Borders and Identities

Aim

After completion of the course, the student on advanced level should be able to: describe the ways in which the borders and boundaries have created meaning and been given different meanings in various historical, political and cultural contexts; - critically analyse and discuss historical processes of transformation and resistance in regard to borders and boundaries of race, ethnicity, culture, and nationality; - comparatively analyse historiographical and sociological methods for the analysis of race, ethnicity and cultural identity.

Content

This course provides in-depth knowledge of historical and sociological perspectives on borders and boundaries and their relation to notions of race, ethnicity, cultural identity and nationality, as well as to social, economic and political processes. Through current research examples, knowledge is concerning the ways in which the state, civil society and the market, as well as demographic changes, have influenced borders and boundaries in regional, national and global settings. Factors such as gender, class and age categorization, etc. are discussed in relation to boundaries of racial, ethnic and cultural categorizations. The course is also devoted to the understanding of the ways in which borders and boundaries have served to both integrate and segregate human communities.