Cultural Diversity in a Global Perspective

Academic year 2011-12

Date last modified

23-4-2012 1:29

Period

Period 2

Startdate:

31-Oct-11

Enddate:

23-Dec-11

Code

HUM2018

ECTS credits

5.0

Organisational unit

University College Maastricht

Coordinator

Description

This course focuses on cultural difference and identity in an era in which the nation is losing its unifying significance in matters of personal identity and group identity formation. It seeks to analyze how globalization influences identity and culture and the ways in which these interact with social differences, gender, ethnicity, religion and nationality. Its orientation is both practical and theoretical. Students will get acquainted with different theories of globalization and culture such as Hybridization (Nederveen Pieterse), McDonaldization (Ritzer), or the Clash of Civilizations (Huntington), concepts such as Orientalism (Said) and Occidentalism (Margalit and Buruma), Fundamentalism and Multiculturalism. Throughout the course theoretical discussions are linked to real life, actual and sometimes pressing practical debates and examples such as multicultural dilemmas, national identity formation, fundamentalist terrorism, and migration. Themes: Cultural Diversity; Gender and Ethnicity; National Identity; Multiculturalism; Orientalism; Occidentalism; Fundamentalism. Disciplinary perspectives: Cultural Studies, Migration Studies, Gender and Diversity Studies, Sociology.

Goals

• To teach students to reflect upon issues of globalization and cultural diversity from several disciplinary perspectives and connect these issues with their major field of academic study.

Instruction language

Prerequisites

At least one Humanities course.

Recommended literature

• E-readers. • Nederveen Pieterse, J. (2009). Globalization and Culture. Global Mélange. 2nd edition. New York [etc.]: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Teaching methods

PBL
PRESENTATION(S)
LECTURE(S)
ASSIGNMENT(S)
PAPER(S)

Assessment methods

FINAL PAPER
ATTENDANCE
PARTICIPATION
WRITTEN EXAM
ORAL EXAM
TAKE HOME EXAM

Key words