300025 Transnational Studies – Work-in-Progress (S) (SoSe 2014)

Course content:
This seminar focuses on sustained cross-border processes and their consequences, called transnationalization, and with corresponding identifications, called transnationality. In this seminar participants discuss (1) conceptual work dealing with transnational perspectives on issues relating to migration, citizenship and development, and (2) work-in-progress which broadly deals with questions of the transnational or global social order. At the core are issues of development politics and policies, transnational social policy, international migration and integration, transnational social spaces, democracy and citizenship. This seminar identifies questions for further research and offers some methodological venues for the study of cross-border transactions.

In particular, this seminar is meant to help graduate students and doctoral candidates to conceptualize their thesis papers, conduct research and write the final version. Among other things students learn to select relevant literatures, develop a research design and evaluate empirical data.

The core of the seminar is the presentation of work-in-progress by all participants. The papers to be discussed have to be distrubted ahead of the meetings through ekVV. The deadline for circulating the papers for the meeting on April 4 is March 21, and the deadline for the workshop from 18-20 June is 18 May. Papers distributed later will not be considered for discussion. We will devote 90 min (1,5h) for each paper. There will be no oral presentation by the author prior to the discussion. We will delve into the discussion of the paper right away. All participants are required to keep the minutes of the discussion on one of the papers.

Requirements for participation, required level

Prerequisites for attending:
Active work on a thesis in the field of transnationalization, development, migration and/or citizenship (MA Thesis or Doctoral Dissertation)

Bibliography

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