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
Perhaps you would like to study in the Swedish mountains, in a big city, or at home close to family? Many of our programmes and courses are offered in distance format.
Studying at a distance can be done in different ways, either entirely without physical gatherings or with only a few gatherings on campus or at one of our learning centres. The common denominator is that a large part of your studies takes place online. You communicate with the teacher and other students with the help of a learning platform with discussion forums, group work, recorded lectures and online meetings.
The benefit of distance studies is the flexibility, something that is valuable if you want to be free to decide when and where you want to study. Some compulsory elements on you course or programme may take place during office hours, even though they are online.
Växjö – the student city with a living campus
Just south of Växjö’s city centre you will find Linnaeus University’s campus. In Växjö, many students choose to live on campus.
Here you will have five minutes’ walking distance to friends, restaurants, lecture rooms, gym, grocery store, the University Library, nature trails, and student pubs. If you live in another part of Växjö, you can quickly get to the university by bus or bicycle.
With its 90 000 inhabitants, Växjö is one of the fastest growing cities in Sweden. Here you will find the famous Småland entrepreneurship spirit and a lot of companies, for instance within the IT industry – perfect for when you are looking for an internship position or a job. Växjö is also a picturesque city where you are always close to forests and water.
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.