Course syllabus autumn 2019
Course syllabus autumn 2019
Title
Problems and Questions in Contemporary IMER Research
Swedish title
Problem och frågeställningar inom aktuell IMER-forskning
Course code
IM631L
Credits
30 credits
Grading scale
UA / Excellent (A), Very Good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Pass (E) or Fail (U)
Language of instruction
English
Decision-making body
Faculty of Culture and Society
Syllabus approval date
2019-06-13
Syllabus valid from
2019-09-02
Entry requirements
Bachelor degree in social sciences or humanities + the equivalent of English course B
Level
Advanced level
No main field.
Progression level
A1N
Progression level in relation to degree requirements
The course is not part of a main field of study.
Course objectives
This course offers in-depth knowledge of central issues in international migration and ethnic relations (IMER). It draws on ongoing research at the department and the expertise of the teaching researchers. The aim is both to develop an understanding of state of the art knowledge in the field and to examine how such knowledge is and can be produced. In so doing, the course consistently combines and integrates theoretical and methodological queries.
The course’s underlying pedagogical philosophy is that the generic intellectual skills of critical thinking and independent analysis are best developed in delimited thematic contexts, in which the connection between knowledge about (findings and theories) and knowledge how (methodology) are most visible and open for scrutiny. To this end, the course is focused on key problems and questions in contemporary IMER research, and benefits from the expertise and current research in the department. Apart from offering students in-depth knowledge on a selected set of subjects in the IMER field, it also develops a more profound and general understanding of what it means “to know” something and how such knowledge is produced in the social sciences.
Course contents
Each module consists of one general and one specific part. The first part introduces the field, key concepts and theories, important findings and main controversies through a series of lectures and seminars with fixed content/readings. The second part consists of individual work on a more specific topic within the wider area, in which students in dialogue with the teacher(s) select and review a particular research field. The reviewed material can be either secondary or primary. Teaching in the second part is organized as a series of supervision workshops where students and teacher(s) meet and discuss selection and assessment of their respective research fields.
Every autumn two of the following modules will be available for students. The two modules will be offered in succession. Two months before the course starts the two modules will be announced. Each module consists of approximately 1,000 pages of compulsory reading plus an additional 1,000 pages or the equivalent of readings/material selected in agreement with the teacher/s.
The four modules are:
- Populism and Democracy: Party Politics and Beyond
- Race and Ethnicity
- Studying Migration and Im/mobility through Qualitative Research
- Norms and Values in International Migration
Modules
Populism and Democrac: Part Politics and Beyond, 15 credits
Module contents
The module focuses firstly on populism as a societal phenomenon with the key question being the relation between populism and democracy, and secondly it will scrutinize the so-called Populist Radical Right Parties in relation to their national contexts.
Module learning outcomes
Module learning activities
Module assessment
Race and Ethnicity, 15 credits
Module contents
The emphasis in this course is on developing a general theoretical understanding of what race and ethnicity means. Through lectures, discussions and watching documentary films, theories of race and ethnicity are related to examples in order to deepen the understanding of race and ethnicity in the contemporary world.
Module learning outcomes
Module learning activities
Module assessment
Migration and Im/mobility through Qualitative Reseach, 15 credits
Module contents
The module focuses on how migration and mobility impact on individuals’ lives, and how to conduct research that places mobility at its core. The main focus is on the micro level and the lived experiences which are accessed through the narratives of migrants.
Module learning outcomes
Module learning activities
Module assessment
Norms and Values in International Migration, 15 credits
Module contents
International migration is a field of conflicting goals and realities. This module examines the role and meaning of norms and values in this field from both empirical and normative perspectives, drawing on contemporary research and theories in political theory, anthropology and sociology.
Module learning outcomes
Module learning activities
Module assessment
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course the student is able to:
- Critically identify key issues and debates within the IMER field.
- Critically consider the multidisciplinary foundation of IMER and of the methodological considerations connected to different subjects and problems.
- Collect and systematize appropriate material within a given area of research.
- Critically consider methodological choices and identify and discuss theoretical issues in the formulation of research questions and to support the choice of method.
- Analyse and evaluate empirical data with regard to relevant scientific social and ethical aspects.
- Produce written and oral presentation of research results.
Learning activities
The course is designed to facilitate students’ introduction and participation in the research fields in question. To this end, three types of learning activities are emphasized as spelled out below:
- Lectures that introduce the field, main problems and questions, findings and controversies through selected readings.
- Seminars where students discuss research (as secondary or primary material), which is distributed, read and analyzed beforehand.
- Individual overview and assessment of a selected research subject on the basis of a selected material (secondary or primary) and presented as a research review.
Assessment
The modules examine the students’ performance in the obligatory seminars (Learning Outcomes 1, 2, 5) and the written research review (Learning Outcomes 3, 4, 5, 6). A pass on both accounts is required for passing the course. Students who fail the seminars are required to hand in written make-up assignments. Students who fail the research review are offered the minimum of two re-take opportunities.
Course literature and other study material
Each module consists of approximately 1,000 pages of compulsory reading plus an additional 1,000 pages or the equivalent of readings/material selected in agreement with the teacher/s.
Race and Ethnicity, 15 credits
- Brubaker, R (2015) Grounds for difference. Harvard University Press, Cambridge and London. (p219)
- Song, M. 2003. Choosing Ethnic Identity. Polity Press (192 pages). (2014)
- Murji, K and Solomos, J (eds). 2014. Theories of race and ethnicity: contemporary debates and perspectives, Cambridge University press, (308 pages).
- Wise, T (2010) Colorblind: Barack Obama, Post-Racial Liberalism and the Retreat from Racial Equity. City Light Books (216 pages)
Norms and Values in International Migration, 15 credits
- Adey, Peter, Bissell, David, Hannam, Kevin, Merriman, Peter, and Sheller, Mimi (2017) The Routledge Handbook of Mobilities. New York, London: Routledge.
- Carens, Joseph (2013) The Ethics of Immigration. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Fine, Sarah and Ypi, Lea (eds.) (2016) Migration in Political Theory. The Ethics of Movement and Membership. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Graeber, David (2001) Toward an Anthropological Theory of Value. The False Coin of Our Own Dreams. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Miller, David (2016) Strangers in Our Midst. The Political Philosophy of Immigration. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
- Sykes, Karen (ed.) (2009) Ethnographies of moral reasoning: Living paradoxes of a global age. New York: Palgrave (chapter 1).
Course evaluation
The University provides students who participate in or who have completed a course with the opportunity to make known their experiences and viewpoints with regards to the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarize the results of course evaluations as well as informing participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures initiated in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).
Interim rules
If a course is no longer offered or has undergone major changes, students will be offered a minimum of two re-take sessions based on the syllabus in force at registration during a period of one year from the date of the implementation of the changes.