Tags
WP, HD
Admissions requirements
Transnational Politics and a 200-level course (Nations and Nationalism or Power in Politics) or permission from the instructor.
Description
This course is addressing the contemporary salience of memory and the controversies it has caused. We witness to a memory boom of unprecedented proportions in the past two and a half decades. The events that followed the break-up of the Cold War structure undoubtedly have democratized a space for the unheard voices, but they also opened a space for revising history through relativizing of the historical facts. The post-World War Two grand historical narrative has increasingly become fluid (if not faded or forgotten) and memory and its representations became an obsession of contemporary culture and politics, generating many passionate debates in politics and the academy. The course will begin by exploring modern memory theory and the processes how memory works (e.g. Through which processes an individual memory becomes collective?). The course then moves on to look at public memory and the controversies it has activated. After exploring the theoretical issues, we will examine case studies of public remembering (in the U.S., Europe and Asia) and its politics in different parts of the world asking an overarching question what does a reorganization of the temporality (past-present-future) in different contexts means, and what is the politics behind it.
Course objectives
This module aims to provide a critical exploration of key issues and challenges related to the politics of memory in a globalized world. By the end of the module, students will be able to:
Evaluate major concepts and theories related to collective memory
Identify remembering/forgetting practices in public life to acknowledge diverse ways in which memory works in public and everyday life
Critically engage with the problem of mobilization of memory as politics, and argue about the complex relations between the practices of memory and the practices of politics
Implement theoretical and conceptual tools in the analysis of empirical cases
Demonstrate appropriate cognitive, communicative and transferable skills; develop the capacity for independent learning, critique major texts and approaches and lead class discussions.
Timetable
Once available, timetables will be published here.
Mode of instruction
The course is taught through two-hour seminars. Students will be expected to participate in both large and small group discussions; present and defend their ideas within an academic setting; and take part in individual presentations. The instructor will facilitate and ensure the efficient running of the discussion, but students are responsible for shaping its direction. Each seminar has a ‘required reading’ list that must be read in advance of each seminar. Students will write 4 weekly reflection notes based on compulsory readings for next week (submission end of the weeks 2,3,4 and 5). Students are also recommended to read some of the items listed under ‘suggested reading’ prior to each seminar and use the extended list as a starting point in their preparation for essay writing.
Assessment
Assessment 1: Seminar Participation (15%)
Students are expected to actively participate in all seminar activities (15% of final grade).
Assessment 2: Weekly reflection notes – 4 notes (500 words) per 7,5% (30%)
There will be 4 reflection notes to be written and submitted, by the end of weeks 2, 3, 4 and 5. Each note should be around 500 words long (excluding references and footnotes). Questions to discuss in the reflection notes will be announced a week in advance, and they will be based on the next week’s topic and compulsory readings.
Assessment 3: Presenting a proposal for individual research essay (15%)
The proposal will form the basis of your individual research essay, and constitute 15% of the final grade. It is an individual presentation that should last no longer than 10 minutes together with the Q&A. You should present on your main idea for research paper, have a clearly articulated research problem, structure and methodology. You are expected to engage in discussion based on your classmates and instructor’s questions, and to benefit from their comments. Overall performance during presentation and Q&A session will be graded (15% of final grade).
Assessment 4: Individual Research Essay 40%
The final component of assessment is an individual research essay (between 3,500 and 4000-word long, excluding bibliography), worth 40% of the final grade, addressing a problem related to the politics of memory.
Essay should focus on the theoretical issues at stake and use examples to illustrate and substantiate your general arguments. It should have a clear introduction and conclusion, a coherent and logical argument running through the essay, and offer reasons/evidence in support of your position. The analysis should draw on and critically engage with a good range of sources, and all ideas and information should be properly referenced.
Blackboard
There will be a Blackboard site available for this course. Students will be enrolled at least one week before the start of classes.
Reading list
TBA via Blackboard.
Registration
This course is open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Registration is coordinated by the Curriculum Coordinator. Interested non-LUC students should contact course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.
Contact
Dr. Maja Vodopivec, room 4.07, by appointment or during office hours, m.vodopivec@luc.leidenuniv.nl.