Europe in Transition:

Enlargement, Migration and Post-Industrial Change

 

POLAND • GERMANY • TURKEY

  Now Accepting Applications for Spring 2009!

Program Description

The Europe in Transition program is a comparative study and field research program in Poland, Germany, and Turkey. These countries’ distinct trajectories of political and economic development and integration into the European Union provide a range of perspectives on contemporary Europe.  Students on the program explore Europe as a site of transnational processes and of increasingly complex interactions between regional, national, and European levels of governance and change.  The program explores the challenges of transitions from industrial to post-industrial societies, integration and enlargement of the European Union, and the implications of migration for national and European polities and societies. The curriculum is organized through course seminars led by faculty at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow; field experiences and academic lectures in Poland, Germany, and Turkey; and regular seminars and individual consultations with the Program Director. Homestays in Krakow, Poland and Berlin, Germany incorporate students into the daily experience of these cities' inhabitants.

Click here to view the Europe in Transition photo gallery!

On the program, students learn from the broad diversity among their peers from different institutions and different majors. Student academic interests are most often politics, sociology, history, and economics, but also include other majors from the humanities and arts. Despite the diversity—or perhaps because of it—community and friendships form. Antioch Education Abroad works to build an environment that nurtures both rigorous academic scholarship and personal growth.

Europe in Transition is a collaborative initiative and recognized program of member institutions of the Great Lakes Colleges Association (GLCA). Since 1972, it has continuously evolved to provide students the opportunity to study the issues of immediate concern to European policymakers and publics.  The 2008 Europe in Transition program continued this tradition by introducing the Turkish case and the issues of European enlargement and migration as central themes.  By aligning the program's academic priorities and geographic scope with the current concerns of European policymakers and ordinary citizens, the Europe in Transition program immerses participants in contemporary debates over Europe's priorities, identity, and future.