300110 Introduction to Transnational Studies (V) (WiSe 2010/2011)

This lecture course uses transnational studies as a catch-all term to introduce into three perspectives -- globalization, transnationalism and cosmopolitanism. Over the past years these approaches have become key analytical concepts across the social sciences. Globalization has swept the social sciences since the 1980s, describing ever denser and more intense flows of goods, ideas, capital and partly persons spanning nation-states worldwide. Transnationalism is of more recent origin and has been applied to diverse phenomena which involve non-state actors in continuous and stable cross-border flows, such as migration, social movements, religious communities, commodity chains and crime. Cosmopolitanism is the oldest among these approaches and has experienced a revival and redefinition in recent years. This course pursues two goals. First, the students are introduced into the commonalities and differences of theories covering globalization, transnationalism and cosmopolitanism. Second, the students learn to apply each of the three perspectives to the four fields of research respectively: climate change, migration, global social policy, and social movements.

Requirements for participation, required level

Diese Lehrveranstaltung richtet sich an BA-Studierende.

Bibliography

Khagram, Sanjeev & Peggy Levitt (eds.), 2008: The Transnational Studies Reader. Intersections & Innovations. London: Routledge.

External comments page

http://www.uni-bielefeld.de/tdrc/ag_comcad/index.html