Professor Radha S. Hegde E58.2165.099.SP08 Transnational Communities and Media Cultures London, UK Spring 08 Intersession January 6-18, 2008 10am-1pm (unless notified) CLASS LOCATION: Birkbeck College Room 631 Malet St STUDENT RESIDENCE LOCATION: Cardington Street, Euston North London, NW1 2LP Phone: +(44) (0) 870 333 9107 Course Description This course examines the emergence of transnational communities, recent patterns of migration and the role of media forms and practices in redefining culture and national belonging. We will explore how media practices define culture and identity for diasporic groups within the landscape of global cities. What role do media play in the (re)imagining of cultural politics, nationalism and everyday life in the context of global relocations? How do technology and media enable new configurations of cultural resistance and identification within (and between) different immigrant groups? What does this mean in terms of negotiating the global and local in various aspects of immigrant lives? Through field trips, field work, discussion and lectures, students will be exposed to contemporary issues and research. Course Objectives To expose students to current research and theory drawn from interdisciplinary sources in the comparative study of transnational mobility, diasporic identity and media forms and practices in urban landscapes. Evaluation Students are expected to actively participate in daily seminars. Your participation, involvement in discussions and level of engagement in class will be graded. (30%) Research rationale/questions: This is a short paper of 3-5 pages where you will identify a project and area of interest. This will be the topic that you will explore in depth and will then turn into your final project. The project has to be one that is related to immigrant, transnational communities as they intersect with media broadly conceptualized. (10%) Final Research paper (15-20 pages) on a topic of interest that is related to the issue of transnational cultures, communities and media practices. The paper will combine theoretical discussion and data from research conducted on a specific question. (60%)
Course plan Pre Trip: You will do some preparatory reading before we leave. I suggest you get a head start with the texts before we leave. Also go through the suggested websites to gain an introduction to current issues. By December 30th: Provide a brief overview of your research topic and you will post it on Blackboard. It is highly encouraged that students choose a topic that can be studied comparatively in terms of New York and London. By January 8 th in London: Write a short 3 page paper which refines your area of research interest and a plan for how you will study it. Before classes start in London read the short novel by Selvon and the short story by Kureishi in your packet. Suggested: Watch Dirty Pretty Things film directed by Stephen Frears (2002) before the trip. There will be a tour of ethnic NY that we will schedule optional before we leave. In London: We will meet every morning from 10-1 unless notified otherwise and we will discuss the issues, readings and also engage in ongoing discussion of your field notes and reflections. The first half of the class will be lecture and discussion. In the second half of the class on the dates scheduled, you will have an opportunity to hear speakers from the London area speak in our class. You are expected to come prepared to engage in discussion. You are expected to attend all field trips. Post trip You will write the final paper and at this point you may choose to add a comparative element to the research. Papers will be 15-20 pages long. Papers are due on February 15.
TEXTS Selvon, S. (1956). The Lonely Londoners. New York: Longman Foner, N. ( 2005). In a new Land: A comparative view of immigration. New York: New York University Press. Packet of readings available at New University Copy and Graphics (11 Waverly Place between Mercer & Greene) Websites to follow: 1. Open democracy http://www.opendemocracy.net/globalization-migrationeurope/issue.jsp Once in this website go to globalization (in themes) and then access the section People Flow and there are very interesting articles on the issue of migration, borders etc. 2. This web-site link will give you a sense of current debates on re-defining British identity. The link is to Gordon Brown's speech, and at the end of the speech you'll find links to various related things, such as remarks by others made at the conference, news articles on the conference etc. http://www.fabian-society.org.uk/press_office/news_latest_all.asp?pressid=520 3. Guardian and immigration related articles http://www.guardian.co.uk/immigration/story/0,,1958533,00.html 4. Refugee Council Familiarize yourself with this site, we will visiting the organization while in London http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/ 5. This website has links to sites containing articles and information on transnational migrants, media etc. http://www.afterseptember11.tv/ 6. Other sites and information of interest to the course will be posted on Blackboard.
