SW 4GG3 TRANSNATIONAL LIVES IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD COURSE DESCRIPTION COURSE OBJECTIVES

Transcription

1 Professor Y. Rachel Zhou School of Social Work Thursdays, 2:30 p.m.-5:20 p.m, January 5 April 8, zhoura@mcmaster.ca Office Hour: Thursdays, 1-2 p.m. (KTH 322) SW 4GG3 TRANSNATIONAL LIVES IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD ( , Term 2) Philosophy of the McMaster School of Social Work As social workers, we operate in a society characterized by power imbalances that affect us all. These power imbalances are based on age, class, ethnicity, gender identity, geographic location, health, ability, race, sexual identity and income. We see personal troubles as inextricably linked to oppressive structures. We believe that social workers must be actively involved in the understanding and transformation of injustices in social institutions and in the struggles of people to maximize control over their own lives. COURSE DESCRIPTION Exploring an emerging area in social work, this course supports students to think globally while they are primarily acting in local social work settings. It explores the conditions, politics, and experiences of people who live in between one national context and another. More specifically, it considers the impacts of immigrants, as well as immigrant families, sustained relationships with their homelands, and the implications of such relationships for social work knowledge, policy, and practice in this increasingly interdependent world. COURSE OBJECTIVES To introduce the key concepts and issues concerning transnationalism and their implications for social work; To gain knowledge about of the dynamics and contexts of people s transnational connections and practices; To develop a critical appreciation of the autonomy and inequalities embedded in the transnational lives of migrant individuals, families, and communities; To explore the strategies to pursue social justice through social work practice and policy advocacy; To develop critical thinking skills and team work skills through group projects and seminar participation. SW 4GG3 Term 2, 2014/15 Page 1

2 REQUIRED TEXTS All required readings will be posted on Avenue to Learn ( If you officially registered for the course, you would be automatically enrolled in the database of Avenue to Learn. Alternatively, you can access the readings through the electronic system of McMaster University Library. For more information about how to find an electronic article, go to A courseware can be available at the McMaster Bookstore ( upon request. The recommended readings are not mandatory, and you can read them based on your interest. COURSE EVALUATION 1. Participation (15%) 2. In-class presentation (20%) 3. Response paper (35%) 4. Group project (30%) 1. Participation (15%) Students attendance and participation are crucial for this course. You are expected to come to class on time, complete the required readings, and take an active part in the discussion. 2. In-class presentation (20%) Students will sign up the session (from week 4 to week 11) that you would like to give a presentation on. Each presentation group will be responsible for: a) preparing critical questions to be circulated in advance for class discussion; b) giving an in-class presentation based on the readings of a particular week; and c) facilitating group discussions after the presentation. The length of the presentation will be 30 minutes (a 25-minute power point presentation and a 5-minute Q & A session). A group-based grade for the presentation will be given. Please see Appendix A for details. 3. Response Paper (35%) In this response paper students are expected to develop their own analysis as well as argument on an issue arising out of the readings of a particular week (from weeks 4 to week11) through a comprehensive review of all of those readings. This paper is NOT a summary of these readings but YOUR in-depth and critical understanding of the readings and the seminar topic. SW 4GG3 Term 2, 2014/15 Page 2

3 The topics students select should NOT overlap with those they choose for their in-class presentations. The paper (in hard copy) must be submitted in class on the day we address those readings. No outside research is necessary for a response paper. The paper should be double-spaced, 8-10 pages (2,000-2,500 words, excluding References ). The last day to submit the response paper is March 19 (week 11), Major evaluation criteria: Structure and coherence; relevance; quality of analysis and argument; originality of ideas; and quality of communication and presentation (e.g., grammar, clarity, and reference style). 4. Group Project (30%) The group consists of the same members of the earlier presentation group. In this project, students are expected to present their in-depth and critical understanding of an issue arising out of the course (e.g., required readings, class discussion, as well as other transnationalism related topics). This project may expand on themes developed in the earlier in-class presentation, but this is not mandatory. Consultation can be arranged to help students prepare this assignment. The project will generate a 20-minute in-class presentation (a 15-minute virtual presentation and a 5-minute Q & A session) on Thursday, April 2, A groupbased grade for the presentation will be given. Please see Appendix B for more details. ASSIGNMENT SUBMISSION Assignments must be submitted on the due date by the end of class. A 3% reduction will be applied each day (i.e., Monday - Sunday) after the due date. Assignments that are not submitted within a week after their due date will automatically receive a grade of zero. Assignments handed in to the Institute Office (or Social Work Office, KTH 319) must have the date stamped on the front cover. In addition, please adhere to the following criteria for assignment preparation: 1. All assignments must include a title page with all relevant course information, adhere to the page limits specified, be formatted with 12 pt. font and standard margins, and be stapled; 2. The citations and references in all assignments (if applicable) must use APA style: more information is available through the e-resources link on the library home page and at ACADEMIC DISHONESTY Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means and can result in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notation on the transcript (notation reads: Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty ), and/or suspension or expulsion from the university. It is the student s responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For information on the various kinds of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy, specifically Appendix 3 at SW 4GG3 Term 2, 2014/15 Page 3

