Bringing Europe Into Your Classroom
Research Guide- Hakim’s Odyssey
Research Guide focusing on comics, narratives of migration, and French-language texts now available.
1914: Then Came Armageddon
Produced by the George L. Mosse Program in History
Celebrate Spring with Floral Wreaths
Flower crowns have been a part of European culture and celebrations for millennia. After a long, dark European winter, flowers indicate the return of the growing season and symbolize fertility and new beginnings. To this day, many regions in Europe use flowers, and floral wreaths, to celebrate the return of spring.
At UW–Madison European Studies, we know that Europe is constantly changing and it can be hard sometimes to keep up. We have curated a list of Europe-focused media so that you can easily update yourself on everything in one place.
You can make learning about Europe engaging and relevant with current news articles, popular music, and film. Use our media suggestions to augment your lesson plan, or for your own edification and enjoyment!
Also, be sure to visit the Wisconsin Department of Public Institution for more lesson plans, learning tools, training opportunities, and other educational resources.
The below listed resources do not necessarily reflect the views of European Studies or its grantors. No official endorsement should be inferred. These publicly available resources have been curated for their European themes and content for teachers to use in their personal edification or for use in their classroom. If you have any suggestions to add to our lists, please let us know by emailing us at europe@international.wisc.edu.
The 10 P.M. Dinner Is a Spanish Tradition. Are People Giving It Up?
New York Times, Aug. 30, 2026
By Jonathan Wolfe
There are signs that Spaniards are eating earlier in the evening. Experts say it could make for a healthier country, but not everyone is ready to part with the custom.
If you have an article to recommend, please contact us at europe@international.wisc.edu
Summer 2026, Spain and Ireland
Nahia
By Emily Jones, 2025
Spain, 8,000 years ago. As Headwoman’s daughter, eighteen-year-old Nahia was born to lead. But when she speaks aloud a forbidden truth—that her people are facing a growing threat of invasion—her expectations are shattered when she’s punished with exile and apprenticed to an enigmatic shaman instead.
In this powerful upper YA with crossover appeal, archaeologist Emily Jones transports us to a rugged world of pine forests, frothy beaches, and wild magic.
Ballywhinney Girl, 2012
By Eve Bunting
Maeve is unnerved when she and her grandfather find a body in the bog in Ballywhinney, Ireland. It turns out to be the body of a young girl who lived more than a thousand years ago. Two picture-book masters sensitively capture the layers of thought and feeling arising in the face of an awe-inspiring and mysterious discovery.
Spring 2026, Germany
(A New World)
by Sascha Mamczak, Martina Vogl & Katrin Stangl, 2020
La península de las casas vacías
(The Peninsula of the Empty Houses)
by David Uclés., 2024
Fall 2025, France and the U.K.
Step into My Shoes
by Alkisti Halikia, 2024
What’s Home, Mum?
by Sabba Khan, 2022
Summer 2025, Italy
A Kid’s Guide to Rome
Lonely Planet
Spring 2025, France
Hakim’s Odyssey
By: Fabien Toulmé
Fall 2024, Italy, Germany
The Pack
By: Amanda Cley
Father’s Sea
By: Deniz Utlu
Spring 2024, Germany, Italy, and Austria
Einstein: The Fantastic Journey of a Mouse
Through Space and Time
By: Torben Kuhlmann
Telephone Tales
By: Gianni Rodari
When The World Was Ours
By: Liz Kessler
Fall 2023, Italy and Wales
Hero on a Bicycle
By: Shirley Hughes
The Blue Book of Nebo (2021)
By: Manon Steffan Ros
Summer 2023, UK/West Africa
Skin of the Sea
By: Natasha Bowen
Spring 2023, Ireland
Utterly Monkey
By: Nick Laird
Dancing with Statues
By: Caroline Doherty de Novoa
Fall 2022, Italy & Great Britain
Soviet Signoras
By: Martina Cvajner
Olive Jones and the Memory Thief
By: Kate Gilby Smith
Summer 2022, UK and Global
Love Marriage
By: Monica Ali
Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street: A Collection of Recipes to Share
By: Felicita Sala
Spring 2022, Sweden
Son of Svea: A Tale of the People’s Home
By: Lena Andersson
Spring 2021, London
The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Pollution Problem
By: Colleen Paeff
Fall 2021, Germany, East Germany
All the Frequent Troubles of Our Days: The True Story of the American Woman at the Heart of the German Resistance to Hitler
By: Rebecca Donner
Flight for Freedom:
The Wetzel Family’s Daring Escape from East Germany
By: Kristen Fulton
Spring 2021, France, Senegal, and Germany
At Night All Blood is Black
By: Amadou Diop
Fall 2020, Belgium and the UK
Nowhere Boy
By: Katherine Marsh
Exit West
By: Mohsin Hamid
Spring 2020, Estonia
The Man who Spoke Snakish
By: Andrus Kiviraehk
Fall 2019, Spain
The Fountains of Silence
By: Ruta Sepetys
Fall 2019, Ireland
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
By: Patrick Radden Keefe
BBC (UK)
Der Spiegel (Germany)
Le Monde (France)
Independent (Ireland)
Nordstjernan (Sweden)
El Pais (Spain)
Resident (Portugal)
Polskie Radio (Poland)
Flanders News (Belgium)
Politiken (Denmark)
Politics
EU Confidential (Politico): A weekly podcast featuring keynote interviews on the forces shaping Europe.
