1 (London, 2012).
• Wall, S., The Official History of Britain and the European Community
Volume II: From Rejection to Referendum, 1963-1975 (London, 2012).
Buying books, printing costs, seminars etc.
I have tried to minimise your expenses by providing you with a
substantial amount of PDFs on Its Learning, but Reynolds and Bootle
need to be purchased.

I appreciate that some students do not like reading on screen (me too),
but at least you have a free option if you don’t want to buy Liddle or
print out seminar materials.

For seminars you must bring the documents that we will discuss. Either
print them and make notes on them, or bring laptops with the PDFs and
be well prepared with your own separate notes.
 Obligatory Assignment
• The assignment is due on 16 October at 12pm.

• You must submit a MS Word file or Open Office file before the deadline.

• PDFs are not acceptable because Its Learning uses plagiarism control
software to check your OA’s for malpractices (copying each others’ work;
quoting the words of historians or journalists and claiming that they are
your own by not using quotation marks or full references/ footnotes)

• The OA will be a source-based exercise like those we do in seminars.

 Written Exam
• For those of you who have taken ENG1402 the organisation of the course and its
exam structure will be very similar.

• Two source-based questions related to seminar documents and discussions.

• One extended essay question relating to my lectures, and course reading

(Reynolds, Liddle, Bootle)

• The exam is specifically designed to reward students who take the course
seriously and prepare well during the semester. Participation in lectures and
seminars are crucial. There should be no surprises on exam day and when
marking your answers I will be able to see the level of your engagement with the
course and its reading materials.
 Seminars
• 5 x 90 minute seminars, which are spread out during the semester.

• Discussion-based seminars = I should be a facilitator or chairman of the

discussion. Therefore, the success of the class depends on your efforts both in
terms of preparation in advance of class and discussion on the day.

• This is problem-based learning, which is essential to university-level education.

In whatever careers you choose you will rarely encounter a teacher-like figure to
instruct you on how to do a job. Problem-based learning increases your ability to
learn on your own and fast.

• Preparation really is key! Otherwise we will all experience a long 90 minutes of

awkward silences.
 Topics and Themes
• The course’s lectures are generally chronological, whereas the seminars select key
moments or turning points in the story of ‘Britain in Europe’.

• The course is mainly a political history course, but naturally it becomes more
current affairs from the mid-1990s onwards.

• Keep a brief chronological time line for yourself, note the names of chief political
figures and which parties they belong to, perhaps also some of the key EU
treaties. This will keep you on the right track.

• Note: the final 4 weeks of the course are heavy on reading as we focus on current
affairs/ the road to the referendum. You MUST start this reading much earlier.
 Its Learning and Contact Details
• Its Learning is your lifeline! You MUST check this regulalry for updates on the course
and announcements about the OA etc.

• You can email me through Its Learning or direct gary.love@ntnu.no

• My office is 5570 (building 5, top floor, ISL)

• I am always here to help and happy to do so. It is best to email me or email to arrange a
time to speak. I always have time for genuine questions and problems. But at the same
time, please do respect my time. This course amounts to about 25% of my 100%
position at NTNU and I have other teaching, administrative and research
responsibilities.

• But DON’T be afraid to ask me questions. I am not very scary, just British!
 Reference Group
• I need two volunteers today to serve our course.

• Please leave your names and contact email addresses.

• You will report on how this course is going to Domhnall Mitchell who is the
acting Head of English. Feedback will be relayed anonymously to me and you
will write a very brief end of course report, which I will then use to write a report
of my own.

• You will meet with Domhnall 3 times during the semester to air your own and
your peers’ thoughts.

• You get a certificate of service from NTNU and you can put this on your CV.