Admission requirements
Admission to the MA Asian Studies (research) or another relevant Research MA. Students from other programmes are kindly referred to the course description of the regular MA course (10 EC) or the regular MA course (5 EC).
Students should have a general familiarity with histories of North and South Korea, both separately and together, as well as working grasp of Northeast Asian social and political dynamics and an interest in questions of migration and identity.
Description
The Korean peninsula has a tumultuous past; the region has been directly and greatly affected by many of the trends in modern world history. Colonialism, war, political division, Great Power conflict, compressed economic advancement, economic collapse and ruinous famine have all swept across the peninsula since the late 19th century.
The peoples of the peninsula have responded to the challenges in a number of ways. Among them, several big waves of migration have left the peninsula for other parts of Asia, the Americas and Europe (and, in some cases, back again to the Korean peninsula). In the processes, Korean identities have been put through the mill, and emerged radically altered.
In this seminar, we zoom in on Korean migrant communities to look at the notion of “being Korean” from under-explored perspectives. Using both written and audio materials, we pay special attention to the ways in which marginal Korean communities have navigated their often-troubled relationships with North and South Korea, the two competing states that now occupy the peninsula.
Course objectives
To review the impact of migration on modern East Asian history;
To place migrant communities in their proper context;
To consider what it means to identify with and within a divided nation;
To engage in critical discussion about culture and identity; and
To develop collaboration and presentation skills.
Timetable
The timetables are available through My Timetable.
The deadline(s) in MyTimetable is/are set for administrative purposes only. The actual date(s) will be communicated by the lecturer(s) in Brightspace.
Mode of instruction
Seminar.
Attendance is compulsory for all sessions. Students must prepare well and contribute to in-class discussion. If a student cannot attend because of illness or misadventure, they should promptly inform the convener. Extra assignments may be set to make up for missed class time, at the convener’s discretion. Absence without notification or more than three missed classes may result in lower grades or exclusion from assessment components and a failing grade for the course.
Assessment method
Academic integrity
Students should familiarize themselves with the notion of academic integrity and the ways in which this plays out in their own work. A good place to start is this page. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Students may not substantially reuse texts they have previously submitted in this or other courses. Minor overlap with previous work is allowed as long as it is duly noted in citation.For information on plagiarism (in the context of academic writing at large), see clips 4-5-6 in this series of video clips.
Students must submit their assignment(s) to Brightspace through Turnitin, so they can be checked for plagiarism. Submission via email is not accepted.
ChatGPT: What is possible and what is allowed? Dos and Don'ts.
Assessment and weighing
| Partial Assessment | Weighing |
|---|---|
| 1 assignment – critical review of literature on a Korean migration and migrant community (2,000 word | 30% |
| 1 presentation (10 mins; subject TBD | 10% |
| 1 final essay (6,000 words) | 60% |
The final mark for this course is formed by the weighted average, while the participation of the research MA students in the extra reading classes will also be taken into account.
To pass the course students must receive an overall mark of 5.50 (=6) or higher and a passing grade for the Final Essay assignment (5.5 or higher).
All categories of assessment must be completed in the same academic year. No partial marks can be carried over into following years.
Resit
Students who fail the course (receiving an overall mark of 5.49 (=5) or lower) or who fail the Final Essay assignment must take a resit (worth 100% of the grade).
Inspection and feedback
Feedback will be supplied primarily through Brightspace. If a student requests a review within 30 days after publication of the assessment results, a review will be organized.
Reading list
There is no required course text. Readings are listed in the course syllabus, which will be distributed in the period immediately preceding the beginning of the class.
For the Research MA students additional reading will be determined by the convener at a later stage taking into account the students’ fields of interest. Extra sessions will be organized to discuss this extra literature.
Registration
Enrolment through MyStudyMap is mandatory.
General information about course and exam enrolment is available on the website.
Contact
For substantive questions, contact the lecturer listed in the right information bar.
For questions about enrolment, admission, etc, contact the Education Administration Office Herta Mohr