ASOA15062U Migration, Cultural Diversity, and Gender (Summer 2019)

Volume 2018/2019
Education

BA/MA Elective Course
MSc 2015:

Culture, Lifestyle and Everyday Life

Content

This course offers an introduction into some of the intersectional perspectives on gender and cultural diversity in the sociology of migration. Because the field is so large and growing, I refer to “introduction” rather than “providing an overview” of perspectives. Sociologists have studied the relationship between migration, culture, and gender in a multiplicity of different ways focusing on the agency, choices, and structural conflicts experienced by migrants in relation to their gendered and sexual identity and social positionality, nationality, ethnicity, and material realities. How do cultural and gendered representations and expectations influence migrants, refugees, and members of sexual or ethnic minorities in the process of transferring to a new society and political context? What institutional and structural patterns facilitate cultural integration and social inclusion within host societies? What role do cultural and ethnic boundaries intersecting with gendered representations play within violent conflicts, economic injustice, and other contexts that force people to leave their countries? In our readings we will combine theoretical discussion with empirical investigation in order to understand big debates about migration, identity and belonging, cultural integration and social inclusion, and transnational practices of citizenship. Second, we will apply sociological concepts and methods of intersectional analysis to shed light on dynamics that are central to other subfields of gender and sexuality, including queer migration scholarship. This means balancing classical texts with contemporary ones, theoretical readings with empirical ones, and explicitly sociological pieces with ones drawn from media research, political science, and feminist studies.

Learning Outcome

Knowledge:

The course will provide the students with knowledge of

- an introduction into the some of the interdisciplinary perspectives on migration, cultural diversity, and gender in the field of cultural sociology

- familiarity with the recent literature on intersectionality and gender in the context of migration studies, focusing specifically on qualitative approaches, and on narrative, ethnographic, comparative and transnational research perspectives. 

Skills:

Students will have trained their ability to

- compare and contrast key theoretical perspectives that are central to the wider MA specialization in Knowledge, Organisation and Politics and Culture, Lifestyle, and Everyday Life.

- identify significant historical and contemporary developments in research on gender, culture, and migration.

- review and reflect on the research literature on migration, culture, and gender from an interdisciplinary perspective acquiring insights into a number of different disciplines and their conceptualization of the themes we discuss as well as their state of the art. 

Competencies:

In carrying out the presentations, projects, and short written assignments students demonstrate that they have acquired competencies that allow them to independently

- identify and analyze cases and settings where individual trajectories of migration, gendered and culturally specific power structures and transnational politics shape or influence people’s lives and identifications. They demonstrate that they are able to analyze case studies and research on migration, culture, and gender reflecting about different national, political and transnational context conditions.

This involves to

- develop ideas for adequate empirical case studies and critical analytical questions, assessed in written form and to be presented in class,

- to reflect methodologically on how to critically analyse empirical research on the issues we discuss during the exercises and written assignments.

Finally, students should also be able to

- assess and discuss the practical and broader theoretical implications of their project ideas for key actors, issues, and problems within and across different national and cultural contexts and the relevant fields of research on migration, culture, and gender analyzed.

 

 

Readings are comprised of peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and discursive data including news articles, and digital media publications. Students are responsible for 600-700 pages of reading for 7,5 ECTS.
 

No specific and non-standard competences are required for attending this course. Knowledge of sociological theory and method at (or equivalent to) the BA level is expected.
Lectures, class discussions, student presentations, exercises and short written assignments based on the readings. The presentations include project work (either individually or in groups). Students are expected to contribute actively to discussion of core theoretical-analytical tools as well as the more specific analytical examples and case studies. In their short written assignments, students are expected to identify their own analytical questions and demonstrate their capacity to critically assess and analyze empirical data based on the examples and case studies we discuss in class.
Dette kursus har adgangsbegrænsninger. Kurset vil som udgangspunkt ikke blive udbudt igen. Du kan således ikke planlægge efter, at det udbydes i senere semestre, end hvad der fremgår af denne kursusbeskrivelse.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 28
  • Exam Preparation
  • 11
  • Exercises
  • 70
  • Preparation
  • 97
  • Total
  • 206
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Course participation under invigilation
Active participation consist of:

1) Active attendance (minimum 80%)
2) Oral participation
3) One project for each student during the course.
Exam registration requirements

Sociology students must be enrolled under BSc Curriculum 2016 or MSC Curriculum 2015 to take this exam.

Credit students must be at bachelor level.

 

Marking scale
passed/not passed
Censorship form
No external censorship
Exam period

Submission dates and time will be available at KUnet, www.kunet.dk. Exchange students and danish full degree guest students please see the homepage of Sociology; http://www.soc.ku.dk/english/education/exams/ and http://www.soc.ku.dk/uddannelser/meritstuderende/eksamen/

Re-exam

At re-exam, the form of examination is the same as ordinary exam.
If the form of examination is ”active participation” the re-examination form is always “free written take-home essay”.

Criteria for exam assesment

See learning outcome