BA Seminar: Ethnicity and Migration in Culture and Literature

B.Sc. seminars
obligatory courses

“We are all migrants,” the writer Moshin Hamid declared in his award-winning novel Exit West. However controversial statement this may me, it points to the centrality of migration and borders to our lives and to global futures. This seminar explores the questions of migration, exile, refugee status in the US across cultural representations, as well as the questions of ethnicity and race, gender and sexuality, closely connected with migration regimes and in dialogue with other students, write subsequent parts of the bachelor's thesis and prepare for its defense.

“We are all migrants,” the writer Moshin Hamid declared in his award-winning novel Exit West. However controversial statement this may me, it points to the centrality of migration and borders to our lives and to global futures. This seminar explores the questions of migration, exile, refugee status in the US across cultural representations, as well as the questions of ethnicity and race, gender and sexuality, closely connected with migration regimes and in dialogue with other students, write subsequent parts of the bachelor's thesis and prepare for its defense.

The class itself operates on a tight, carefully crafted schedule to make sure the students will complete students complete the subsequent stages of writing a bachelor's thesis on time and write their bachelor's thesis on time. For this reason, a large part of the classes is of a workshop nature: preparing a poster representing the next chapter, a feedback session, a workshop for developing the introduction, or a coaching workshop - preparing for the defense.

Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams. The craft of research. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.

Burgett, Bruce, and Glenn Hendler, ed. Keywords for American Cultural Studies. New York: NYU Press, 2020.

KNOWLEDGE:

The student understands:

- the global body of knowledge, including theoretical foundations, general issues, and selected specific topics relevant to cultural and literary studies on ethnicity and migration in the USA, as well as their research methodology

- the principles of public ownership of research results, including the principles of intellectual property protection

- the principles for the construction of a bachelor's thesis

SKILLS:

The student is able to:

- utilize knowledge from the field of cultural and literary studies on migrations and ethnicity in the USA for creative identification, formulation, and innovative resolution of complex problems or research tasks, particularly:

- define the aim and subject of scientific research, formulate a research hypothesis,

- develop research methods, techniques, and tools, and creatively apply them,

- draw conclusions based on research results

- communicate on specialized topics to actively participate in the international academic community

- participate in scholarly discourse

-plan work on a longer project

-construct a chapter of the bachelor's thesis

SOCIAL COMPETENCES:

The student is able to:

- formulate their own critical opinions on issues related to cultural and literary studies on migrations and ethnicity in the USA

- work in a group, including giving feedback on work with sensitivity and taking into account the emotional needs of others

Attendance (2 unexcused absences are permitted)

active participation - 10%

completion of the BA thesis according to the plan- 90%*

Grading scale:

0-59 –no pass

60--100 - Pass