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 B.A. in North A...  
 Course

North American Studies

B.A. in North American Studies (30 cp module offering, 2018 study regulations)

0176e_m30

  • (OM) Culture

    0574aA2.2

  • (OM) Literature

    0574aA2.3

  • (OM) Politics

    0574aA2.4
    • 32500 Proseminar
      The Transatlantic Alliance Since 1945: Theory and Practice (Aaron Allen)
      Schedule: Mi 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-15)
      Location: 340 Hörsaal (Lansstr. 7 / 9)

      Comments

      This multidisciplinary course examines the structural evolution of the transatlantic alliance since World War II, with particular emphasis on security and economic policy. Adopting an interactive and practice-oriented approach, the course enables students to contextualize contemporary transatlantic issues by exploring their geographic, material, and ideational foundations. Designed with future foreign policy practitioners in mind, the curriculum integrates professional development throughout. Students will engage in simulations, seminar debates, and structured presentations aimed at developing practical skills essential for the field. The course weaves together historical case studies, international relations theory, and security studies to provide a comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamics shaping the U.S.–European partnership. Key questions guide the inquiry: How did the United States—once defined by isolationism—emerge as a global superpower and principal security guarantor for Europe? What opportunities and challenges has the alliance faced from the Cold War to the present? Students will also analyze the current state of the transatlantic relationship and assess its potential future trajectory in light of emerging global trends. A critical examination of themes such as hard and soft power, shifting threat perceptions, multilateralism, and economic liberalization equips students with the analytical tools needed to assess the transatlantic relationship in both historical and contemporary contexts.

  • (OM) Sociology

    0574aA2.5
    • 32600 Proseminar
      TBA (Ria Wilken)
      Schedule: Di 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: keine Angabe

  • (OM) Economy

    0574aA2.6
    • 32700 Proseminar
      Economic Reasoning (Anja Luzega)
      Schedule: Di 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: 319 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)

      Comments

      This course offers students an introduction to general economic concepts and principles. Starting from the basic ideas of tradeoffs, opportunity cost, and trade, students will study how the market forces of supply and demand cause prices to be what they are. Students will learn how different market structures and particular government economic policies can affect economic performance. The aggregate economy is analyzed using the national income and product accounting framework of macroeconomics. International trade and economic growth over the long run provide the two major themes of macroeconomics for course discussions. At the end of the course, students will have a basic understanding of economic principles, mechanisms and debates. Students will learn to draw economic policy inferences and to recognize the potential constraints in their implementation. They will think critically about the limits of the various models and verify if the respective model fits the situation they are explaining. Attendance at the fist session is mandatory.

  • (Adv) Economics A - Growth, Distribution, and Economic Cycles in North America

    0574aB1.11
    • 32701 Seminar
      Trade, Migration and Global Challenges (Freya Rubel)
      Schedule: Do 10:00-12:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-16)
      Location: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)

      Comments

      The course aims to introduce students to the interplay between trade, migration, and issues such as inequality, environmental degradation, and global politics. It should equip students with the analytical tools and essential knowledge necessary to engage in contemporary debates on these issues, helping them to gain a deeper understanding of the interconnected dynamics in the globalized economy. The classes will cover both theoretical concepts and empirical studies. By the end of the course, students are expected to: Understand the key theories and concepts underlying international trade and migration and have developed an awareness of how trade and migration trends are influenced by and contribute to challenges in areas like the labour market, environmental sustainability, or social cohesion. For the final examination, students will be expected to demonstrate their ability to critically evaluate and discuss the relationship between trade or migration and at least one of the challenges discussed throughout the course.

    • 32702 Advanced Seminar
      The Economics of Family and Peer Effects (Yue Hu)
      Schedule: Fr 12:00-14:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-17)
      Location: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)

      Comments

      This course aims to provide insights into the factors that shape an individual, focusing on the influences of both family and peers. We will explore how family dynamics—such as resource allocation, family structure, and divorce—affect a person, as well as the impact of peers, including playmates and classmates. We will examine how these influences affect outcomes in areas such as education, risky behavior, health, and other related aspects. The final grade will be based on a weighted combination of a paper presentation (30%) and a final paper at the end of the term (70%).

  • (Adv) Literature A - Literary Periods

    0574aB1.5

  • (Adv) Politics A – Policies and Politics

    0574aB1.7
    • 32502 Advanced Seminar
      Bridging the Divide: How Income Inequality Shapes Political Equality (Christian Lammert)
      Schedule: Di 16:00-18:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: 340 Hörsaal (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    • 32501 Advanced Seminar
      Armaments and International Relations (Lucas Hellemeier)
      Schedule: Mo 08:00-10:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-13)
      Location: 340 Hörsaal (Lansstr. 7 / 9)

      Comments

      This course seeks to introduce students to the academic debates on the role of armaments in international relations (IR). In most IR theoretical schools, the availability of arms and a corresponding defense industrial base is a key determinant of the global distribution of power. The United States is the most important player in the global arms market reflected in reports like the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) Yearbooks. After the Cold War, the United States emerged as the unipolar military power. Already during the previous era of bipolarity, it played an overarching role in shaping the global arms market. The course seeks to unearth the dynamics that shape the global distribution of arms, the availability of defense industrial capacity, and the role the United States plays in these dynamics. The first part of the course is a review of the IR canon and its different schools of thought with a focus on the role of armaments and military technology. We will identify where conclusions derived from armaments dynamics differ between the theoretical schools. In the second part, we will discuss the role of arms in crisis stability drawing on offense-defense theory, deterrence theory, and Robert Jervis’ spiral model. We will also examine what role military technology plays in conventional war and nuclear strategy. Finally, the last part of the course will focus on the political economy of armaments production and examine how contemporary phenomena like globalization, the arms trade, increased technological complexity, and – most importantly, war – affect these processes.

  • (Adv) Sociology A - Social Structures

    0574aB1.9
    • 32603 Advanced Seminar
      TBD (Osman Demirbag)
      Schedule: Mo 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-13)
      Location: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)
    • 32602 Advanced Seminar
      TBA (Jonas von Ciriacy-Wantrup)
      Schedule: Di 14:00-16:00 (Class starts on: 2025-10-14)
      Location: 201 Seminarraum (Lansstr. 7 / 9)

  • Modules w/o courses in this semester

    11 Modules
    • (P) Understanding North America A2 0176eA1.1
    • (P) Understanding North America B2 0176eA1.2
    • (OM) History 0574aA2.1
    • (Adv) History A - History of North America before 1865 0574aB1.1
    • (Adv) Sociology B - Social Processes 0574aB1.10
    • (Adv) Economics B - Economic History and Financial Markets 0574aB1.12
    • (Adv) History B - History of North America since 1865 0574aB1.2
    • (Adv) Culture A - History of Ideas and Cultural History of Individual Media 0574aB1.3
    • (Adv) Culture B - Theories of American Culture and the History of Ethnic, Regional, and Gender-Specific Cultures 0574aB1.4
    • (Adv) Module: Literature B - Literary Genres 0574aB1.6
    • (Adv) Politics B - State and Civil Society 0574aB1.8