Admission requirements
This course is part of the (Res)MA History Programme. Students from within the specialization the course belongs to have right of way. It is not accessible for BA students.
Description
Policy makers, politicians, journalists and academic stress the importance of a cohesive society, with room for diversity (according to ethnicity/race/origin, gender, class, religion, ability, skill and sexuality). Diversity policies are meant to enhance social cohesion, but in practice they oftentimes do not work out as intended or planned. This is a problem because the idea that policies are 'failing', and that part of the people are excluded, undermines trust in and the working of democracy. The dilemma is that, in order to be able to address all citizens equally, they must be treated unequally. In this course we focus on the period since 1900 and ask how different actors have dealt with diversity, conflicting interests, power and identities. We will study the histories of ‘diversity management’ from an intersectional perspective. This means we analyze how categories of power and identity, such as ethnicity/race/origin, gender, class, religion, ability, skill and sexuality intersected. We will study these histories on different levels (local, national, global) and from the perspective of different actors (policymakers, self-advocates and claim makers, street-level bureaucrats, diplomats). The course will include excursions to (more and less organized) archives.
Course objectives
General learning objectives
The student has acquired:
The ability to independently identify and select literature, using traditional and modern techniques;
The ability to independently identify and select sources, using traditional and modern techniques;
The ability to analyse and evaluate a corpus of sources with a view to addressing a particular historical problem;
The ability to analyse and evaluate literature with a view to addressing a particular historical problem;
The ability to independently formulate a clear and well-argued research question, taking into account the theory and method of the field and to reduce this question to accessible and manageable sub-questions;
The ability to independently set up and carry out an original research project that can make a contribution to existing scholarly debates;
The ability to give a clear and well-founded oral and written report on research results in correct English, when required, or Dutch, meeting the criteria of the discipline;
The ability to participate in current debates in the specialisation;
The ability to provide constructive feedback to and formulate criticism of the work of others and the ability to evaluate the value of such criticism and feedback on one’s own work and incorporate it;
(ResMA only:) The ability to participate in a discussion of the theoretical foundations of the discipline.
Learning objectives, pertaining to the specialisation
The student has acquired:
Thorough knowledge and comprehension of one of the specialisations or subtracks as well as of the historiography of the specialisation, focusing particularly on the following;
-in the specialisation Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence: the manner in which migrations (of people, goods and ideas) between and within states have led to shifts (in cohesion, ethnic composition, policies, imaging, culture, and power relations) in the period 1600-2000, with a focus on (urban) networks (within and across borders).Thorough knowledge and comprehension of the theoretical, conceptual and methodological aspects of the specialisation or subtrack in question, with a particular focus on the following:
-in the specialisation Cities, Migration and Global Interdependence: the interdisciplinary approach (application of theories and methods from social sciences), the comparative perspective (diachronic and synchronic) and working with a large variety of primary sources.
Learning objectives, pertaining to this Research Seminar
The student has acquired:
The ability to employ an interdisciplinary approach (using theories and methods from social sciences);
The ability to study diversity from a comparative perspective (diachronic and synchronic);
The ability to work with a large variety of primary sources;
(ResMA only): The ability to interpret a potentially complex corpus of sources; the ability to identify new approaches within existing academic debates.
Timetable
The timetables are available through MyTimetable.
Mode of instruction
- Seminar (compulsory attendance)
This means that students must attend every session of the course. Students who are unable to attend must notify the lecturer beforehand. The teacher will determine if and how the missed session can be compensated by an additional assignment. If specific restrictions apply to a particular course, the lecturer will notify the students at the beginning of the semester. If a student does not comply with the aforementioned requirements, the student will be excluded from the seminar.
Assessment method
Assessment
Written paper (ca. 7500 words, based on research in primary sources, including footnotes and bibliography)
Measured learning objectives: 1-9, 12-15 (ResMA also 10 and 16)Oral presentation
Measured learning objectives: 3-7Participation and assignments
Measured learning objectives: 11-12, 12-15 (ResMA also 16)(ResMA students: organize and chair the closing conference
Measured learning objectives: 10, 13, 16)
Weighing
Written paper: 70%
Oral presentation: 10%
Class participation: 5%
Assignment 1: 5% (for ResMA: 4%)
Assignment 2: 5% (for ResMA: 3%)
Assignment 3: 5% (for ResMA: 3%)
The final grade for the course is established by determining the weighted average with the additional requirement that the written paper must always be sufficient.
Deadlines
Assignments and written papers should be handed in within the deadline as provided in the relevant course outline on Brightspace.
Resit
Should the overall mark be unsatisfactory, the paper is to be revised after consultation with the instructor.
Inspection and feedback
How and when a review of the written paper will take place will be disclosed together with the publication of the results at the latest. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the results, a review of the written paper will have to be organised.
Reading list
No books will have to be bought. A reading list will be provided via Brightspace. All material can be downloaded (and shoud be downloaded before the first meeting).
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
Contact
For course related questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office: Huizinga.
Remarks
Not applicable.