Chain Reaction (Foreign Policy Research Institute): A fortnightly podcast examining the role of the US in the world with many episodes focused on the Transatlantic relationship.
The World in 30 minutes with Mark Leonard: Mark Leonard, director of the European Council on Foreign Relations, explores the big issues in foreign policy and Europe’s role in the world.
The Europeans: An award-winning podcast looking at politics and culture around the continent. It delves into stories that don’t get attention in the national media and interview fascinating people across Europe, from writers to activists, scientists to chefs.
The Political Party: Comedian and former political advisor Matt Forde interviews figures from the political world, such as current and former MPs, journalists and diplomats from all parts of the political spectrum.
Talking Politics: Launched after the Brexit vote in 2016 by Cambridge University professor David Runciman, Talking Politics is a weekly podcast that covers international and UK domestic affairs.
Inside Europe: A weekly deep-dive into the twists and turns of European current affairs, politics and culture, brought to you by Germany’s international broadcaster.
History
Ask a Historian: Every episode features an interview with a University of Wisconsin—Madison historian who answers a question about the past submitted by our listeners
How to Invent a Country: When did countries become countries? Misha Glenny speaks on the borders, the stories and the people of countries, with a focus on European nations.
The History of Rome: A weekly podcast tracing the history of the Roman Empire, beginning with Aeneas’s arrival in Italy and ending with the exile of Romulus Augustulus, last Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
The British History Podcast: The BHP is a chronological retelling of the history of Britain with a particular focus upon the lives of the people.
Language
Affaires étrangères (Radio France): Par Christine Ockrent. Les meilleurs experts nous racontent le monde qui se transforme, et où tout s’accélère.
Zistoires Mystérieuses (La Réunion): Au son de la voix enveloppante et captivante de l’artiste réunionnaise Yaëlle Trulès, écoutez les légendes de La Réunion contées sur fond de musique d’ambiance traditionnelle de l’île intense. Installez-vous confortablement et écoutez les Zistoires Mystérieuses de La Réunion.
Poubelle La Vie (Les Audios de la Redaction France-Antilles): Les déchets, on en produit tous, tout le temps. Alors, tout le système déchet, chez nous, comment ça marche ? On a tenté de répondre à cette question avec une série de podcasts, qui retrace le trajet de nos déchets.
Les pires moments de l’histoire (Radio Canada): Ce podcast humoriste raconte les pires moments de l’histoire (surtout européenne) avec bruitage. Attention: l’animateur du podcast parle VITE avec un léger accent québécois.
International SRF Podcast (Swiss): «International» befasst sich wöchentlich mit internationaler Politik und Gesellschaft. Seit 1978 am Radio und von Anbeginn auch online.
Ser Historia (Spanish): Aprenderás historia disfrutando. Porque el relato histórico no tiene por qué ser denso ni aburrido. Curiosidades, misterios y enigmas de la historia tratados con agilidad, dinamismo y pasión. En directo en Cadena Ser los domingos a la 01:30 y a cualquier hora si te suscribes.
ESRadio Live (Spanish): Lanzada en 2009, esRadio desde luego suscitó el interés de numerosas emisoras locales y provinciales con sus programas. Actualmente emite en más de 60 puntos de toda España y tiene una frecuencia propia en Madrid, en 99.1FM.
LaPresse (Italian): Update è il podcast quotidiano di LaPresse che ogni mattina racconta fatti, storie, persone. Dal martedì al sabato tre notizie selezionate dai giornalisti di LaPresse. Update, quello che non puoi perdere.
Comedy
Parlement (EU): Samy, a young European parliamentary assistant arrives in Brussels a few weeks after the Brexit referendum. He is obviously not fit for the job.
Call My Agent! (France): At a Paris talent firm, A.S.K, agents attempt to save their flailing business while confronting realities like sexism, ageism, and the gender pay gap in movies and TV.
A Very Secret Service (France): A posh series that lampoons Cold War-era politics and bureaucratic absurdity with dry wit. The French secret service inducts the main character, André, without warning or training, and we follow him as world paranoia boils and the fight for Algerian independence turns France on its head.
Fallet (Sweden): A spoof of police procedurals with spunk, verve, and a lot of heart. The Swedish series follows a Stockholm homicide detective and British chief inspector, both uninvested and incompetent, who are paired up to investigate the murder of an Englishman at a last-ditch effort to save their jobs.
Rita (Denmark): Rita, a Danish teacher, is “too cool for school,” but in this comedy, she actually cares about her students, and her unorthodox attitude is a hallmark of her equally unorthodox approach to her pupils.
