HIS2364 – On the Move. Migration History Since 1800
Course description
Course content
Splashed all over screens are images of migrants and refugees: tattered, desperate, and, for some, threatening. Who are these individuals? Why do they move? In what different directions have people relocated in the past? How did they interact with the contexts of their arrival? This course offers a thematic and chronological overview of migratory movements in global perspective in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It illustrates the changes that empires, the transformation of the countryside, wars, changes in infrastructure and gender relations wrought on patterns of mobility since 1800. It challenges commonly held assumptions about migrants and refugees and attempt to understand people on the move from their own perspectives. This class aims to provide students with the knowledge and the critical tools needed to approach contemporary debates and policies.
Learning outcome
When you have completed this course you will know how to:
- discuss major trends and issues in the historiography of migration since 1800
- assess what is exceptional or ordinary in recent migratory movements
- discuss the multiple reasons why migrants move?
- address the debates around the migrant-refugee distinction
- grasp how the movements of mobile individuals have connected different parts of the world
As for your more general skills, you will be able to: ?
- engage with both primary and secondary sources
- approach scholarly work as well as fiction, music, and documentaries critically
- demonstrate critical analytical skills both orally and in writing
- initiate and participate in readings-based discussions
- debate with others in small groups
- develop awareness about the issues around the digitization of historical sources?
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for?in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about?admission requirements and procedures.
Recommended previous knowledge
A background of at least 30 credits in humanities or social sciences.
A good ability to read, write and understand English is required for this course.
Overlapping courses
- 10 credits overlap with HIS4364 – On the Move. Migration History Since 1800.
Teaching
The course offers short presentations that provide the necessary historical background and includes readings-based discussions. Each class lasts two teaching hours. Participants are asked to come to class prepared to discuss the assigned readings. There may also be a study trip to a relevant museum or archive: students are highly encouraged to join if they can. All relevant information will be shared in class.
Compulsory activity: to qualify for the exam, students are expected to prepare an oral presentation. All relevant information will be shared in class. The presentation is assessed as either pass or fail.
Examination
The course is assessed by a portfolio consisting of the following:
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A documentary review (900 words, notes included)?
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Response to a question based on readings and class discussions (900 words, notes included)
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An essay (2500-3000 words, notes included) on a relevant topic, to be developed by the student and approved by the instructor. Attachments and/or bibliography are not included in the word count.?
Language of examination
The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F?is a fail. Read more about?the grading system.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- How to use AI as a student
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.