Abschlussarbeit

For the last weeks, the sole priority of my life (except food... for the most part) has been finishing the final paper of my undergraduate career. Normally, an 8-page paper wouldn't be a problem for me, but this one is in German. Adding to the problem, it's not a real research paper, but rather a summary of many of the readings we've done for class. I wasn't at all sure how to go about a paper that didn't have a thesis.

Finally, the paper is complete, and I am done with homework. For a while at least. Having this paper done is such a relief to me! Perhaps I'll even stop thinking in 1.5 spacing soon! The assignment: Explain the difference between the decision-making process of the EU and that of its member states. My focus was that the main "deciders" in the EU are states, whereas the public plays the dominant role in individual states. Somehow I squeezed 8 pages out of that.

I easily put as much work into this essay, as I did into my senior thesis paper. Below, the text of my masterpiece. I'm proud to sport a B+ for my efforts (the essay was 100% of my grade for the class), especially given the lack of grade-inflation in the German university system.

The course itself was a real pleasure. Of all my classes "Europa: Vielfalt und Einigung" made the greatest impression on me. A direct enrollment in Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, the seminar was the most typically German of my courses. Learning about the EU in a classroom full of Europeans (including not only the German majority, but many Erasmus students) was an outstanding experience. Now, with the headache that was this paper behind me, I can look back with fondness on my brief time as a student at Humboldt.

[For those who are interested, the complete text of the essay can be found here]