SCHEDULE Session 1. (1/7) Monday : Citizenship and Logics of inclusion/exclusion Foner : Chps. 6,7,9 Soysal, Y. (2000). Citizenship and identity: Living in diasporas in post-war Europe. Ethnic and Racial studies 23 (1) Karim, K. (2003). The media of diaspora. London: Routledge. Chps. 10 For today s class, please check the following: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/the_westminster_hour/4129772.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/5410472.stm Guest Speaker: Nadia Hashmi (Home Office, UK) Session 2. (1/8) Tuesday : Modernity, globalization and migration Appadurai, Arjun (1996). Disjuncture and difference in the global cultural economy in Braziel & Mannue Theorizing Diaspora ( 25-48). Malden, MA: Blackwell. Hall, S. (1990). Cultural identity and diaspora Braziel & Mannue Theorizing Diaspora ( 233-246). Malden, MA: Blackwell. Sassen, Saskia (2000). Spatialities and temporalities of the global: Elements for a theorization. Public Culture, 12 (1) 215-232. Foner, N. (2005). In a New Land New York: NYU Press. Chps. 1,4,5 Field Trip: London Walk: The Unknown East End 2pm :Meet at Whitechapel Tube Station at Street Level Exit Session 3. (1/9).Wednesday: Citizenship and Logics of inclusion/exclusion Read debates: http://fabians.org.uk/events/new-year-conference-06/ Readings to be announced Guest Speaker: Leah Haus, Political Science, Vassar College Theatre: 19.30 Statement of Regret at the National Theatre National Theatre South Bank, London SE1 9PX Meet at 7pm outside theatre Directions: see on last page of syllabus Session 4. (1/10).Thursday. Diaspora and belonging Hall, K. (1995). There s a time to act English and a time to act Indian: The politics of identity among British-Sikh teenagers. In S. Stephens (Ed). Children and the politics of culture Princeton: Princeton University press. Gillespie, M. (1995). Local uses of the media: negotiating culture and identity. From M. Gillespie Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change (76-108). London: Routledge. Chavez, Leo (2001) A lexicon of images, icons and metaphors for a discourse on immigration and the nation. From L. Chavez Covering Immigration: Populat images and the politics of the nation. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Additional reading suggested by speaker will be provided as pdf. Field Visit: 11.15am Refugee Council 240-250 Ferndale Road, London SW98BB Contact: Andrew Keefe Tel: 020 7346 6747
Location: http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/contactus/maps/brixton.htm Session 5.(1/11) Friday: Cultural production and politics Nurse, K. (1999). Globalization and Trinidad Carnival: Diaspora, Hybridity and Identity in Global culture. Cultural Studies 13 (4) 661-690. Sharma, A. (2003). White Paranoia: Orientalism in the age of Empire. Fashion Theory 7, 3/4. 301-318 (PDF posted) Sharma, A. (1996). Sounds Oriental: The (Im)possibility of theorizing Asian musical cultures. From S. Sharma, J. Hutnyk & A. Sharma (Eds). Dis-Orienting rhytms: The politics of the new Asian dance music. Zed. Guest Speaker: Ashwani Sharma, School of Social Sciences, Media and Cultural Studies, University of East London Weekend 1/12, 1/13 Your time Session 6. (1/14) Mediascapes in the making Morley, D. (2000). Selections from Home Territories: Media, Mobility & Identity. Routledge. Chapters 2,7. (Optional posted as pdf Chap.11 ). Guest Speaker: Sara Wajid, freelance feature writer and editor of UntoldLondon. Session 7. (1/15) Tuesday: Cultural politics of race Sharma, A. 2006 'Shooting the Brazilian: white anxiety and the terrors of multiculturalism', Rising East online www.uel.ac.uk/risingeast/archive04/academic/sharma.htm (also posted on Blackboard) Sharma, A. (2003). White Paranoia: Orientalism in the age of Empire. Fashion Theory 7, 3/4. 301-318. Žižek S. 'Multiculturalism, or, the Cultural Logic of Multinational Capitalism' in New Left Review 225, 1997, pp. 44-5. http://www.darkmatter101.org/site/2007/05/07/editorial-celebrity-big-brother-dialoguesthe-global-pantomime-of-race/ (Posted on Blackboard) Other suggested readings on Blackboard. Field trip: 1.30pm Britain s Museum of Immigration & Diversity 19 Princelet Street London E1 6QH Directions on the last page of syllabus. Session 8. (1/16)Wednesday: Marcus, G. (1995). Ethnography in/of the world system: The emergence of multi-sited ethnography. Annual Review of Anthropology 24, 95-117. Couldry, N. (2003). Passing ethnographies. In P. Murphy & M. Kraidy (Eds.) Global Media Studies New York: Routledge. Group Forum: 3-5pm: Choice & Identity; Birkbeck Room B04. This cross disciplinary session will bring together students from all three NYU intersession classes to address the larger themes of choice, identity and how it relates to issues we have been examining. (Optional reading by Appiah posted as pdf)
Session 9. (1/17)Thursday:Migration, Children & Media Readings to be announced. Guest Speaker: Liesbeth deblock, Center for the study of children, youth and media. London Knowledge Lab, Institute of Education. Session 10. (1/18)Friday: Concluding session Balibar, E. (2003). Europe, An Unimagined Frontier of democracy. Diacritics. 33 (3/4). 36-44 Project reports/discussion & wrap up. Paper due when we return: February 15.
Directions Tuesday 15 January at 1330 Britain s Museum of Immigration & Diversity 19 Princelet Street London E1 6QH (0)20 7247 5352 http://www.19princeletstreet.org.uk On the tube: From Russell Square tube station, take the Piccadilly Line west one stop to Holborn. Change at Holborn onto the Central Line going east. Take the Central Line 4 stops to Liverpool Street station. When leaving Liverpool St station, walk to Bishopsgate and turn left on Bishopsgate. Turn right onto Brushfield St (you will pass Spitalfields Market on your left). Follow this until you cross Commercial St and follow the road which becomes Fournier St. Once on Fournier St you will make a quick left turn onto Wilkes St and a quick right turn onto Princelet St. To see its location on a map, go to: http://www.streetmap.co.uk and type in the post code E1 6QH http://www.tfl.gov.uk/ for Tube maps ***************************************** Directions for play on Wed. 9 jan at 19.30 Statement of Regret National Theatre South Bank, London SE1 9PX Group Bookings (0)20 7452 3010 15 http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk The closest tube stations are Waterloo (on the Northern, Bakerloo & Jubilee lines), Southwark (on the Jubilee line) or walk over the the Hungerford Bridge from Embankment (on the Northern, Bakerloo, District and Circle lines). To see its location on a map, go to: http://www.streetmap.co.uk and type in the post code SE1 9PX http://www.tfl.gov.uk/ for Tube maps