Postcolonial Migration and Citizenship in Multi-cultural Societies
7.5 credits
Migration and mobility of an increasing amount of people is one of today's major global challenges. Migration means crossing borders, questioning sovereignty of national states and raising questions about belonging and citizenship. Specific laws, institutions and practices within different countries create decisive conditions for migration and migrants. These conditions determine who can migrate and to where they can migrate. These conditions exclude some people, include others and create categories that in turn determine what kind of protection, reception and settlement that will be possible.
This course is intended for those who in their current or future work meet people with experience of migration as well as for those who are curious about migration and want to know more about how different societies and societal institutions respond to migration.
This course concentrates specifically on three main issues: why people migrate, how ideas about migration and images of migrants are constructed, and what the impact is of different theories of nation, citizenship, diversity, sovereignty, and belonging at various levels in contemporary society. The course examines how categorizations of refugees, migrants, and their different statuses are formed in intersections between various discourses and policies in Sweden, the EU, and on a global scale. During the course, current theories, ethics and political discourses of postcolonial migration are presented and problematized. Accordingly, these theories provide the ground for more indepth study and analysis of the connection between postcolonial migration and discourses about citizenship and belonging in the context of globalization and nation state. Moreover, the course will explore how these discourses can determine processes of inclusion and exclusion and impact conditions regarding diversity in pluralistic societies.
The course is combined with program students at the Faculty of Social Sciences and national-, international- and exchange students who study independent course.
Join a global community at an international university!
This course is an elective course within the master's programme in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies. The programme is designed to meet the societal and academic need for a discerning and critical analysis of the impact and consequences of colonialism in history and today. A special focus lies on how the modern world has been shaped through the colonial exercise of power, discourse, networks, and knowledge, and how these factors continue to impact economic, social, cultural, and political relations in postcolonial contemporary society. There is a close collaboration with the international research centre Concurrences.
Distance – study where you are
Distance learning can be structured in different ways – it may be entirely online, or include a few on-campus sessions or meetings at one of our learning centres. The common factor is that most of the learning happens online.
You communicate with your teacher and fellow students through a learning platform, which provides access to discussion forums, group work opportunities, and digital meetings. In many cases, you also have access to recorded lectures via the platform.
The advantage of distance learning is its flexibility – ideal for those who want more freedom to decide when and where to study. However, keep in mind that some mandatory elements of your programme may take place during working hours, even if they are conducted online.
Build your own degree
Did you know that you can combine single-subject courses to build your own degree? In this way, you can design your own degree based on your interests and the career you are aiming for. This does not apply to all courses so make sure to check with a study counsellor at the faculty. Learn more about how you can build your own degree and become unique on the labour market.