Course Syllabus

 

The syllabus is subject to change

Class Reps: Beatrice, Olatomi, Miriam, Melanie, Omar, Joanna 

Classroom environment: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QMueiG5luE5hZQBUZNfce0RWfOkijCr4EWLvhDztV9I/edit?usp=sharing 

Concept Padlet Page: https://padlet.com/dis/concept-wall-migrants-minorities-and-belonging-in-denmark-4arybdarhljfsm37 

Zoom link:  

https://disabroad.zoom.us/j/6676642976

Meeting ID: 667 664 2976

Description of Course 

Migration is one of the most pressing and politically contested issues of our time.

Every year, millions of people around the world leave their homes to travel and stay in faraway places in search of work, education, to form families, or to escape from political persecution and civil wars in their homelands. Economic globalization, cheap international airfares, the revolution in communication technology, wars, and natural catastrophes - to name a few - have massively increased the movement of people during the last century.  Yet migration is not simply movement from one place to another. It involves navigating new languages, institutions, cultural expectations, and power structures while maintaining relationships, identities, and connections across national borders.

In this course, we will critically investigate and analyze the many experiences, challenges, and opportunities that relate to the migrant and minority categories. Focusing on migrant and minority communities in Denmark, we will explore concepts such as power, mobility, belonging, representation, passing, gatekeeping, culture, ethnicity, integration, transnationalism, and nationalism. Through discussion and activities in class, we will explore questions such as, who is considered a migrant and minority in Denmark? How do factors such as age, nationality, gender, race, and occupation shape the portrayal of migrants and minorities in policy, media, and public opinion? In what areas of life do we see a power struggle between minorities and ‘ethnic Danes’ and what does that tell us about Danish culture? Why are some forms of migration encouraged and celebrated while others are treated as social or political problems? Where do tensions and negotiations between minority communities and the Danish majority become visible, and what can these struggles tell us about Danish society, identity, and belonging?

In Denmark, immigrants and descendants of immigrants are often portrayed in rather stereotypical ways as good, hard-working, and highly skilled professionals, religious extremists, or parasites on the Danish welfare system. This course aims at challenging such stereotypes, nuancing the debate on immigration in Denmark by focusing on the diversity, experiences, and different motivations of immigrant communities that come from different national, ethnic, religious, and socio-economic backgrounds. By taking this course, you will get a more nuanced perspective on the many facets and processes linked to the individual and migrant community’s encounter with the majority and the negotiations of identity and belonging that take place within a new social reality. Through academic texts, case studies, classroom discussions, activities, and encounters with contemporary Denmark, you will develop a foundational knowledge of key concepts and theories within migration studies.

During the semester, we will investigate and explore how globalization and migration reshape European and particularly Scandinavian communities and challenge established ideas about national identity, cultural homogeneity, and who belongs. We will look at the effects of different state policies that impact migrants and refugees and their ability to belong in their new 'homes', investigate cases that speak to the minority-majority power struggle, and deconstruct media representations and current political discourses that problematize certain migrant categories while privileging others. By the end of the course, you will be equipped to move beyond polarized debates and analyze migration, identity, inequality, and belonging with greater theoretical depth and nuance.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you will:

• acquire theoretical insights into subjects such as: migration; power relations between the majority and minority; identity processes and belonging; gatekeeping and passing; structure and agency; the nation-state and ethnicity. 
• be able to apply migration and sociological concepts and theories to migration-related issues.
• be able to discuss and analyze the complex field of migration and minority studies with more nuanced perspectives. Nuance is encouraged by considering different perspectives and approaches to migration. This will be stimulated through an open and discussion-based class environment where constructive dialogue and the use of your own experiences and newly acquired theoretical knowledge in the field will be vital for your academic growth. 
• gain a broader palette of knowledge on complex topics and cases that intersect migration. Topics may include Danish/European immigration rights and laws, the present and past 'refugee crisis', Islamic Feminism, Copenhagen minority neighborhoods, public media representation, integration policies, and right-wing extremism. 

Faculty:

Pronouns: she/her/hers

Teresa is cand.mag in Advanced Migration Studies from Copenhagen University and has a Bachelor's degree in Global Humanities specializing in Communications and Cultural Encounters from Roskilde University. Teresa is Danish-American as she is a first-generation American who was born and raised in San Francisco, California, and has lived in Copenhagen for the past twelve years. Teresa has volunteered and worked with numerous non-profit organizations that support migrants and minorities in creative and innovative ways. With DIS since 2014.

Readings

The below list is an outline of expected readings for the class and does not reflect the total number of articles used in the course. The majority of the required readings for this course are found on Canvas and there is no textbook. Additional readings will be selected as the course progresses based on current events

• Anderson, Benedict (1991): “Imagined Communities”, in: Hutchinson, J. & Smith, A.D. eds, Nationalism, Oxford University Press
• Bennett, J. (2013). Doing belonging: A sociological study of belonging in place as the outcome of social practices (Doctoral dissertation, University of Manchester).
• Carling, J. (2018). The complexity of global migrations. Aula mediterrania, 62.
• Cresswell, T. (2010). Towards a politics of mobility. Environment and planning D: society and space, 28(1), 17-31.
• Jenkins, Richard (2012): “Ethnicity in Everyday Life”, in: Being Danish. Paradoxes of Identity in Everyday Life, Museum Tusculanum Press, Copenhagen
• Jones, Paul & Krzyzanowski, Michal (2011): “Identity, Belonging and Migration: Beyond Constructing ‘Others’, in: Delanty, Gerard et al., eds, Identity, Belonging and Migration, Liverpool University Press
• Lapiņa, L. (2018). Recruited into Danishness? Affective autoethnography of passing as Danish. European Journal of Women's Studies, 25(1), 56-70.
• Malkki, L. (1992). National geographic: The rooting of peoples and the territorialization of national identity among scholars and refugees. Cultural anthropology, 7(1), 24-44.
• Rytter, M. (2018). Writing Against Integration: Danish Imaginaries of Culture, Race and Belonging. Ethnos, 84(4), 678-697.

