Mission and Goals

Mission and Goals

Statement of Mission

The Center for European Studies promotes the inter-disciplinary study of European societies and cultures. As such the Center fundamentally contributes to California State University’s international mission. The Center seeks to encourage programs across disciplines that increase an understanding of the diversity of the societies and cultures that constitute Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals. The Center examines how traditional divisions within Europe such as the ones between North/South and West/East influence the present membership in the European Union and its future expansion and global positioning as well as how they exclude and will continue to exclude a number of countries and their peoples from European “space.”

Goals

For faculty:

  • Provide a forum for faculty from different disciplines in the College of Liberal Arts and the campus at large to share research and initiate new projects in a wide variety of areas concerning European Studies and in relation to the European Union.
  • Facilitate finding extra-mural funding sources for faculty interested in research in European Studies and the European Union.
  • Develop new curriculum relevant for topics in European Studies.

For students:

  • Promote an interest in European Studies and the European Union among undergraduate and graduate students.
  • Promote undergraduate and graduate student/faculty research projects in European Studies and the European Union.
  • Work on providing an undergraduate certificate in European Studies and European Union Studies.
  • Promote the learning of European languages and studying abroad in Europe.

For the campus community and wider:

  • Collaborate with the European Studies Subcommittee of the International Education Committee, International Programs, and other entities on campus interested in international education and research.
  • Develop ties with other European Studies Centers on the West Coast and across the nation.
  • Promote an understanding of European issues and the European Union on campus and in the local community through a series of lectures by experts on European affairs.