EU458      Half Unit
Identity, Community and the 'Problem of Minorities'

This information is for the 2015/16 session.

Teacher responsible

Dr Jennifer Jackson Preece COW 2.06

Availability

This course is compulsory on the MSc in European Studies: Ideas, Ideologies and Identities and MSc in European Studies: Ideas, Ideologies and Identities (LSE and Sciences Po). This course is available on the MSc in Conflict Studies, MSc in EU Politics, MSc in EU Politics (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in Human Rights and MSc in International Migration and Public Policy. This course is not available as an outside option.

This is a capped course (20 students). Students are required to obtain permission from the teaching department to take this course.

Course content

This course is concerned with the politics of membership and belonging in contemporary states. The securitization of minorities and migrants has coincided with a growing rejection of multiculturalism in favour of new discourses that place a greater emphasis on social cohesion predicated upon a shared nation-state identity. This course will examine the ways in which different constructions of membership and belonging underscore contested narratives on diversity and the competing policy responses this has engendered. Europe will be a major focus of the course. Nevertheless, students with interests and expertise outside of Europe should feel free to include this wider perspective in their seminar discussions and assignments.

Teaching

20 hours of seminars in the LT. 2 hours of seminars in the ST.

Students on this course will have a reading week in Week 6, in line with departmental policy.

Formative coursework

Students are required to write two essays.

Indicative reading

Z. Bauman, Wasted Lives: Modernity and Its Outcasts, 2003; B. Buzan, O. Weaver and J. de Wilde, Security: A New Framework For Analysis,1998; J. Jackson-Preece, Minority Rights: Between Diversity and Community, 2005; J. Jackson-Preece, National Minorities and the European Nation-State System, 1998; W. Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship, 1995; W. Kymlicka, ed., The Rights of Minority Cultures, 1995; C. Macartney, Nation States and National Minorities, 1934; J. Laponce, The Protection of Minorities, 1960; I. Claude, National Minorities, an International Problem, 1955; P. Thornberry, International Law and the Rights of Minorities. A more detailed reading list is available from Dr Jackson-Preece.

Assessment

Exam (100%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.

Student performance results

(2011/12 - 2013/14 combined)

Classification % of students
Distinction 21.8
Merit 63.6
Pass 14.5
Fail 0

Teachers' comment

The EU458 course syllabus was updated & revised for the start of the 2012/13 academic year. For this reason, previous survey data has been excluded from the guide. The most recent  survey data appears below.

2012/13
Question Average Response
Reading list (Q2.1) 1.6
Materials (Q2.3) 1.5
Course satisfied (Q2.4) 2.1
Lectures (Q2.5) 2.1
Integration (Q2.6) 2
Contact (Q2.7) 1.7
Feedback (Q2.8) 1.8
Recommend (Q2.9) Yes 43.8%
Maybe 50%
No 6.2%


 

Key facts

Department: European Institute

Total students 2014/15: 17

Average class size 2014/15: 17

Controlled access 2014/15: Yes

Value: Half Unit

Guidelines for interpreting course guide information

Personal development skills

  • Self-management
  • Team working
  • Communication