Module review for EU1101E: Making of Modern Europe

Taken AY2014/2015 Semester 1


EU1101E: Making of Modern Europe

This is a compulsory module for anyone looking to major in European studies. If you are simply trying to fulfil your FASS requirements, do NOT choose this. There is 1 lecture/week, and a 2h tutorial every odd week. However, do not be fooled though, as the workload is ridiculously heavy, and the tutorials do nothing in helping you understand the content better. Although I found the content to be intellectually engaging, the way in which it was taught was awful.

The lecturer, although a very nice and friendly lady, is unfortunately terrible at conducting lectures. Her ppt slides offer mere slivers of information, so >90% of the content comes directly from what she says during lecture. She tends to narrate instead of analysing the events/issues, so if you are weak in history, good luck to you. There is very little organisation of information, and I would compare her lectures to reading a Wikipedia page, except reading Wikipedia might actually do you more good than her lectures. Also, it is difficult to catch everything she says, as she rarely takes any pauses so the entire lecture is just a cacophony of laptop keyboards clicking away, where people desperately try to note down all the info. As such, DO NOT skip any lectures, as there are no webcasts.

The content spans from the Ancien Regime all the way to the Russian Revolution, and covers notable topics such as the Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution and The French Revolution. Too ambitious, if you ask me. Most topics are just taught at the surface level, but as I’ve said, you never know what’s important and what’s not, since there is no organisation of info. To be honest, I wish I had taken another module, as this was an utter waste of my time and totally not worth the effort.

Assessment
Tutorial participation: 20%
Mid terms: 20%
Group project: 20%
Finals: 40%

For tutorials, do not skip any, as there aren’t that many sessions to begin with. Do try to participate, and it’s totally ok to be wrong, as most people just try to bullshit anyway. On top of that, there are a significant number of arrogant snobs with inflated egos, so do not be intimidated by them either, since most of them have no idea what they are talking about.

The mid terms involve MCQs, Identification questions, and Chronology questions. It’s really a hit-or-miss, as they tested really random facts. I didn’t study at all for it, and ended up with a less than ideal grade (deservedly).

The group project usually involves a conference centered around a particular historical events, and your group gets to act as a stakeholder. I would compare it to the style of Model United Nations, except a lot less organised and based on historical events rather than current affairs. The group portion involves a short write up, which should be no problem. Choosing your group mates is obviously very important. Luckily, I had 2 members who were interested in majoring in History/European studies, and hence were very active and enthusiastic about it. However, for the actual conference, you will be judged individually, so do speak up. Be ruthless, its a dog eat dog world out there. Most have very weak arguments, so it is easy to exploit that.

The finals take up 40%, so try to revise in advance if you’re keen on getting a good grade. I chose to revise on the day itself, which is obviously not ideal. However, one thing that I’ve noticed is that with these content based essays, it is actually better to study less (less being relative…), as it forces you to focus on the quality of your argument. Studying too much may backfire, as you may be tempted to vomit out all your facts during your essay. That being said, consistent studying is still required, as with any other module.

Workload
The workload for this module is VERY HEAVY due to the spread of the content. The group work is manageable, depending on your group mates of course. The content is taught in a haphazard manner, so be wary of that. Only choose this module if you want to major in European Studies, or if you have masochistic tendencies.


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