240505 SE MM1 Ethnographies of (Im)Mobility - Exploring Migration, Borders and Inequality in Europe and Beyond (2026S)
Continuous assessment of course work
Labels
Participation at first session is obligatory!The lecturer can invite students to a grade-relevant discussion about partial achievements. Partial achievements that are obtained by fraud or plagiarized result in the non-evaluation of the course (entry 'X' in certificate). The plagiarism software 'Turnitin' will be used.
The use of AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT) for the attainment of partial achievements is only allowed if explicitly requested by the course instructor.
The use of AI tools (e.g. ChatGPT) for the attainment of partial achievements is only allowed if explicitly requested by the course instructor.
Registration/Deregistration
Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).
- Registration is open from Mo 02.02.2026 17:00 to Mo 23.02.2026 23:59
- Deregistration possible until Mo 16.03.2026 23:59
Details
max. 25 participants
Language: English
Lecturers
Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N
- Thursday 05.03. 13:15 - 16:30 Seminarraum D, NIG 4. Stock
- Wednesday 11.03. 13:15 - 16:30 Übungsraum (A414) NIG 4. Stock
- Monday 13.04. 08:00 - 11:00 Digital
- Monday 04.05. 13:00 - 16:00 Digital
- Monday 01.06. 09:45 - 16:30 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
- Wednesday 03.06. 09:45 - 16:30 Seminarraum A, NIG 4. Stock
- Friday 05.06. 09:45 - 16:30 Seminarraum A, NIG 4. Stock
Information
Aims, contents and method of the course
Assessment and permitted materials
Exam requirement:
-) Group presentation: Working with the literature and the chosen case-study for the presentation (1 hour + 30 minutes of discussion, interaction, reflection; 40 points of the grade): Each presentation group will be provided ethnographic literature (texts 1 & 2) on a particular topic (e.g. work
migration, borders etc.) and will have the task to present a case-study of their choice and choose a 3d text.
-) Seminar Paper: The individual seminar paper will represent a further elaboration of the presentation or focus on another theme relevant for the course (60 points of the grade)
-) Ethnographic Note (not graded): The students will have the opportunity to write a short Ethnographic Note as a personal reflection on migration
and/or mobility.No aids
-) Group presentation: Working with the literature and the chosen case-study for the presentation (1 hour + 30 minutes of discussion, interaction, reflection; 40 points of the grade): Each presentation group will be provided ethnographic literature (texts 1 & 2) on a particular topic (e.g. work
migration, borders etc.) and will have the task to present a case-study of their choice and choose a 3d text.
-) Seminar Paper: The individual seminar paper will represent a further elaboration of the presentation or focus on another theme relevant for the course (60 points of the grade)
-) Ethnographic Note (not graded): The students will have the opportunity to write a short Ethnographic Note as a personal reflection on migration
and/or mobility.No aids
Minimum requirements and assessment criteria
Minimum requirement: participating in a Group Presentation (40 points of the grade), Seminar Paper (60 points of the grade), active participation in discussions and regular attendance (two 90min units can be missed)Grading Key:
100-91 - very good (1)
90-81 - good (2)
80-71 - satisfactory (3)
70-61 - sufficient (4)
60-0 - failed (5)Fristgerechte Abgabe von Teilleistungen
100-91 - very good (1)
90-81 - good (2)
80-71 - satisfactory (3)
70-61 - sufficient (4)
60-0 - failed (5)Fristgerechte Abgabe von Teilleistungen
Examination topics
· Presentation (40 points of the grade): Group presentation
· Seminar paper (60 points of the grade): Individual seminar paper
· Practice/creative element(s) (not graded): Ethnographic Note
(Regular attendance, 2 x 90min can be missed)
· Seminar paper (60 points of the grade): Individual seminar paper
· Practice/creative element(s) (not graded): Ethnographic Note
(Regular attendance, 2 x 90min can be missed)
Reading list
Cresswell, Tim (2010): Towards a Politics of Mobility, Environment and Planning D, Society and Space 28: 17-31.