Merlí (Spain/Catalonia): A free-thinking firebrand lands a gig teaching high school philosophy just as bankruptcy forces him to move back in with his mother. Complicating matters is his son, whom Merlí’s ex drops off just as he’s evicted, and who turns out to be a student in his class.
Bonus Family (Sweden):A new couple, their exes and their children navigate the emotional challenges and tricky logistics of blended family life in this Swedish dramedy.
Drama
Dark (Germany): Dark clouds loom over the nuclear power plant that dominates the town and hangs over the complex storyline. Teenage boys start to disappear from the town, and these events prove to be the threads that reveal the dark, interconnected relationships of various citizens and the secrets they hold.
Occupied (Norway): In the not-so-distant future, the Norwegian Green Party, an environmentally friendly political formation, has taken control of the country, and has used their power to totally cease production of fossil fuels. When the oil stops flowing, the EU authorizes Russia to conduct a soft invasion of Norway and the geopolitical intrigue begins.
Money Heist (Spain): “The Professor” rounds up a group of talented criminals in hopes of pulling off the biggest heist in history. With high stakes, it’s a pulse-pounding action that manages to frame the story as thoughtfully as possible between gunshots and car chases.
Elite (Spain): Described as Riverdale meets Gossip Girl meets Big Little Lies, this show is full of teen melodrama. However, the material is elevated thanks to an inventive story structure that plays with the timeline, a reinvention of character tropes, and a murder mystery intertwined alongside the typical teenage drama.
Suburra: Blood on Rome (Italy): Instead of drugs or money, it is land that is at stake in this particular crime drama. A small group of young upstart criminals hatch a plan to get some land and establish themselves as underworld players. Our antiheroes quickly discover that there are many more experienced and more powerful hands playing this game, and that they might just be in over their heads.
The Life Ahead (Italy):An aged Holocaust survivor running a daycare business forms an unlikely friendship with a bitter sweet kid when she agrees to take him in.
Notre-Dame (France): Inspired by true accounts from French Firefighters, this drama explores the impact of the 2019 fire of Notre-Dame on a diverse group of Parisians
We are the Wave (Germany): A mysterious classmate leads four idealistic teens in a revolt against a rising tide of nationalistic fervor, but their movement takes a dark turn.
Borgen: Power & Glory (Denmark): Foreign Minister Birgitte Nyborg finds her career in jeopardy when a dispute over oil in Greenland threatens to become an international crisis.
Glória (Portugal): In the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, in the small village of Glória do Ribatejo, João Vidal will take on several high-risk espionage missions that could change the course of Portuguese and world history.
Lifestyle
Chef’s Table France (France): Sample the bold new flavors of France with chefs who are pushing the boundaries of fine dining and reinventing a rich culinary tradition
Sing On! Spain (Spain):In this fast-paced, high-energy karaoke competition, singers from all walks of life battle it out for up to 30,000 euros!
The Parisian Agency Exclusive Properties (France) : This reality series follows the Kretz family and their luxury property business as they help clients buy and sell fabulous homes in France and abroad.
The links below will take you directly to the official websites of the European Union. The EU is comprised of 27 member states. Four main decision-making institutions lead the EU’s administration and provide the EU with policy direction, playing different roles in the law-making process:
European Parliament
European Council
Council of the European Union
European Commission
Their work is complemented by other institutions and bodies, which include:
The Court of Justice of the European Union
The European Central Bank
The European Court of Auditors
The European External Action Service
The EU commission also has several public playlists on Spotify, including songs from specific countries and playlists for Human Rights, #EUGreenDeal, and European Film Music, among others.
Teacher to Teacher
Learn from and share with other educators who teach European topics.
Find links to learning tools created or suggested by your peers.
If you have links to a blog, photos, or a lesson plan to share please contact ejconrad@wisc.edu.
LATEST RECOMMENDATIONS
Primary Sources and Exhibits from UW–Madison Libraries
Whether you are looking for primary source material to support your European regionally themed lesson or hoping to expand your curriculum through archival research, the UW–Madison Libraries offer primary documents and artifacts on numerous subjects that may fit your purpose. You can work directly with our center or contact the UW Libraries for assistance.
INTERNATIONAL REACH – Cross-Cultural Speakers Program
Invite an international speaker to your classroom! International Reach (Reach) is a cross-cultural speakers program sponsored by International Student Services at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. This program places international speakers in schools, campus venues and community organizations for presentations, discussions and/or conversations. It provides interesting opportunities for international students to volunteer perspectives on their home countries with teachers, students and area residents for the purpose of furthering global education and intercultural dialogue.
PODCAST – Ask A Historian
The Ask a Historian podcast embodies the Wisconsin Idea, demonstrating that education should transcend beyond the classroom and that the university’s work should benefit the state and a wider audience. Every episode features an interview with a University of Wisconsin—Madison historian, who answers a question about the past submitted by our listeners.