Europe Matters Teaching the EU in the US

Writing in their capacity as chairs of the European Union Studies Association’s group on ‘Teaching Europe ‘, these two authors retrace the history, current situation and challenges of teaching on the European Union in the USA. They underline in particular how, at the end of the 1980s, a combination of the relaunch of European integration and the fall of the Berlin wall led to a rise in student and academic interst in this subject. However, in order to sustain the interest of students once in the classroom, innovative teaching techniques and linking this subject matter to current geopolitical issues are often necessary. Indeed, teaching the EU is seen as a crucial means of enlightening young Americains about views on world politics which differ from those of their own government.