Required equipment: Comfortable clothes, shoes and a personal computer

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As European citizens, which cultural characteristics unite us and which make us unique? With this course we intend to explore the concept of culture through contact with elements of Portuguese culture, in order to create a method of critical observation that leads us to distinguish, as citizens, the key elements of our native cultures and how to become ambassadors of them.

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Portugal is a country that contains several World Heritage items. How does this process take place? What leads to the process of patrimonialization of a tradition, a monument or space? After all, what is heritage? These questions will be addressed in a practical manner, with a visit to three cities with World Heritage sites — Braga, Guimarães and Porto.

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Important in the approach to the birth of a European identity is the Way of St. James, considered a European Cultural Itinerary since 1987. We will delve into its origins and how it generated uniformity in the European cultural landscape that still endures today.

 

This course will show how it is possible through the heritage of a place to create an historical narrative and how it can be used as an alternative education tool that captures the attention of students and turns them into ambassadors of their origins. Not forgetting, however, that the challenge of the 21st century is to promote tolerance between peoples, so through practical cases we will see how it is possible to foster a sense of European identity in students. We will address the issue of cities that were once European capitals in the North of Portugal, namely for culture, sports and youth, and how this has strengthened ties between Europeans.