IDS 2000 - Diaspora Studies (3 Credit Hours)

Lecture Hours: 3 Lab Hours: 0
This course explores the shifting relations between homelands and host nations from the perspective of those who have moved, whether voluntarily or not. It examines the historical and/or contemporary movements of peoples and the complex issues of identity and experience to which these processes give rise, emphasizing the lived experience of migrant communities as they negotiate forms of existence that preceded and exceed national boundaries. It may be taught from various disciplinary, comparative, and interdisciplinary perspectives, drawing from the social sciences, history, the arts, and humanities. In it, students can expect to explore the relationship between place and belonging, how the experiences of migration and dislocation challenge the modern assumption that the nation-state should be the limit of identification, while examining questions of the coherence of cultural and political boundaries.