Curricular Unit:Code:
Portuguese Constitution and the European Union1025CPUE
Year:Level:Course:Credits:
3UndergraduatePhysiotherapy2 ects
Learning Period:Language of Instruction:Total Hours:
Winter SemesterPortuguese/English26
Learning Outcomes of the Curricular Unit:
(i) To integrate methods, concepts, theories and knowledge in the European integration area;
(ii) To develop interactive skills allowing students to participate in debates on contemporary political events and the participation of Portugal in the European integration process;
(iii) To select methods of information management that guide students in selected readings on European integration issues;
(iv) To improve oral and written communication skills;
(vi) To develop critical analysis of contemporary political and European integration issues.
Syllabus:
I. Historical framework of European integration
1. The European project: from past to present
2. International organizations and sovereignty: intergovernmentalism vs. supranationalism
3. European economic integration
4. Enlargements of the European Communities (ECs)/European Union (EU)
5. Amendments to the founding treaties
II. The institutional system of the EU
6. The national level
7. EU institutional system
7.1. Institutions and organs
8. The multi-level framework of governance: subsidiarity, legitimacy, output
III. EU policies and themes in the agenda
9. EU policies: an overview.
10. Themes in the European agenda.
Demonstration of the Syllabus Coherence with the Curricular Unit's Objectives:
I – The theoretical issues of the genesis and the historical development of European integration should encourage students to understand the contemporary political issues, as well as to promote critical reading on these issues.
II – The presentation of the model of European Union (EU) institutions aims at providing an understanding of the EU institutional model, as well as to promote a critical reading of the European integration process within the institutional and the decision-making dimensions.
III – Knowledge and critical awareness on European Union policies require and its national implications are grounded on preliminary knowledge on both the history and institutions of the EU.
Teaching Methodologies (Including Evaluation):
Continuous assessment: 1 written test + 1 work.
The written test assesses learning outcomes - the dimension of the class groups and the fact that there is only one session per week are the reason for this option. The work is a complementary element based on active learning. The students enrolling for continuous assessment must submit both elements.
Assessment percentages per element: written test (75%) + work (25%).
Demonstration of the Coherence between the Teaching Methodologies and the Learning Outcomes:
The methodology adopted aims at fostering the students' interest and involvement with the topic. The test and group work aim at producing reliable indicators of learning outcomes.
Reading:
1 CARDOSO, C., et al. (2017). A União Europeia: História, Instituições e Políticas. 5ª ed. Porto: UFP
2 CONSTITUIÇÃO DA REPÚBLICA PORTUGUESA
https://www.parlamento.pt/Legislacao/Paginas/ConstituicaoRepublicaPortuguesa.aspx
3 JONES, E., MENON, A. e WEATHERILL, S. (2014). The Oxford Handbook of the European Union. Oxford: OUP
4 Journal of Common Market Studies (B-On)
5 MATEUS, A. (coord.) (2015). Três décadas de Portugal Europeu. Balanço e Perspetivas. Lisboa: FFMS
6 RAMOS, C.T., VILA MAIOR, P. e LEITE I.C. (eds.) (2020). O Parlamento Europeu e as Eleições Europeias: Ensaios sobre Legitimidade Democrática. Óbidos: Aletheia
7 TEIXEIRA, C.P. (2017). O Sistema Politico Português. Uma perspetiva comparada. Cascais: Principia
8 WALLACE, H. et al. (2020). Policy-Making in the European Union. 8ª ed. Oxford: OUP