300052 Contemporary Topics in Western European Societies: Citizenship, Migration and Immigrant Communities (S) (SoSe 2009)

Contemporary European studies have been challenged by a number of topics and questions related to the relationship of European countries and the many colors of their population generated through decade long migration flows. Immigration is one of the most controversial political issues in Europe, posing a challenge to received ideas about citizenship and national identity across the continent. This course considers current debates about citizenship and immigration from a variety of perspectives, both empirical and normative, and aims to provide students with an understanding of how Europe and its countries have responded to immigration and how their different understandings of citizenship have conditioned these responses. The notion of Europe, and European Identity in particular, will also be covered in order to delineate the battlefield of the debate, which is a contested phenomenon itself. By the end of the course it is aimed that students will have developed an understanding of the conceptual issues associated with citizenship and immigration, and they will have acquired a sound knowledge of the historical background to contemporary debates. Students will be able to explain and interpret the various citizenship traditions of Europe, analyze the range of political responses to immigration in the post-war period, and assess normative arguments for and against different models of citizenship and immigration controls.
Aims of the course

• The overall aims of the course are as follows:
• To consider conceptual issues surrounding citizenship and immigration.
• To develop a sound knowledge of and ability to analyze the political processes and policies associated with citizenship and immigration.
• To assess normative arguments about immigration controls and multiculturalism.

In addition, objectives for each week are specified in the reading lists.

Course Outline
1. Short introduction to the Course
2. Theories of Citizenship: Contemporary Problems of Citizenship Theory
3. Modes of Citizenship Practices
4. Europe(s)’ Culture, Meaning and Europeanness
5. Debate on European Identity: Opportunities, Implications and EU citizenship
6. The Question of Belonging: Multiculturalism and Transnationalism
7. Discussion and Presentation Week
8. Migration to Europe Since 1945: Patterns and Processes
9. The Return of Assimilation? Integration in Contemporary Western Europe (1):Germany
10. The Return of Assimilation? Integration in Contemporary Western Europe (2):France
11. The Return of Assimilation? Integration in Contemporary Western Europe (3): Netherlands
12. The Return of Assimilation? Integration in Contemporary Western Europe (4): Britain
13. Politics of Citizenship and Migration Politics in the EU
14. The Muslim Other in Western European Societies: Integration, Exclusion and Extremism
15. Discussion and Presentation Week

The course is designed to be cumulative so that, for example, the knowledge and understanding of theories of citizenship gained in seminar 2 will help in the analysis of citizenship practices in seminar 3, while the materials covered in week 4 will provide essential context for the discussion of politics and policies in week 5, and so on throughout the course. You are therefore encouraged to approach the course in an integrated fashion, drawing on materials from previous weeks as and when is necessary. Furthermore in the discussion sessions the student are encouraged to make short presentations alone or in groups of what has been covered previous weeks or in related topics of choice is planned.

Seminars (seminar design can be rescheduled)
The course is designed to be taught by fifteen (15) sessions. Week 7 and 15 will be discussion sessions for presentations while the other seminars will cover of 2 term-hour sessions. In the introductory week a redesign can also be negotiated for some block seminars in converging max. two weeks.

Seminar format
The seminars will begin with a short introductory talk given by instructor. This talk will set out the main issues for the week and suggest some questions or topics for discussion. After that we will open out into a wider discussion based on, but not necessarily limited to, the seminar questions given at the foot of each week’s reading list.
Every student should come to the seminars having read the essential readings and having prepared answers to the seminar questions to enrich the discussions.

Readings
There are essential readings for each seminar week. Those are key materials leading the weekly meeting as they will form the basis of discussion and debate. These are not listed alphabetically but in the order that I recommend the participants read them.
At the end of the syllabus a list of a selection of further readings is available, which is by no means comprehensive but have been selected for their relevance, interest and importance for interested students.
Students are encouraged to comment on the readings (both positively and negatively) and recommend any recently published work or internet resources that they have discovered – this will be most helpful to me in keeping the reading list up to date. More generally, comments on the course design and reading list as a whole are welcomed.

Useful a) Journals, b) Research Centers
A.
Ethnic and Racial Studies
International Migration Review
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies
B.
The internet is awash with information on citizenship and the following websites contain material which may be of use.
ERCOMER – European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations,
Utrecht
http://www.ercomer.org
COMPAS – The Centre on Migration, Policy and Society, Oxford
http://www.compas.ox.ac.uk
IMES – Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, Amsterdam
http://www.pscw.uva.nl/imes
IMISCOE – European Network of Excellence: International Migration,
Integration, and Social Cohesion in Europe
http://www.imiscoe.org

Evaluation and Grading:
The course linchpin is to motivate academic discussion on topics widely discussed in public in addition to academic realm. To do this ATTENDANCE and ACTIVE participation based on weekly readings on part of participants is quintessential in addition to written homework requirements. Provisionally (depending on last Summer Semester’s experience) a mixed method of short presentation and essays OR presentation and term paper will be introduced. A provisional point distribution is as follows:
%30 Active Participation (attendance
%20 Presentations
%50 Papers (2 short essays or 1 Term Paper)