Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2019 - IS 230 D100

Transnationalism and Society (3)

Class Number: 7562

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 3 – Apr 8, 2019: Fri, 12:30–2:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Apr 13, 2019
    Sat, 12:00–3:00 p.m.
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Provides a survey of the basic issues relating to the study of transnationalism and society. Topics covered include identity and ethnicity, urbanization, migration, social networks, politics, and religion. Breadth-Humanities/Social Sciences.

COURSE DETAILS:

This course surveys the diverse ways people have fashioned identities and social relations that do not easily conform to a state-centric model of the world. Transnationalism, as a social science concept, is about connections across, and often in spite of, the borders of nation-states. In freeing us from the confines of the nation-state as the primary object of analysis, it opens up new ways to think about how different values and sources of power organize people’s lives, and how these weaken, strengthen, or otherwise combine with the nation-state.  

In this course, we will explore many different ways that transnational connections have been forged and resisted, including through: the international migration of people, ideas, and things; the construction of identities through us/other distinctions; the persistence and controversy of ethnic identities; changing modes of exchange and the diffusion of particular forms of power and inequality; and the ways that ideas and practices of the nation-state and nationalism have been stimulated to accommodate or contest transnational identities and practices. Such themes have long and varied histories, of course, but they are all also extremely pertinent to the current moment in international and domestic politics, economics, and societies.   

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

The course will strengthen students’ abilities to think in broader and more critical ways about how and why our world and people’s lives are organized in particular ways and with particular kinds of implications. It will provide a strong foundation for future scholarship related to: international migration and diaspora studies; multiculturalism; globalized rights movements, criminal networks, and cultural commodification; structural inequality; and the changing dynamics of nationalism.  

Grading

  • Assigned reading response papers (2 x 5% each) 10%
  • Tutorial participation 10%
  • Mid-term exam 20%
  • Case study essay (10% for 10-minute in-tutorial presentation, 20% for 2000-word essay) 30%
  • Final exam 30%

NOTES:

Students will be required to submit their written assignments to Turnitin.com in order to receive credit for the assignments and for the course.

The School for International Studies strictly enforces the University's policies regarding plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty. Information about these policies can be found at: http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/teaching.html.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Custom course pack

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS