Universität Wien
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240531 SE Imagining mobility (P4) (2023S)

Continuous assessment of course work

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 for courses with continuous assessment.

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).

Details

max. 25 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

If possible, the course is to be conducted in presence. Due to the respective applicable distance regulations and other measures, adjustments may be made.

UPDATE 21.02.2023: Changed beginning date and additional session on April 19th.

  • Wednesday 29.03. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
  • Wednesday 19.04. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
  • Wednesday 26.04. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
  • Wednesday 03.05. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
  • Wednesday 10.05. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
  • Wednesday 17.05. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
  • Wednesday 24.05. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
  • Wednesday 31.05. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
  • Wednesday 07.06. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
  • Wednesday 14.06. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
  • Wednesday 21.06. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock
  • Wednesday 28.06. 13:15 - 14:45 Hörsaal C, NIG 4. Stock

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

This course offers theoretical frameworks for anthropological research in the field of mobility studies. Mobility studies is an interdisciplinary field in the social sciences, which encompasses the study of all types of mobilities, from transnational migration to urban transport and from tourism to global trade. The course focuses on anthropological and ethnographic approaches, especially those that consider how mobility is shaped by and shaping processes of imagination.

Course readings combine classic and contemporary texts to obtain an overview of important concepts and debates in the field. Readings include case studies that explore how mobility is imagined in different geographic and historical settings - for example, the media practices of diaspora communities, the mobility of labour in the global IT market, and the movement of enslaved people in the 19th century Indian Ocean. Since geographic mobility is often paired with forms of social transformation, some readings also examine how social categories are imagined or reimagined through mobility – think for example, about social categories of class, race, and community.

Learning goals
After completing this course,
-Students have gained theoretical knowledge about the concepts of “mobility” and “imagining”, and an overview of of some key academic debates on those concepts;
-Students have gained insight into a variety of ways in which mobility is or has been imagined, as described concretely in contemporary and historical case studies;
-Students have expanded their knowledge about social categories (such as class and race) that are (re)imagined through mobility;
-Students have studied examples of popular culture and visual media that reflect on these issues.

Assessment and permitted materials

There are 5 ECTS in this course.
-For 2 ECTS, students read the compulsory literature and study assigned visual media;
-For 1 ECTS, they participate actively in classes and classroom assignments.
-For 2 ECTS, students write two theoretical papers, which will have the form of a literature review (the first paper worth 40%, the second worth 60% of the final grade).

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

A = 1 (Very Good): 87 - 100%
B = 2 (Good): 75 - 86,99%
C = 3 (Satisfactory): 63 - 74,99%
D = 4 (Enough): 50 - 62,99%
F = 5 (Not Enough): 00 - 49,99%

Weekly participation and preparation of all classes is compulsory (to be evaluated as either “sufficient” or “not sufficient” at the end of the course). “Sufficient” participation includes a maximum of 2 missed classes, and evidence of active engagement with the study materials through participation in discussions or classroom assignments. If the first class is not attended, the student will be deregistered.

Examination topics

The following topics will be discussed:
* the concepts “imagining” and “mobility” and their relevance for anthropology;
* key themes and debates in the anthropology of mobility;
* case studies that demonstrate how mobility is imagined in different ethnographic and historical settings; and how mobility is related with the (re)construction of social categories such as class, race, or community;
* ethnographies of popular and visual culture;
* academic skills: reading and discussing theoretical and ethnographic texts, writing literature review, preparation for research design.

Reading list

Below are selected readings from the course syllabus: a complete list will be shared in the first class.
1. Guadeloupe, Francio. 2022. Black Man in the Netherlands: An Afro-Antillean Anthropology. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. Chapter: “Introduction, or Rather, the Question.”
2. Griffin, Maryam S. 2021. Vehicles of Decolonization: Public Transit in the Palestinian West Bank. Pennsylvania: Temple University Press. Chapter: “Introduction”.
3. Salazar, Noel B. and Kiran Jayaram. 2016. Keywords of Mobility: Critical Engagements. New York: Berghahn. Chapter: “What’s in a name?”
4. Sheller, Mimi. 2018. Mobility justice: The Politics of Movement in an Age of Extremes. London: Verso. Chapter: “Introduction”.
5. Wickramasinghe, Nira. 2020. Slave in a Palanquin: Colonial Servitude and Resistance in Sri Lanka. New York: Colombia University Press. Chapter: “Interrogating the Identity of Slaves, Blacks, and Kafirs.”
6. Wolf, Eric. 1989. Europe and the People Without History. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Chapter: “Introduction”.
7. Xiang, Biao. 2007. Global "Body Shopping": An Indian Labor System in the Information Technology Industry. Chapter: “Producing “IT People” in Andhra”.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Tu 28.02.2023 13:09