Stockholm Graduate School of International Studies (SIS)
PhD Training Course in Key Concepts in International Studies (7, 5 ECTS)
4-8 April 2016
Registration deadline 2 February, 2016.
Register by emailing: kristina.riegert@ims.su.se
Minimum number of participants 7, maximum 12.
Course Description
This course is intended to cultivate the multidisciplinary study of International Studies by introducing doctoral students to central concepts shared by several disciplines across social sciences, the humanities and law. The choice of concepts are motivated by their centrality in different disciplinary debates, their multiple perspectives, and/or varying epistemological underpinnings. The course will be co-taught by two teachers from different disciplines so as to highlight the ways concepts contribute to international studies as a whole as well as to different disciplines. The concepts’ origins and trajectories will be highlighted as well as the most recent generation of studies related to the concept.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Participants should acquire
a good orientation of central concepts in International Studies
an understanding of the various scientific contexts from which they have developed.
an ability to review, analyse and discuss advanced texts within the various disciplinary traditions of International Studies research, verbally and in writing
insights into the possibilities and limitations of the various disciplinary paradigms, and the ability to evaluate their contemporary relevance.
Course Structure, student work, examination:
The reading is centred on four current relevant concepts to the multidisciplinary field of international studies. Readings selected for each of the concepts will illustrate central theoretical perspectives, multiple/contrasting views and empirical applications in relation to the concept from several disciplinary perspectives. In addition, students will be asked to relate each concept to their own interests by finding an article that uses the concept in a way they can relate to their thesis projects or interests. One half-day teaching session will be held for each concept cluster. Each session will be convened by teachers from at least two participating SIS departments. The morning session will consist of an introduction by the teachers on the specific concept(s), either both of the convening teachers or by someone invited, followed by a seminar discussion of the concepts. In the afternoon, students will present an article they have chosen which is inspired by the reading and discuss the ways it is related to the concept and their respective areas of interest. The final day, students will present and discuss outlines of their final papers.
Examination
By the start of the course, students are expected to have read the course literature, chosen one own article for discussion of each concept and drafted a short outline of the paper they intend to write (about 2000 words) which is to be presented in order to get feedback on day 5. The final paper is due on April 22 nd.
The final paper should problematize at least one of the chosen concepts from different perspectives, reflecting upon the varied sets of assumptions involved, the eventual different methodologies they call upon, the ‘pros and cons’ of different perspectives for what they hide and reveal, and how it relates to the student’s area of interest.
Concepts:
The literature on the concepts will serve to introduce the concepts, how they are defined, problematized and studied in various disciplinary debates. It should include their epistemological bases as well as their use in recent empirical studies.
Key concept: TERRITORY
Monday, April 4th. Time: 10-12, 13-15. Place: The Law Faculty
Teachers: Pål Wrange and Ilda Lourenco-Lindell
Territory can be understood as material, political and legal space. There is an increasing interest across disciplines in the concept of territory and conventional understandings are being challenged. The seminar will thus discuss different and contrasting theorizations of this concept. The relationship between states, space and territories will be examined. This includes a discussion of the effects of transboundary relational networks, flows and institutions that unsettle a straightforward correspondence between state sovereignty and territory. The readings will address the strategies and practices involved in the production of territory and the techniques of rule applied to control territories and their populations. The “territorial effects” of tangled logics of power and claim-making will be uncovered.
Key Concept: SECURITY
Tuesday, April 5 th. Time: 10-12, 13-15. Place: The Political Science Department
Teachers: Ulrika Mörth and Mark Rhinard
In few other subject areas are ‘key concepts’ as central to research as in Security Studies. Indeed, Security Studies is dominated by debates and controversies over what security means and how it should (and should not) be practiced. This day-long seminar will explore the main fault lines in debates over what security means. Starting with the division between objective versus subjective definitions of security, discussion will then shift to the proliferating definitions of security and the implications thereby for the study of the state, organisations, societies, crises, private actors, and civil liberties. The wide ranging approach taken here will appeal to students from different SIS disciplines, not least since the notion of security has broadened to include topics from other disciplines and issues not traditionally seen as ‘security’ topics.
Key Concepts: NATIONALISM/CITIZENSHIP
Wednesday, April 6 th. Time: 10-12, 13-15. Place: The Economic History Department
Teachers: Thomas Jonter and Kristina Riegert
The first part of this seminar focuses on the concepts of nationalism and the expressions of ethnicity in the political sphere. It provides a broad overview of some of the leading theories on nationalism as well as studies on the relationship between nationalism and citizenship. The second part departs from the traditional definition of citzenship, its rights, responsiblities and obligations to describe how the concept of citizenship has been evoked in power struggles having to do with recognition and respect, visiblity and marginality, responsibility and identity in an international context. We will look at various dimensions and demands of cosmopolitan or cultural citizenship in the context of increasingly individualized and mediatized information societies. Questions addressed include: who is entitled to political, civil and social rights in multicultural societies, who may speak for marginalised groups, which community do we owe loyalty to, and when do global concerns supercede national ones.
Key Concepts: The COMMONS
Tuesday, April 5 th. Time: 10-12, 13-15. Place: Department of Media Studies/JMK, Frescati.
Teachers: Kristina Riegert and Pål Wrange
The Commons (at multiple scales and dimensions): The Commons is that which lies outside privately owned property or politically controlled territory, like common grazing lands, a public square, the Antarctica or the high seas. Metaphorically, it could also refer to the digital commons (cyberspace) or any other real or virtual space that is open to use by any one. The concept has a political, legal and conceptual value, but it could also be misleading and conceal structures of power that limit and regulate the use of these resources. For media studies, the concept of the Commons is used in normative discussions of the public sphere and citizenship, but also analytically to conceptualise a) the shift in media infrastructures from the industrial to the networked information society, b) the protocols and logics of the networks (e.g. the net neutrality debates and the enclosure of the internet) and c) digital content (e.g. intellectual copyright).
Key Concepts: Presentations of Outlines for Course Papers
Teachers: All teachers.
Place: Department of Human Geography. House G. Rum X308, fredag 8 april kl 9-17.
Common Lunch at Faculty Club and Course Evaluation
Participants should present an outline of the paper they are going to write for the class (about 2000 words). In doing this they should relate to the concepts discussed during the week and reflect on whether and how they are important for their own interests or thesis work.
Deadline 5000 word paper submitted to Mondo on April 22, 2016.
Professor Kristina Riegert
Department of Media Studies
Stockholm University
Karlavägen 104
115 93 Stockholm tel. +46-73 030 6220
Latest publications
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17512786.2015.1051358#.Vb5OsJPtmko