S1615 Nationalism in a Globalized World
Avanza Martina
The course will be about nationalism in a globalized world. In fact, far from erasing local peculiarities as one would have thought, globalisation seems to be revitalizing differences and in particular their political affirmation, to the point of virulence. This is the ideal theme to make the most of the international composition of the class. It is current (Ukrainian crisis, Israel/Palestine conflict, the immigration issue…) and should therefore stimulate the students' interest.
Teaching methods:
The sessions will be structured around the discussion of essays and will privilege interactivity. The selection of the essays to be discussed will be based, as much as possible, on the students' countries of origin.
Essays (essentially on anthropology, sociology, political science) will be associated with other tools, such as films. The students will try to analyse these sources with the help of the theoretic texts read during class. In some cases, the sessions will be in part dedicated to associating scientific literature to the first-hand material gathered with the help of the students, during classroom workshops (class exercises). This process will enable the students to add to the discussion their own knowledge of their countries of origin. This approach aims to diversify the sessions (as reading the theoretical texts can prove monotonous in the long run), but also to help the students familiarising themselves with the analysis of first-hand documentation. It also intends to sharpen their critical sense.
Learning outcomes of the course
• To gain knowledge about nationalism, both as theoretical concept, and more especially as a current political phenomenon.
• To learn to read and discuss theoretical texts on the course’s subject.
• To link a theoretical issue (e.g. the constructivist approach to national identities) to some very real cases.
• To learn to analyse first-hand material by applying the knowledge acquired during the lessons.
Evaluation
Readings