Duration
60h Th
Number of credits
Lecturer
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The Histoire politique belge course offers a chronological presentation of Belgian political history. The course material begins long before the Belgian revolution of 1830. The course covers the various political regimes that have succeeded each other in the territory of present-day Belgium since antiquity. Looking at history in the long term allows you to situate Belgian political history in a long chain of past events. This approach should enable you to develop a general culture that you can use in your future professional careers. The course should enable you to understand the development of Belgian history by focusing on the political dynamics.
Going further: How to get there?
In order to do this, in addition to studying the historical facts themselves, you are led to discover a series of fundamental texts (writings, declarations, legal texts, reports, etc.) in order to develop your critical mind. By combining historical knowledge with the discovery of fundamental texts, you will be able to understand the deeper meaning of Belgian political history, while at the same time developing your own opinion on the matter (and more broadly, your critical thinking skills) - an important professional skill in the 21st century. For each course, I will list the texts to be read in advance.
The course is constructed as part of a process comprising three main interrelated strands: 1. political history before the birth of Belgium, 2. Belgian political history and 3. theories of the development of a political system.
In concrete terms, you will first study the succession of different political regimes on the territory of present-day Belgium from the ancient period.
Secondly, you learn about the different stages of Belgian political history, focusing on the place occupied by political actors and their interactions.
Thirdly, the course is interspersed with different theories to analyse the development of the Belgian political system (systemism, multi-level governance, consociativism, among others).
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
In the framework of the Histoire politique belge course, we pursue several learning objectives. These objectives are prioritised for the sake of clarity and for pedagogical reasons. Thus, you will be able to:
- to know and define the different factors underlying Belgian political history;
- describe the different stages of Belgian political history by describing the place of the political actors and basing yourself on a series of fundamental texts;
- to know a certain number of dates in Belgian political history (to do this, you can use a timeline that you can make yourself, integrating the different facets of Belgian political history). In order to understand the major stages of Belgian political history, you will have to rely on knowledge. This knowledge can be described as "essential": it consists of the main events in Belgian political history and the major events with which you will be able to juggle;
- to understand a series of fundamental texts that we read together by systematically asking ourselves the following questions: Who is the author of the document? What is the date and context? What is the content of the document? What conclusion do we draw from this reading?
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
As the course is aimed at different audiences, there are no prerequisites in terms of subject matter.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The course consists mainly of ex cathedra lessons that provide you with essential factual and historical information about Belgian political history and give you the opportunity to understand the context of the different stages of this history. The course is based on several course materials. The ex cathedra lessons allow you to distinguish the essential from the accessory and are also an opportunity to critically analyse certain bibliographical sources, in a collective manner.
Further information: How does the ex cathedra course work in practice?
As this is an important course in your curriculum, the ex cathedra course aims to take the time to explain the various events in Belgian political history in detail.
In the course of the lessons, I will suggest that you regularly check your knowledge (using the digital tool Wooclap). This regular information gathering, with a formative aim (evaluations do not "count for points"), will allow me to build my lessons on your knowledge, and to come back to misunderstood elements if necessary. To make these formative assessments profitable, I will ask you to have a high level of involvement in these sessions and to adapt your involvement to learn better.
In order to do this, you are invited to work on the course material on a weekly basis and to follow the rehearsals that are proposed to you during the term.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Additional information:
The course is given exclusively in face-to-face.
Further explanation:
Attendance to the course is compulsory. The course is given on Tuesdays from 4.30 pm to 6.30 pm and on Fridays from 8 am to 11 am. I consider it important for you and your fellow students to be on time for the course, despite traffic problems and the pace of public transport. As the course consists of 50 minute periods, any late arrival disrupts the course and the time spent on the whole learning process.
Recommended or required readings
Compulsory readings :
Grandjean Geoffrey, Histoire politique belge, Liège, 2024.
de Laveleye Émile, L'organisation de la société selon Émile de Laveleye, Liège, Institut de la décision publique, 2024.
Régnier Cindy, La constitution au fil de ses versions, Bruxelles, CRISP, 2022, 2e éd., 408 p.
I also invite you to consult the following page: http://hdl.handle.net/2268/262818.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam ( multiple-choice questionnaire )
Additional information:
The assessment consists of a written examination, i.e. a multiple-choice questionnaire (6 possible answers and 0.2 points deducted for wrong answers).
The modalities are the same for the first and second session.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
This course is organised every year.
Contacts
As the course is given to a very large number of students, you are invited to write to my assistant and to put me in copy. He will manage the requests and, if necessary, ask me for certain questions.
However, you should know that I am present at the University every day and that I am very available to you.
When a question deserves, in my opinion, a collective answer, I will answer it during the next class session.
Here are my contact details:
Professor: Pr. Dr Geoffrey Grandjean
Faculté de Droit, de Science politique et de Criminologie
Place des orateurs, 3
4000 Liège
Boîte 11
Courriel : Geoffrey.Grandjean@uliege.be
Association of one or more MOOCs
The MOOC entitled 'Histoire(s) de Belgique (I2)' is associated with this course.