Content, progress and pedagogy of the module

This module contains the following focus areas:

1. Topical seminars within displacement, mobility and refugee studies
2. Mobility and displacement
3. Culture, identity and politics

Objectives

Topical seminars: The module provides students with knowledge of the newest research related to selected topics and current issues within international and national responses to displacement, mobility and refugees with emphasis on its role as an intrinsic part of broader processes of development, political, social and economic change and globalization. Students will be asked to link theory to empirical cases using a problem-based approach. The students will be assessed partly based on their skills in reflecting upon methodological considerations and progress in problem based learning processes.

Mobility and displacement: The objective of the course is to provide students with knowledge of the various aspects of analysing forced migration, including refugee issues and knowledge of theoretical and methodological tools. Furthermore, the module will provide students with competences to analyse, interpret and contextualise broader discussions within forced migration from an interdisciplinary and comparative perspective. The students’ ability to reflect upon methodology and progress in their problem based learning process will be included in the assessment.

Culture, Identity and Politics: The objective of the module is to provide students with knowledge of theoretical and methodological discussions within the themes of culture, identity and politics in the context of refugees and migration. The module will link the more general theoretical analyses within the three fields with a specific analysis of refugees and migrants, both while they are on the move and when they arrive. The students’ ability to reflect upon methodology and progress in their problem based learning process will be included in the assessment.

Contents

Topical seminars: The module consists of several seminars on topics relevant to studies of displacement, paying special attention to the nature of both internal and international forced migration in contexts of conflict, repression, security, natural disasters, environmental change, mal-development, poverty, asylum, and policy-making. The module forms the basis for further empirical and theoretical analysis within the field in the project module of the semester.

Mobility and displacement: Topics dealing with the various aspects of the analysis of refugees and migrants from historical, developmental and political perspectives. Interdisciplinary discussions of refugees and migrants and the causes of forced migration.

Culture, identity and politics: Culture and identity issues of refugees and migrants - also from a political perspective. Cultural and identity-related analyses of the strategies refugees use as a group and to identify themselves politically and in relation to other groups.

Learning objectives

Knowledge

• Comprehend central concepts, theories and academic debates within the field of the chosen topics of the seminar.
• Possess knowledge of selected empirical cases or topical issues within the field of human mobility, international refugees and internally displaced people and situate displacement in a broad historical, international and human perspective.
• possess knowledge of the theoretical and methodological tools within the field of forced migration from a historical, developmental and political perspective and can reflect on these on a scientific basis
• have in-depth knowledge of the reasons and causes of forced migration.
• possess knowledge of the theoretical and methodological tools within the research areas of culture, identity and politics in relation to forced migration and can reflect on these on a scientific basis
• possess in-depth knowledge of the analytical perspectives in the discussion of culture, identity and politics in an interdisciplinary context.

Skills

• Are able to identify and delimit a problem area based on an empirical and theoretical understanding of a field within which development and international relations are interlinked.
• Have the ability to select and apply relevant theoretical perspectives to the chosen topic or debate
• Are able to reflect upon methodological implications of theoretical and empirical choices
• can apply their knowledge within the module’s subject areas to select theories that serve the analytical purpose and at the same time remain critical to these theories
• can analyse, interpret and contextualise forced migration from an interdisciplinary and comparative perspective.

Competences

• Can work independently on a topic linking human displacement, mobility and based on an empirical and theoretical understanding.
• Can identify, research, describe and analyze complex interdisciplinary questions relating to displacement, mobility and refugees
• Can communicate their research findings to an academic audience in a succinct manner either orally or in writing
• can analyse forced migration from different perspectives and thereby qualify themselves to work with refugees and migrants in various contexts.
• can reflect critically on the use of culture and identity in the analysis of forced migration.
• can reflect and argue on the basis of scientific knowledge

Type of instruction

The module consists of lectures, discussions, exercises and student contributions.

Exam

Exams