New Lectures in History (300-0-28)
Topic
History of Refugees
Instructors
Hazal Ozdemir
Meeting Info
Harris Hall L28: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 1:30PM
Overview of class
According to the United Nations, 108 million people are forcibly displaced globally today. Nonetheless, these numbers only show one side of the story, and numbers do not speak for themselves. This class will historicize the global refugee crisis and examine the roots of mass displacement, statelessness and ethnic cleansing starting from the late nineteenth century. We will locate the emergence of refuge in histories of border-making, the transition from empires to nation-states, world wars, genocidal violence (de)colonization, and abortion rights. Our readings and discussions will allow us to learn about key transnational historical events, and critically evaluate the institutions and international agreements that shape global displacement across the Middle East, Caucasia, Central America and Europe. We will unpack the framing of refugees as "a crisis" or "problem," and concentrate on the structural, political, socioeconomic and environmental forces and violence that cause displacement.
Learning Objectives
At the end of the class, students will be able to understand how "the refugee" is constructed as a distinct social, political and legal category in international human rights laws and agreements, humanitarian organizations, and public discourses. A primary goal is to introduce students to the study and practice of global history at an advanced level.
Evaluation Method
In Class Participation (%35), Assignment 1 (30%) The first assignment is about choosing a group of contemporary refugees. Either Central Asian refugees after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, contemporary Syrian and Afghan refugees in Turkey, or Ukrainian refugees scattered all around the globe. You will examine newspapers and write a 1200-word paper about how the refugee groups were depicted in those public sources. What did the authors emphasize - race, gender, class? What kind of images did they use? Was the author a journalist, a human rights activist, or a politician? How did they evaluate the historical events, institutions and choices that created displaced people according to their point of view? Final Assignment (35%) For the final assignment, you will choose a topic (a country, a theme, a community, an event) that we have not covered in depth or at all. You can work with a body of images, newspaper articles, or video clips, for example, depicting the refugees after the war in Afghanistan (2001-2021) or photos of displaced Rwandan families and either write a research paper, review of a book that we have not covered (1500-1750 words), make a video essay, design a digital exhibit by using platforms such as Omeka, interview and analyze a first-person testimony (transcript of the interview plus 600-800 words analysis) Students who choose to do the video essay or the exhibit option also have to write a 600-800 words explanation about what they want to argue by choosing these visual and textual sources as evidence, and how they are connected to our class discussions and readings.
Class Notes
Concentration: Global
Class Attributes
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area