Democracy, Multiculturalism and

Challenges in the European Union

The Module titled 'Democracy, Multiculturalism and Challenges in the European Union' (DMC) is woven around the idea of democracy, cultural diversity and the contemporary challenges that the EU is facing while managing multiculturalism. The module uses cases and studies that focus primarily on social, political and cultural issues, challenges and changes in the EU. DMC is an original and innovative Module that identifies factors/actors that have shaped the contemporary nature of European society.

The Module aims to generate interest and awareness among students at the post-graduate and doctoral levels to engage in a meaningful understanding of issues about European society, polity, culture, and change. The Module will give the learners an insight into these aspects from a comparative perspective as well. While the focus remains on the functioning of democracy, democratic institutions, multiculturalism, policies, and political and social institutions, the impact of and impact upon cultural and economic institutions invariably gets integrated into the subject, hence making the module multidimensional and holistic in nature.The Module promotes the understanding of European society and also cross-cultural understanding while bringing about comparison between Europe and other regions of the world. The chosen areas are subject to meticulous scrutiny and inquiry from both micro and macro analytical frameworks, thereby facilitating a comprehensive understanding of the social phenomena in question. Through an in-depth exploration of these social and cultural dimensions, students are endowed with the critical analytical instruments requisite for engaging with the social frameworks and processes of transformation occurring within Europe, thereby promoting a sophisticated understanding of the dynamics that underlie European society. The incorporation of these subjects is further augmented by an investigation of diverse social science theories, coupled with an extensive discourse on how these theoretical paradigms can be employed to examine and analyse the complexities of culture and society within Europe with both profundity and sophistication. This module is distinguished by its originality and innovation, as it endeavours to identify and elucidate the multitude of factors and actors that have profoundly shaped the contemporary character of European society in its present iteration.