SOC 342 - Boundaries & Belonging: Sociology of Diasporas

Course unit(s): 1
Meets GAR: Meets general academic requirement DE.
Prerequisite(s): SOC 101 - Introduction to Sociology .
This course will investigate the impact of historical and contemporary movements of peoples across international borders and on definitions of citizenship and identities by raising questions about the permeability of national borders and the fluidity of cultural boundaries. A close examination of how globally dispersed peoples maintain and cultivate real and imagined ties to the ideals of a “homeland” or “place” reveals the cultural and institutional productions of transnational migrant communities that challenge the binary boundaries of “home” and “abroad.” Relying on a sociological perspective, we will consider the negotiations of belonging within and between these peoples and their host societies and study the different forms of transnational, diasporic, and cosmopolitan identities that result from such negotiations. In particular, case studies will include, but are not limited to, that of the Chinese and African Diasporas.