Rethinking the Migrant: The case study of Berlin Berlin Perspectives Program SoSe 2017, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Institutsgebäude Hausvogteiplatz 5-7, Room 0323-26 Bi-weekly, Monday, 10-14 Kine Valvik Mitchell, MA Amber Kepple Jones, MA rethinkingthemigrant@gmail.com Office hours by appointment or before class In January 2016, The Sun, the most highly read newspaper in the UK, published an article with the headline: Refugee Crisis: Berlin so swamped by migrants that city is in ruins. Though such hyperbolic claims are often quickly dismissed, they also echo and reiterate fears existing within hegemonic discourses surrounding migrants and reflect public consciousnesses about the crisis in not only the UK but in Berlin, in Germany and, more generally, the global north. This interdisciplinary course will give an overview of migration and border studies, as well as postcolonial approaches to the figure of the migrant while deconstructing the figure of the migrant and the concept of crisis while placing them into wider discussions of raceless Europe. COURSE OBJECTIVES We will critically engage with and deconstruct, more generally, structures, norms, ideologies, objectivities, binaries, and categories, destabilize and contextualize hegemonic notions of the migrant within regional, national and European discourses whether it is policy, law, news, (social) medias, documentaries, or social acts as well as, critically reflect on topics while reflecting our own place in the discourse, work towards an interdisciplinary, more comprehensive understanding of the figure of the migrant in Berlin and wider Europe. Each block session is approximately three hours. There will be a 20-30 minute break during which those who wish to stay can continue discussing the material and enjoy snacks. COURSE ASSESSMENT: i. Attendance and active participation (25% of final grade). Only one session (barring a doctor s note) may be missed. Students will be required to complete a Page 1 of 6
ii. written make-up assignment. Readings to be completed prior to each session including uploading two discussion questions to Moodle each week. Readings will be on Moodle. a. You will be placed in reading groups after the first session so that you can have a support network/other students to reach out to regarding readings and questions. You are also encouraged to contact lecturers with questions. iii. Critical reflection journals - 1-2 pages (25% of final grade) to be submitted up to 2 days after meeting via Moodle. You should reflect on the texts/class discussion. Creativity welcome! iv. Media Analysis - (10% of final grade) - You will present and discuss a media analysis with the class. Handout due by 7pm on 2 July. Presentations: 3 July v. Individual Take Home Exam - (40% of final grade). Deadline: 9 August 2017 vi. Attendance and Participation Journals Media Analysis Take Home Exam Field Trips - You are expected to attend 2 of the 3 organized topical field trips. This figures into your participation grade. Dates will be discussed and organized in class. All assignments must be completed to receive credit for the course. You may receive partial amounts of percentages depending on quality of work (eg. 20 of 25% for critical reflection journals). GRADING Each of you will meet with the lecturers individually at the midway point of the semester to discuss course progress and set goals for the remainder of the semester. You will also be encouraged to give feedback on the seminar and lecturers. At the end of the semester you will need to submit a self-evaluation including your own grade assessment. Grades will then be assigned based on the self-evaluation and the evaluation of the lecturers. ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: The use or reproduction of words, data, or ideas without proper credit is not tolerated and will be penalized. CALENDAR: It is important to note that due to the present relevance of our topic there is a great chance that the syllabus will be changed or supplemented. Page 2 of 6
OUR CLASSROOM, OUR LEARNING COMMUNITY It is our goal to create an inclusive, non-hierarchical learning community where we all contribute to our collective and individual learning and growth. Thus, it is important that we, both lecturers and students, consider our roles in the ongoing creation of this community. There will be no space for bigotry or harassment of any kind be it racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, ableism, transphobia, etc. The topics we learn about are reality for actual people (including seminar participants) and thus discussions should be rooted in an understanding that we are discussing real lives and livelihoods. We are committed to providing equal opportunities to students so please contact us regarding accommodation if/when necessary. 24 April 2017, 10-14 Introductions In this session, we will pose the following questions: Who are we? Who are you? How do we learn and make inquiry? What is Scientific Inquiry? What is and where does Knowledge come from? How do we position ourselves? What is a migrant? Who is a migrant? Mandatory readings to be read prior to the first session: Freire, P. 2000. Chapter Two in Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Jorgensen, M. & L. Philipps. 2002. The Field of Discourse Analysis in Discourse Analysis as Theory and Method. Kureishi, H. 2014. The migrant has no face, status or story. The Guardian. Waheed, A. 2016. "Back to Basics: Eurocentric". Skin Deep Magazine: Race and Culture. Additional Readings (optional but highly recommended): Hankivsky, O. 2014. "Intersectionality 101. Institute for Intersectionality Research and Policy. Gunaratnam, Y. 2003. Introduction: Researching 'Race' and Ethnicity in Researching Race and Ethnicity Methods, Knowledge and Power. Page 3 of 6