Field Studies

The class has two field studies. All students are required to participate in field studies.

Approach to Teaching

My aim is to create a class environment that inspires and motivates you to engage constructively and openly. You can expect to be actively involved in each class through either discussion, questions, games, teamwork, or presentations; concurrently, I aspire to create a safe environment that respectively supports the more introverted and extroverted students. 

Our classes will strive to combine theory and practice by comparing theory to current political views and news articles; inviting relevant guest speakers who will present academic, political, or personal approaches to the course subjects; taking the class outside the classroom for relevant field studies or independent city excursions. The assignments will also be a reflection of this approach given that they will interweave actual or fictional minority and migrant narratives in the ambition to increase the knowledge and understanding of the individual and collective challenges a migrant or minority faces.

Expectations of the Students

I expect that you participate actively, as you will be involved in questions, discussions, and presentations for class. Through the course, you will be asked to engage curiously, critically, and academically, always based on your preparation for class from class reading, assignments, and curiosity in the field.

The social environment in a class also plays a vital role in the learning experience and I aspire for all of us to be part of constructing a positive and safe environment for discussions to take place.

Grading

Assignment	Percent
Engagement and Participation	20%
1st Portfolio Assignment	20%
2nd Portfolio Assignment	20%
Final (Zine)	40%

 

*A word about grades: I realize that grades are important to you, but try not to let your anxiety about grades deter you from taking intellectual or artistic risks since they are often what you learn most from. Also, my grade is never an indication of my evaluation of you as a person. I grade you to give you my honest assessment of your performance at this point in time.

Care and Wellbeing

I understand that as a student you may experience a range of issues that cancreate barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, stress, homesickness, illness, grief, financial concerns, depression, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These stressful moments can impact academic performance or reduce your ability to engage fully in the course. Please reach out to me if you feel your mental health, wellbeing, or personal circumstances are negatively impacting your academic performance or participation. While I am not a mental health professional, I can listen, help you think through academic options, and connect you with appropriate support, including the DIS Care Team. You are also welcome to contact the DIS Care Team directly. I will treat these conversations with discretion, within the limits of my role and DIS policy.

A note on sensitive material
The topics in this course — migration, belonging, and minority experience — are meaningful and sometimes personal. You are encouraged to engage with material that genuinely interests or moves you, and you always have the right to set limits on what you share about your own life or identity. If you find that your topic brings up difficult feelings at any point, please reach out to me and or to Care Team or Academic Support. You do not need to navigate that alone.

Disability and Resource Statement  

Any student who has a need for accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Office of Academic Support (acadsupp@dis.dk) to coordinate this.  In order to receive accommodations, students should inform the instructor of approved DIS accommodations within the first two weeks of classes.

Policies

Attendance

You are expected to attend all classes, guest lectures, workshops, and field studies. If you must miss a class for religious holidays, medical reasons, or other valid reasons, you must let me know as far in advance as possible of the absence and obtain information about the work you must do to keep up in class. If you miss a class for any other reason (sudden illness, family emergency, etc.), you should get in touch with me as soon as possible and arrange to make up the work missed.

It is crucial for your learning that you stay on task and hand in assignments on or before the due date. All work– including in-class projects – has to be completed in order to pass the class. Late papers or projects will be marked down with 1/3 of a grade for each day it is late. The assignment will be marked as 0 if you have not turned in the late assignment within 1 week of the initial due date. I will not accept late papers for the final project. 

I do not re-grade papers that are 93 points or higher. 

• The resubmission will be graded on its quality, but the original late penalty (1/3 grade per late day) will still apply if you turned in the first assignment late. 
• Extensions on assignments will be considered if requested in advance (more than 2 working days of the deadline). 

Academic Honesty

Plagiarism and Violating the Rules of an Assignment

DIS expects that students abide by the highest standards of intellectual honesty in all academic work. DIS assumes that all students do their own work and credit all work or thought taken from others.  Academic dishonesty will result in a final course grade of “F” and can result in dismissal. The students’ home universities will be notified. DIS reserves the right to request that written student assignments be turned in electronic form for submission to plagiarism detection software.  See the Academic Handbook for more information, or ask your instructor if you have questions.

Use of laptops or phones in class – The use of electronic devices in class is allowed only for notes or group research. It is the students' responsibility to display active listening while taking notes on the computer. If technology becomes a distraction, the instructor reserves the right to change the rules of electronic devices in the classroom and inappropriate use of technology will affect students' participation grades. 

 

AI Policy

The use of AI writing tools in this course is restricted to specific stages such as brainstorming and making research plans, as explicitly authorized on the assignment prompt. The primary content should reflect your knowledge and critical thinking. Disclose all AI contributions. 

How to Disclose? 

• Plan: Which specific AI tool and model version did you use (e.g., ChatGPT-5, Claude Opus 4.8), and what were you trying to achieve by choosing it?
• Act: How did you prompt the AI tool? (Include a brief summary or example of your prompts).
• Interact: How did you evaluate, modify, or refine the AI's output?
• Reflect: How did using the tool affect your learning process and the final outcome?

Please note that the class sessions can be subject to change during the semester

 

Study Resources for students

1. Assignment Planning: https://www.deakin.edu.au/students/study-support/study-resources/academic-skills/assignment-planner 

2. SignPosting https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=GY4NekyAOj0&ab_channel=Englishtec 

Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on:

• Course Enrollment and Grading
• Attendance
• Coursework, Exams, and Final Grade Reports

 

 

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org