Theoretical Foundations of the IMER-field

Course Code: IM625E

Institution:

Department of Global Political Studies

Revision:

3

For students admitted fall 2011  

Other set versions

Approval

The course was established 26 February 2009.
This course syllabus (version 3) was approved 19 July 2011 by the Board of Studies at Faculty of Culture and Society (SMS).
The syllabus is valid from 29 August 2011. Replacement for course syllabus ratified 17 June 2010.

Education level

Second cycle

Advancement in relation to the degree requirements

The course can normally be included in a generel degree at advanced level.

Entry requirements

Bachelor degree in social sciences or humanities + the equivalent of English course B.

Learning outcomes

After finishing the course, the student:

• can show specialised knowledge of key issues and concepts in the field of study encompassed by IMER;
• can show knowledge of how theoreticians in the social sciences and humanities have addressed issues of migration, ethnicity and cultural diversity;
• can show specialised knowledge of how major currents within sociological, anthropological and philosophical thinking are made relevant for the perception of ethnic and race relations, group identities and mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion in modernizing and multicultural societies;
• has the ability to apply critical analysis to contemporary theoretical positions and show their derivation from earlier schools of thought;
• has the ability to formulate critical, tenable and substantiated scientific arguments orally as well as in writing.

Assessments

The assessment of students’ knowledge and understanding will be based on the written and oral presentations they produce individually. The number of presentations each student is expected to conduct depends on the number of students enrolled in the course. The seminar work, in any case, will be equally divided among them.

At least two re-examinations will be organized for each assignment. Re-examinations consist of written reports on the assignment topic.


The course is graded using the Swedish system of Väl Godkänd (Pass with distinction), Godkänd (Pass) and Underkänd (Fail), together with the ECTS-grading system of A, B, C, D, E, F(x), and F.


Course content

The course will present and problematise the work of classical theoreticians within social sciences, primarily sociology and anthropology. It will increase the students’ awareness of the theoretical and empirical traditions that form the historical fundament of present-day IMER research. Important perspectives for the exploration of ethnic relations – including the role of cultural and social circumstances for how such relations develop over time – and for understanding the consequences of international migration will be highlighted.


Learning activities

The learning process is student-driven. It relies on the initiatives by, and contributions of, students. Lectures will only be used as a means of introduction. The course consists mainly of seminars. Each seminar consists of topical presentations by students and/or lecturers, followed by a discussion.


Grading system

Fail (U), Pass (G) or Pass with Distinction (VG).


Reading list and other media

Benhabib, Seyla. 2004. The rights of others: Aliens, residents, and citizens. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (251 pp.)

Cornell, Stephen & Hartmann, Douglas. 2006. Ethnicity and Race: Making Identities in a Changing World London. Pine Forge Press (336 pp.)

Martinello, Marco & Rath, Jan (red). 2010. Selected Studies in International Migration and Immigrant Incorporation Amsterdam. Amsterdam University Press (640 pp.)

Sollos, Werner (red). 1996. Theories of Ethnicity: A Classical Reader New York. NYU Press (400 pp.)

Wimmer Andreas and Nina Glick Schiller. 2003. Methodological nationalism, the social sciences, and the study of migration: an essay in historical epistemology. International Migration Review 37(3): 576–610. [Available through Wiley Interscience] (34 pp.)

Özkirimlis, Umut. 2010. Theories of Nationalism. A critical introduction. London. Macmillan. (288 pp.)


Course evaluation

All students are offered an opportunity to give oral or written feedback at the end of the course.