8 May 2017, 10-14 Starting points: Europe and Migration Discussion Questions due: 30.4.2017 Balibar, E. 2009. Ideas of Europe: Civilization and Constitution. Iris 1:1. Casas-Cortes, M., S. Cobarrubias, et al. 2016. New Keywords. Migration and Borders. Cultural Studies 29:1. Borders Discussion Questions due: 7.5.2017 Mezzadra, S. & B. Neilson. 2013. The Proliferation of Borders in Border as method, or, the multiplication of labor. Please pick one of the two: van Houtum, H. 2010. Human blacklisting: the global apartheid of the EU s external border regime. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 28. OR Schwarz, I. 2016. Racializing Freedom of movement in Europe: Experiences of racial profiling at European borders and beyond. Movements: Journal für Kritische Migrations- und Grenzregimeforschung 2:1. 22 May 2017, 10-14 (Post)Coloniality in Europe Discussion Questions due: 14.5.2017 El-Tayeb, F. 2008. The Birth of a European Public : Migration, Postnationality and Race in the Uniting of Europe. American Quarterly 60:3. Please pick one of the two: Gilroy, P. 2009. War, race and Europe s postcolonial melancholia. Draft of Lecture given at the Nicolaïkerk Utrech. OR Ponzanesi, S. 2016. Edges of Empire: Italy s Postcolonial Entanglements and the Gender Legacy. Culture Studies Critical Methodologies 14:6. Racisms in Europe Discussion Questions due: 21.5.2017 Goldberg, D. T. 2006. Racial Europeanization. Ethnic and Racial Studies 29:2. Please pick one of the two: Michel, N. 2015. Sheepology: the Postcolonial Politics of Raceless Racism in Switzerland, Postcolonial Studies, 18:4. OR Hübinette, T. & C. Lundström, 2014. Three phases of hegemonic whiteness in understanding racial temporalities in Sweden. Social Identities: Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture 20:6. 5 June 2017 no class public holiday. Page 4 of 6
19 June 2017, 10-14 The State I Guest Lecture: Ursula Moffitt, Research Associate/PhD Candidate Diversity in Education and Development, University of Potsdam Discussion Questions due: 11.6.2017 Goldberg, D. T. 2002. "Racial States" in A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies. Pick one of the two: Aliverti, A. 2012. Making People Criminal. The Role of the Criminal Law in Immigration, Theoretical Criminology 16:4. OR Ha, K. N. 2016. Integration as Colonial Pedagogy of Postcolonial Immigrants and People of Colour: A German Case Study in Decolonizing European Sociology: Transdisciplinary Approaches. Discussion Questions due: 18.6.2017 Block, A. & L. Schuster. 2002. Asylum and welfare: Contemporary Debates. Critical Social Policy 2:3. Hansen, P. 2002. European Integration, European Identity and the Colonial Connection. European Journal of Social Theory 5:4. 3 July 2017, 10-14 MEDIA ANALYSIS PRESENTATIONS The State II, Media Analysis Presentations Please upload a handout to Moodle for your Media Analysis Presentation on 2 July by 7pm. Discussion Questions due: 25.6.2017 Fassin, D. 2011. "Policing Borders, Producing Boundaries. The Governmentality of Immigration in Dark Times". Annu. Rev. Antropol. 40:213-26. Pick one of the two: Holmes, S. and H. Castaneda. 2016. "Representing the 'European refugee crisis' in Germany and beyond: Deservingness and difference, life and death". Journal of the American Ethnological Society 43:1. OR Duffield, M. 2006. "Racism, migration and development: the foundations of planetary order". Progress in Development Studies 6:1. 17 July 2017, 10-14 Crisis Making Discussion Questions due: 9.7.2017 De Genova, N., M. Tazzioli, et al. 2016. "Europe/Crisis: New Keywords of the Crisis in Page 5 of 6
and of 'Europe". Near Futures Online. Rajaram, P. K. 2015. Beyond crisis: Rethinking the population movements at Europe s border. FocaalBlog. www.focaalblog.com/2015/10/19/prem-kumarrajaram-beyond-crisis. Discussion Questions due: 16.7.2017 Crawley, H. 2016. Managing the Unmanageable? Understanding Europe s Response to the Migration Crisis Human Geography 9:2. Pick one of the two: Walters, W. 2010. Migration and Security in The Handbook of New Security Studies. OR Ibrahim, M. 2005. The Securitization of Migration; A Racial Discourse. International Migration 43:5. 31 July 2017, 10-14 Berlin Guest Lecture: Ahmed Sukker, Euro Islam in Berlin, Discussion Questions due: 23.7.2017 Langa, N. 2015. "About the Refugee Movement in Kreuzberg/Berlin". Movements: Journal für Kritische Migrations- und Grenzregimeforschung 1:2. Gefäller, L. 2013. '"Because Migrating is a Necessity": Refugee Protest in Germany. The Migrationist: Politics and Policy. Discussion Questions due: 30.7.2017 Open Society Foundation. 2010. Chapters 1 and 12, plus one chapter between 3-11 in At Ho me in Europe: Muslims in Berlin. Episodes 1, 2, and 3 of the Youtube series, Polyglot https://www.youtube.com/channel/uce3iu0ka I5DXKeC9byQHg/videos Müller-Kroll, M. 2015. Life In Berlin: Exploring Identity, Language, And Race With Polyglot. NPR Berlin. Marcus, N. (2016). Migration // Always on the Move: An Interview with Amelia Umuhire. Berlin Art Link. REFLECTION AND FEEDBACK Page 6 of 6