30 credits from completed course in Social Science and/or Humanities, and English 6

The course is divided into two main parts. The first part consists of a series of lectures introducing empirical cases from the region and relating those to central analytical concepts and approaches. This part is examined through a portfolio of mandatory assignments and an individual take-home exam. The second part consists of an individual course paper in which the student will identify, analyse and critically discuss a relevant empirical case from the region.

After completing the course the student will:

1. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the cultural, linguistic and social diversity of the Caucasus region

2. be able to apply central concepts in analyses of empirical cases from the Caucasus

3. be able to discuss general as well as specific problems related to individual- and group identity in the Caucasus region;

4. be able to critically reflect over societal and individual perspectives on diversity in the Caucasus region;

5. be able to recognize and critically evaluate academic and public debates related to diversity and similarity in the Caucasus.

The course is designed as a full time flexible distance study. Learning activities include online lectures; assignments; interactive exercises; online forum discussions; and web seminars. The majority of the student’s workload consists of independent reading and study.

The student’s performance in the course is assessed through online group discussions and individual written assignments, which should be completed and submitted within the given timeframes and restrictions.

- Learning outcomes 1-3 are assessed by means of a portfolio of mandatory assignments (4 credits) and an individual take-home exam (5 credits)

- Learning outcomes 1-5 are assessed by means of an individual course paper (6 credits)

Portfolio assignments are graded with Pass (G) or Fail (U). Individual take-home exams are graded with Excellent (A), Very Good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Pass (E) or Fail (U). The course grade is calculated based on the grades obtained in the individual take-home exams.

The course literature will be made available to students online through the university library and the course website.

Akkieva, Svetlana. 2008. 'The Caucasus: One or many? A view from the region.' Nationalities Papers 36, (2): 253-273.

Bedford, Sofie and Emil Aslan Souleimanov. 2016. 'Under construction and highly contested: Islam in the post-Soviet Caucasus'. Third World Quarterly, 2016, Vol. 37, No. 9, 1559–1580.

Catford, J.C. 1977. 'Mountain of Tongues: The Languages of the Caucasus'. Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 6, (1977), pp. 283-314.

Charles, Robia. 2010. 'Religiosity in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan'. Caucasus Analytical Digest. No 20: Religion in the South Caucasus, 2010. pp. 2-6.

Comrie, Bernard. 2008. 'Linguistic Diversity in the Caucasus'. Annual Review of Anthropology; 2008, Vol. 37, Issue 1, pp. 131-143.

de Waal, Thomas. 2010. The Caucasus: an introduction. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press.

Eriksen, Thomas Hylland. 2010. Small places, large issues: an introduction to social and cultural anthropology. 3rd ed. Pluto Press [selected chapters].

German, Tracey. 2012. “‘Good neighbours or distant relatives?’ Regional identity and cooperation in the South Caucasus.” Central Asian Survey, 31(2): 137-151.

Grenoble, Lenore A. 2003. Language Policy in the Soviet Union. Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Pavlenko, Aneta. 2008. 'Multilingualism in Post-Soviet Countries: Language Revival, Language Removal, and Sociolinguistic Theory'. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Volume 11, Issue 3-4, pp. 275-314.

Jenkins, Richard. 2014. Social identity. 4th ed. Routledge [selected chapters].

Malmö University provides students who participate in, or who have completed a course, with the opportunity to express their opinions and describe their experiences of the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarise the results of course evaluations. The University will also inform participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures taken in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).

If a course is no longer offered, or has undergone significant changes, the students must be offered two opportunities for re-examination based on the syllabus that applied at the time of registration, for a period of one year after the changes have been implemented.

If a student has a Learning support decision, the examiner has the right to provide the student with an adapted test, or to allow the student to take the exam in a different format. The syllabus is a translation of a Swedish source text.