Dalakoglou, Dimitris (2010): The Road. An Ethnography of the Albanian-Greek Cross-Border Motorway, AmericanEthnologist
37(1): 132-149.
Emerson, Robert M.; Rachel I. Fretz, and Linda L. Shaw (2011). Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes (Second Edition). University of
Chicago Press.
Jackson, Michael (2013): The Wherewithal of Life. Ethics, Migration and the Question of Well-Being. University of California
Press.
Kallius, Annastiina, Daniel Monterescu and Prem Kumar Rajaram (2016): Immobilizing Mobility. Border Ethnography, Illiberal
Democracy and the politics of the ʺrefugee crisisʺ in Hungary, American Ethnologist 43/1: 1-13.
Reeves, Madeleine (2015): Living from the Nerves. Deportability, Indeterminacy, and the ʺFeel of Lawʺ in Migrant Moscow,
Social Analysis 59(4): 119-136.
Ticktin, Miriam (2011): Casualties of Care Immigration and the Politics of Humanitarianism in France. California University
Press.
Dalakoglou, Dimitris (2010): The Road. An Ethnography of the Albanian-Greek Cross-Border Motorway, AmericanEthnologist
37(1): 132-149.
Emerson, Robert M.; Rachel I. Fretz, and Linda L. Shaw (2011). Writing Ethnographic Fieldnotes (Second Edition). University of
Chicago Press.
Jackson, Michael (2013): The Wherewithal of Life. Ethics, Migration and the Question of Well-Being. University of California
Press.
Kallius, Annastiina, Daniel Monterescu and Prem Kumar Rajaram (2016): Immobilizing Mobility. Border Ethnography, Illiberal
Democracy and the politics of the ʺrefugee crisisʺ in Hungary, American Ethnologist 43/1: 1-13.
Reeves, Madeleine (2015): Living from the Nerves. Deportability, Indeterminacy, and the ʺFeel of Lawʺ in Migrant Moscow,
Social Analysis 59(4): 119-136.
Ticktin, Miriam (2011): Casualties of Care Immigration and the Politics of Humanitarianism in France. California University
Press.
Association in the course directory
Last modified: Mo 23.02.2026 13:27
Already in 1979 the scholar and cultural critic Edward Said spoke of a ʺgeneralized condition of homelessnessʺ referring primarily to refugee and diaspora communities. Since then, patterns of (forced) mobility kept proliferating and diversifying, thereby giving rise to new forms of life, livelihoods, communities and ideas of ʺhomeʺ (e.g. work migration, forced migration, transnational/multilocal lives, circular migration, life in borderlands etc.). Different patterns of (forced) migration and ʺbeing stuckʺ (im/mobility) are deeply embedded in particular political-economic histories, societal configurations and related (gendered and racialized) inequalities, making mobility and crossing borders a self-understood part of life for some, and a matter of impossibility and necessity for others. The course will use the rich and diverse ethnographic literature on migration, mobility and borders to look deeper into theeveryday dimensions and structural interrelation of mobility and inequality in Europe and beyond.
Course Structure & Method
The students’ learning process will be organized around working on a chosen case-study in the group and individually. The thematic clusters will include: (Im)Mobility and Time; (Im)Mobility and space; (Im)Mobility & Environment; Diaspora(s); Return(s); Labor Migra2on; Gendering/Queering (forced) Migration; the (Un)Deserving Migrant/Refugee; Border “Spectacle(s)”; Deportation; free topic. The course will work with ethnographic representations (in anthropology and beyond) to critically to comparatively explore how (im)mobility plays out as individuals and communities
navigate socio-economic, political and cultural processes and regimes; and how this is represented in different ethnographic approaches (different forms of texts, graphic novel, etc.). The students not only engage with ethnographic accounts in depth, but also write (draw, record, co-write etc.) their own „Ethnographic Note(s)“ (not graded).
Course Aims
The course aims are to: introduce the students to the variety of ethnographic takes on (im)mobility and migration; provide them with the (safe) space and guidance to frame and explore case-studies they are interested in; practice and try out different ethnographic approaches; and, in these ways, enhance their reflexive and critical ethnographic exploration of how societies change and reproduce through migration.