Malta - Bridging Differences: Migration in the Mediterranean Spring 2017
This course focuses on the challenge of bridging differences (cultural, racial, economic, religious, gender, refugee status, etc.) in light of recent migration to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea and other routes. Migrants fleeing direct and structural violence encounter opposition to their presence in European countries and have difficulty achieving stability and acceptance in host nations. Differences are frequently the site of misunderstanding, tension, and conflict between migrants and host country residents and within and across these and other social groups.
A variety of integration initiatives have been mounted to prevent and manage conflict by bridging differences and, ideally, fostering constructive relationships. Whether in the form of community dialogues, multicultural festivals, or peacebuilding skills workshops, integration initiatives mounted by NGOs and migrants themselves are on the increase.
Many questions about integration initiatives remain unanswered, such as: What legal, social, and political (among other) divisions keep groups and individuals apart in societies with significant populations of recent migrants? How do migrants and residents themselves understand the divisions? What kinds of integration initiatives are commonly mounted? Which ones hold the most promise for bridging differences that might foment conflict? The development of integration initiatives will only increase as populations of migrants settle in European nations; thus, identifying and implementing constructive approaches, informed by the conflict field, will remain important for years to come.
Research on these integration initiatives is limited and we know very little about how conflict resolution approaches are being used to bridge differences and their potential for future integration initiatives. The learning objectives of the course are aimed at engaging students in answering the questions above through library research, analysis of data from a research project focused on integration, and field based research (focus groups, interviews, and participant observation) on several integration initiatives in Malta, an island nation in the Mediterranean.
As part of the learning objectives for the course students will:
- Deepen knowledge of migration and integration, particularly as relates to the Mediterranean and Malta, with special attention to integration initiatives that focus on bridging differences.
- Evaluate scholarly and popular writing about migration and integration. Special attention will be paid to distinctions across scholarly, media, and grey literature.
- Examine a variety of initiatives to bridge differences and determining what might work under the circumstances.
- Conduct research on integration initiatives using multiple data collection methodologies, including interviews, participant observation, archival research, and focus groups and gain experience in using several of these methods.
- Learn methods of data analysis and gain experience in analyzing original data and presenting results.
- Extend their understanding of social science research on integration initiatives, including how they are developed, mounted, and evaluated and identify ways in which the conflict field can contribute constructively.
- Identify, reflect on, and, if appropriate, address ethical dilemmas that arise in the pursuit of field research and also in the practice associated with integration initiatives.
- Present their findings and recommendations publically in Malta and the United States
Dates of Course: March 11 to March 18, 2017
Application Due Date: Friday, February 3 by 11:00 p.m.
Deposit Due ($500): Friday, February 10 by 5:00 p.m
Final Payment Due: Friday, Febrary 24 by 5:00 p.m.
Pre-Trip Meeting Date: February 10 and February 17
Post-Trip Meeting Date: March 31
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Location: Arlington Campus, Metropolitan Building, Room 5183
Cost of Course: $2,600
Program cost for students will include: 3 credits of coursework (CONF 625 or CONF 695 for M.Sc. and Ph.D. students; housing at hotel; some meals in country; cultural activities, visiting speakers and instructors; transportation within Malta. Flight is not included.
Lodging: Students will be housed together in small, modest hotel in Sliema, Malta
Dr. Susan F. Hirsch, a cultural anthropologist, is a Professor in the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (S-CAR) at George Mason University and Chair of S-CAR’s Faculty Board. From 2009 to present, she has been affiliated in Mason’s Women and Gender Studies Program. Professor Hirsch is the Principal Investigator for the Undergraduate Experiential Learning Project funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), 2011-2013. The project aims at linking theory to practice through pedagogical initiatives, such as experiential learning activities and service learning intensive programs. She is also a recepient of the Point of View Working Group Grant that aims at promoting better learning through practice, 2010-2011. Her current major research and book project (with Dr. Frank Dukes) focuses on conceptualizing stakeholders in the conflict over surface mining in Appalachia.
