This module is not currently running in 2024 to 2025.
This module will begin by outlining key issues relating to migration in the context of nationalism, national identity and belonging/membership. It will explore the definitions of each of these terms from a variety of theoretical/disciplinary perspectives. The interactions between the three will be examined as well. In so doing, the module will look at diaspora groups, immigrant groups, non-migrant populations and minorities. Developing and developed countries will both be discussed, while minorities such as African-Americans in the United States as well as Hungarians in Romania will be included. Sociological, political science and legal perspectives will be emphasized.
Total contact hours: 24
Private study hours: 176
Total study hours: 200
MA in Migration Studies (Brussels) and other MA programmes
Presentation, 10 minutes (10%)
Research paper, 5000 words (90%).
Reassessment methods: 100% coursework.
Reading list (Indicative list, current at time of publication. Reading lists will be published annually)
Anderson, B. 1991.Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. London: Verso.
Bauböck, R. 1996. "Cultural Minority Rights for Immigrants" In: International Migration Review, Vol 30 (1): 203-250.
Bauböck, R. 2006. "Citizenship And Migration – Concepts And Controversies" In: Migration and Citizenship: Legal Status, Rights and Political Participation, ed. Rainer Bauböck.
Fallon, K. 2003. "Transforming Women's Citizenship Rights within an Emerging Democratic State: The Case of Ghana" In: Gender and Society, Vol. 17 (4): 525-543
Kurthen, H. 1995. "Germany at the Crossroads: National Identity and the Challenges of Immigration" In: International Migration Review, Vol. 29 (4): 914-938.
Martinez, L. 2005. "Yes We Can: Latino Participation in Unconventional Politics" In: Social Forces, Vol 84(1): 135-155.
Mavroudi, E. 2007. "Learning to be Palestinian in Athens: constructing national identities in diaspora" In: Global Networks Vol 7(4): 392–411.
Morris, L. 1997. "Globalization, Migration and the Nation-State: The Path to a Post-National Europe?" In: The British Journal of Sociology, Vol. 48 (2): 192-209.
Noiriel, G. 1995. "Immigration: Amnesia and Memory" In: French Historical Studies, Vol. 19 (2): 367-380.
Soysal, Y. 1994. Limits of Citizenship: Migrants and Postnational Membership in Europe. Chicago: Chicago UP.
Tsuda, T. Forthcoming. "Ambivalent Encounters with the Ethnic Homeland: Diasporic Return in Comparative Perspective" In: Diasporic Homecomings: Ethnic Return Migrants in Comparative Perspective, ed. Takeyuki Tsuda. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press
See the library reading list for this module (Canterbury)
The intended subject specific learning outcomes. On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1. understand the interaction between migration and identity;
2. examine the differences – and implications of those differences – between immigrant minorities and autochthonous minorities;
3. examine different theoretical approaches to the study of identity;
4. examine the situation of diasporas and their role both in the diaspora and in the titular nation from cultural, legal and political perspectives;
5. examine the influence of laws upon belonging/membership and the interaction with identity;
6. understand the variety of ways in which "belonging" (or membership) can be defined;
7. understand the impact a state and its policies can have upon identity and belonging/membership.
The intended generic learning outcomes. On successfully completing the module students will be able to:
1. Conduct effective in-depth, independent research into a particular problem;
2. Synthesize and analyse disparate material;
3. Apply theoretical concepts to case studies;
4. Analyse case studies in an interdisciplinary manner, applying appropriate theoretical concepts;
5. Think clearly about reading material and discussion and to express reasoned arguments verbally in a seminar setting;
6. Develop logical arguments based upon sound reasoning and understanding of the material and express these arguments in a written format.
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