HI-138 Migration: A Global History

Teaching language

English

Recommended prerequisites

Speaking and reading competences in English

Course contents

The course Migration: A Global History charts a long history of migration as a global phenomenon. At the center of attention are mobile people as they cross borders, settle in different places, and interact with native populations. The long-term perspective of this course aims to show how the mobility of people in world history has been a constant. The students are encouraged to think about how people and societies shape and have been shaped by migration. We will ask: In what social, political, cultural, and economic contexts did people move? In chronological order, we will discuss - among other topics - the forced migration of enslaved people from Africa to the Americas that started in the 1500s, settler colonialism, labor migrations such as the "coolie trade" from Asia and other forms of (forced) migratory contract labor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. We will conclude the course with the current situation of refugees crossing the Mediterranean. In addition to the Mediterranean Sea, other seas and oceans serve as places of connection and barriers for migrants, such as the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean. Based on case studies the lectures will pose questions surrounding concepts and types of migration, and thereby discuss, for example, the problematic dichotomies of forced chattel slavery on the one hand, and supposedly free migratory wage labor on the other. We will analyze gender and migration and speak about integration into host societies. Theoretical texts alongside primary sources will complement the literature that we will read. The language in the classroom will be English.

Learning outcomes

When the course is completed, the student should:

Knowledge:

• have a basic overview of different forms of mobility through time

• be able to distinguish between and make sense of several migratory groups and cases

• be able to grasp central concepts within the historiography on migration, such as forced/free migrations, gender and migration, and questions of assimilation and integration

• know a starting point of framing history not through the nation-state but through larger geographical areas, for example the Atlantic or the Pacific oceans

• understand how to locate movements of people across lands, waters, and borders within larger global contexts while understanding current migrations within a longer history.

Skills:

• have a skill set that entail historical-critical thinking, tools for developing an argument, and reading strategies for academic texts.

Competence:

• be able to understand and apply the basics for contributing to the scholarly debate by means of discussions and paper writing. In the case of the latter, they will apply the most relevant skills of completing an academic paper that entails an argument, a basic historiography, correct citations and a bibliography.

Examination requirements

For students in the teacher education: The practice period must be completed and passed.

All other students (voluntary for the teacher students): Within a given deadline a draft (1-2 pages) for the term paper must be submitted and approved.

Further information will be posted on Canvas when the semester starts.

Teaching methods

The class form will alternate between lectures and seminars. Each week there will be a two-hour lecture followed by a two-hour seminar. The readings will be discussed in the seminars. Readings of the texts is a prerequisite to participating. Teacher-students have two weeks that they can use to fulfill their expected teaching practice. The lecturer and the student will communicate through Canvas where the tools provided to them will be used.

Evaluation

The study programme manager, in consultation with the student representative, decides the method of evaluation and whether the courses will have a midterm- or end of term evaluation, see also the Quality System, section 4.1. Information about evaluation method for the course will be posted on Canvas.

Offered as Single Standing Module

Yes. Subject to availability or capacity.

Assessment methods and criteria

1.    Final paper (total of 3500 words +/-10 percent, not counting the footnotes/in-text citations and bibliography); final paper is written individually. Counts 70 % toward final grade.

2.    One two hours individual written examination. Counts 30 % toward final grade.

Both exams must be passed. Graded assessment.