Module Catalogue 2025/26

Pre Requisite Comment

N/A

Co Requisite Comment

N/A

Aims

This module considers the history of both European integration and the UK’s relationship with it in the period from 1945 to the present day. The European Union (and its predecessor organisations) and the UK are central to the module, but other organisations, such as the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), and the role of other actors, such as France’s role in the development of the EU, are also explored.

One of the key questions we explore in this module is whether the UK’s relationship with the EU was doomed from the beginning. In examining this question we look at key concepts in the secondary literature, such as the idea that the UK has been an ‘awkward partner’ in Europe or a ‘reluctant European’. As such, key moments in the development of UK-EU relations are considered. These include, but are not limited to, the UK’s exclusion from the Schuman Plan, the failed attempts to gain entry to the EEC in the 1960s, the 1975 referendum, the Maastricht Treaty and the 2016 referendum.

This module also seeks to look ‘beyond’ Brexit and challenge the idea that the UK has always been an awkward partner by interrogating periods when the UK has played a constructive role in European institutions, such as the development of the Single Market and the UK’s role in the enlargement of the EU in the 1990s/00s.

It considers traditional ‘elite’ actors in international affairs but also explores the presentation of European integration in the British press and public opinion. Particular attention is paid to the role of the Murdoch press in the development of Eurosceptic discourse in the UK.

The module draws on a wide range of primary sources ranging across state archives, newspapers, political pamphlets/posters, memoirs and oral histories.

Outline Of Syllabus

A suggested list of seminar topics include
1.       Schuman Plan
2.       European Free Trade Association
3.       The failed applications in the 1960s
4.       France and the development of Europe
5.       Labour’s divisions in the 1960s and 1970s
6.       The 1975 referendum
7.       The UK’s contributions to the Single Market
8.       Euroscepticism and the Murdoch Press
9.       New Labour and the enlargement of the EU
10.       The 2016 Referendum
11.       Negotiating Brexit and Beyond

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

Knowledge and understanding of the UK’s relationship with European integration since 1945. Students will be able to describe a range of significant historiographical debates surrounding how key moments have shaped the UK’s relationship with the the European Union and its predecessor organisations, but also other key European institutions such as EFTA.

Knowledge and understanding of the development of European institutions since the Second World War. Students will explore how, for different countries, the aims of economic reconstruction and growth, maintaining peace, securing the western alliance in the context of the Cold War and securing a leadership role in Europe all shaped the attitudes towards the EU.

Knowledge and understanding of the roles of key political actors in shaping the way the UK joined the European Community, acted within it and then exited the European Union. Students will engage critically with the agency of and constraints on these actors and the extent to which the shaped the UK’s relationship with the EC/EU.

Knowledge and understanding of the way European integration has been perceived at the party-political level and by the public in the UK. Students will explore the terms ‘anti/pro-Marketeer’ ‘Eurosceptic/Europhile’ and ‘Brexiteer’ ‘Leaver/Remainer’ and question the extent to which these terms accurately capture debates about the EU in the UK.

Intended Skill Outcomes

Students will be able to:
•       Understand key historiographical debates about the UK’s relationship with Europe, such as the idea that staying outside the European Economic Community was part of a ‘national strategy’ and the notion that the UK has been an ‘awkward partner’
•       Critically engage with a range of primary sources including oral histories, official documents, newspapers and political posters/pamphlets/social media campaigns
•       Evaluate key moments in the UK’s relationship with European integration without imposing a teleological lens
•       Consider a range of competing interpretations and clearly articulate their own view both orally and in writing
•       Be able to critically evaluate the history of the UK and European integration in the wider contexts of the growth of postwar European institutions and the development of the EC/EU itself

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

The weekly lectures provide the foundation for each weekly topic but preserve the seminar discussions for more in-depth discussions of our subjects and sources.

Drop-in sessions give the students an opportunity to discuss their assignments on a one-to-one basis with the instructor.

Independent learning, reading and research are central to this module and are necessary to support the seminar discussions. Students are expected to prepare in advance for seminars by reading a wide range of secondary and primary sources, both from a directed list and by reading more widely around each topic. A significant part of our seminar discussions will focus on primary sources but also, given the contemporary nature of the topic, link to ongoing events.

While oral communication is central to the seminar discussions, the assessments are selected to the students develop their written and visual communication skills by including both a campaign poster as a more creative element and an essay.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

Primary sources are at the heart of this module and so the assessments privilege a close-reading of those sources. The campaign poster assessment will help the students both understand the challenges of political communication in a referendum and closely interrogate the messages that were included in the campaign materials created at the time. The essay then extends these skills further by bringing in secondary material and focusing on developing the students’ written communication skills

The formative assessment, in the form of an essay outline and annotated bibliography, offers the students an opportunity for oral feedback during drop-in time.

General Notes

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