Diaspora and Trans-nationalism
In this course we will explore the global flow of people across national boundaries in the modern era. During the first part of the course we will examine the major theoretical frameworks of transnational migration and diasporas by reading the works of writers such as Hannah Arendt, Edward Said, and W. E. B. Dubois. We will focus on the social and cultural processes that pose challenges to the traditional hegemony of the nation-state, and examine the political and economic relations of diaspora communities to homeland. In the second half of the course we will study how organic intellectuals, performers, and other artists from all across the Atlantic world agitated to transform the social dynamics within the political, linguistic, and geographical boundaries of their new home while re-imagining new relations with the place they once called home. Students will choose a research topic on a diaspora community of their interest and be required to make direct contact with the communities we study. 3 hrs. sem. (formerly HIST 0413)