HENK00036U English, 2017 curriculum - Free topic 6: From the Local to the Global: Society and Politics in a Changing World Order

Volume 2017/2018
Content

Description:  This course combines aspects of globalization and nationalism in a way that can be termed “Intermestic”—international plus domestic. Local community building within the nation-state we know as the United States of America comes from migration patterns long-established and newly minted. These immigrants—whether they are legal or undocumented; refugees, asylum seekers, dreamers; walk-ins, climb overs, or fly-ins—bring the world with them into societies ready or not ready to receive them. Nationalism is rising everywhere to push back the trends of liberal cosmopolitanism and economic and political globalization. As this happens, the 70-year-long world order established and led by the United States since WWII is being challenged by reorientations toward EU and Chinese leadership. That produces a struggle by three titans for either power sharing or hegemonic primacy. Alliance systems, family ties, and economic concerns create a complex interdependency in many ways, including the idea of the “West” and one of “Chimerica” (the world’s most important and dangerous bilateral” G-2” relationship linking the two biggest economies and setting the two biggest militaries at odds). Course materials include weekly internet reading assignments on current events, video clips, and textbooks combining theory, history, political science, sociology, and literary sources. The course focuses on contemporary issues of the 21st Century.

 

Module A: American Mosaic: Transnational Immigration Narratives

The USA has always been a nation of immigrants, a verity so repeatable and repeated that the statement has become a cliché. The American Dream and Creed are ideas that stem from immigrant hopes, experiences and transnational understandings. In the 21st Century there have been profound changes in immigration patterns and immigrant life which include paradoxes in the ways people migrate, are welcomed or incarcerated, assimilate or remain “foreign,” and reflect the transnational identities attendant to the physical and virtual border crossings of our era. This course seeks to make sense of the complex and controversial issues involved in making a national/transnational/global identity from a diverse group of humans gathered together in an ever young, new, and “permanently unfinished” society.   

Module B: Tangled Titans: EU-China-US Relations

This module looks into the paradigm shift in world politics as a new form of hyper-nationalism confronts globalism. The uni-polar moment of American superpower dominance is in relative decline as a diplomatic triangle of particular interests must try to adjust and to answer to the rising fears of terrorism, social media and internet actors, border security, economic restructuring, and military posturing among other issues.

Course Materials: Both components rely on weekly internet connections to news sources, think tanks, blogs, etc. that will surface each week as the course progresses. The modules will each include two of the most current textbooks, to be determined by availability no later than mid-December 2017.

Classes, with particular emphasis on reading primary and secondary texts, oral discussion and developing proficiency in English.
Module A: American Mosaic: Transnational Immigration Narratives will be taught in weeks 6-12, four hours/week and Module B: Tangled Titans: EU-China-US Relations will be taught in weeks 14-20, four hours/week.

This course only leads to exams Free Topic 1, Free Topic 2 and Free Topic 3.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Class Instruction
  • 56
  • Preparation
  • 353,5
  • Total
  • 409,5
Credit
15 ECTS
Type of assessment
Portfolio, A joint portfolio for both courses uploaded in digital exam: Deadline June 12th 2018
One oral presentation with PPT slides on a date assigned by the instructor (25%). One 5-7 page essay in the form of a case study due in week 8 (25%). One final essay of 11-15 pages due at the end of week 12 (total 50% of final grade). All written work will be uploaded to Absalon.
Exam registration requirements

This course only leads to exams Free Topic 1, Free Topic 2 and Free Topic 3.

Criteria for exam assesment