4 The following illustrates only three forms of academic dishonesty: a) plagiarism, e.g. the submission of work that is not one s own or for which other credit has been obtained; b) improper collaboration in group work; or c) copying or using unauthorized aids in tests and examinations. ACADEMIC SUPPORT SERVICES Student Accessibility Services offers group and individual consultation about effective learning strategies, essay writing, and study habits; accommodations, assistive technology, advocacy and support for students with disabilities; and personal counseling. If you believe these services may be helpful to you, contact (905) x 28652; sas@mcmaster.ca FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES COMMUNICATION POLICY Effective September 1, 2010, it is the policy of the Faculty of Social Sciences that all communication sent from students to instructors (including TAs), and from students to staff, must originate from the student s own McMaster University account. This policy protects confidentiality and confirms the identity of the student. It is the student s responsibility to ensure that communication is sent to the university from a McMaster account. If an instructor becomes aware that a communication has come from an alternate address, the instructor may not reply at his or her discretion. Forwarding in MUGSI ( *Forwarding will take effect 24-hours after students complete the process at the above link TENTATIVE CLASS SCHEDULE Week 1/Jan 8 Introduction (no readings) Introduction to the course and assignments. Week 2/Jan 15 Immigrants, transnational lives, and social work Li, W., & Teixeira, C. (2007). Introduction: Immigrants and transnational experiences in world cities. GeoJournal, 68, Weiss, A. (2005). The transnationalization of social inequality: Conceptualizing social positions on a world scale. Current Sociology, 53(4), Williams, C., & Graham, M. (2014). A world on the move : Migration, mobilities and social Work. British Journal of Social Work, 44 (Suppl. 1), i1 i17. Recommended (Optional): Reitz, J. G. (2012): The distinctiveness of Canadian immigration experience. Patterns of Prejudice, 46(5), SW 4GG3 Term 2, 2014/15 Page 4

5 Week3/Jan 22 What is transnationalism? Glick Schiller, N., Basch, L., & Blanc-Szanton, C. (1992). Transnationalism: A new analytic framework for understanding migration. Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 645 (1), Levitt, P., & Jaworsky, B. N. (2007). Transnational migration studies: Past developments and future trends. Annual Review of Sociology, 33, Stone, E., Gomez, E., Hotzoglou, D., & Lipnitsky, J. Y. (2005). Transnationalism as a motif in family stories. Family Process, 44(4), Köngeter, S. (2010). Transnationalism (2 pgs). Social Work & Society, 8 (1). Available at Recommended (Optional): Tsuda, T. (2012). Whatever happened to simultaneity? Transnational migration theory and dual engagement in sending and receiving countries. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 38 (4), Week 4/Jan 29 Transnationallity: Dynamics, diversity, and complexities Teo, S.Y. (2007). Vancouver s newest Chinese diaspora: Settlers or immigrant prisoners? GeoJournal, 68(2-3), Mensah, J., Williams, C. J., & Aryee, E. (2013). Gender, power, and religious transnationalism among the African diaspora in Canada. African Geographical Review, 32(2), Leach, B. (2013). Canada's migrants without history: Neoliberal immigration regimes and Trinidadian transnationalism. International Migration, 51(2), Dreby, J., & Adkins, T. (2010). Inequalities in transnational families. Sociology Compass, 4, Week 5/Feb 5 Emotion, identity, and belonging in transnational spaces Svašek, M. (2008). Who cares? Families and feelings in movement. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 29(3), Mirza, H. S. (2013). A second skin : Embodied intersectionality, transnationalism and narratives of identity and belonging among Muslim women in Britain. Women's Studies International Forum, 36, Lundy, G. (2011). Transnationalism in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake: reinforcing ties and second-generation identity. Journal of Black Studies, 42(2), Vertovec, S. (2001). Transnationalism and identity. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 27(4), SW 4GG3 Term 2, 2014/15 Page 5

6 Week 6/Feb 12 Children in transnational families White, A., Ní Laoire, C., Tyrrell, N., & Carpena-Méndez, F. (2011). Children s roles in transnational migration. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 37(8), Prat, G. (2010). Listening for spaces of ordinariness: Filipino-Canadian youths transnational lives. Children's Geographies, 8(4), Tse, J. K. H., & Waters, J. L. (2013). Transnational youth transitions: Becoming adults between Vancouver and Hong Kong. Global Networks, 13, Mazzucato, V., & Schans, D. (2011). Transnational families and the well-being of children: Conceptual and methodological challenges. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73, Recommended (optional): Schapiro, N. A., Kools, S. M., Weiss, S. J., & Brindis, C. D. (2013). Separation and reunification: The experiences of adolescents living in transnational families. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, 43(3), Week 7/Feb 19 Mid-term recess Week 8/Feb 26 Transnational care: Linking micro and macro Williams, F. (2011). Markets and migrants in the care economy. Soundings, 47(8), Zhou, Y. R. (2013). Toward transnational care interdependence: Rethinking the relationships between care, immigration and social policy. Global Social Policy, 13(3), Tungohan, E. (2013). Reconceptualizing motherhood, reconceptualizing resistance: Migrant domestic workers, transnational hyper-materialism and activism. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 15(1), Artner, L., & Wolfgang Schröer, W. (2013). Care, commons, citizenship: How social work is affected. Transnational Social Review: A Social Work Journal, 3(2), Recommended (optional): Bernhard, J. K., Landolt, P., & Goldring, L. (2009), Transnationalizing families: Canadian immigration policy and the spatial fragmentation of care-giving among Latin American newcomers. International Migration, 47, Boccagni, P. (2014). Caring about migrant care workers: From private obligations to transnational social welfare? Critical Social Policy, 34(2), SW 4GG3 Term 2, 2014/15 Page 6

7 Week 9/Mar5 Transnational aging: Mobility and disparities de Oca, V. M., García, S. J., & Sáenz, R. (2013). Transnational aging: Disparities among aging Mexican immigrants. Transnational Social Review: A Social Work Journal, 3(1), Zhou, Y. R. (2012). Space, time, and self: Rethinking aging in the contexts of immigration and transnationalism. Journal of Aging Studies, 26(3), Lunt, N. (2009). Older people within transnational families: The social policy implications. International Journal of Social Welfare, 18(3), Recommended (Optional): Bhattacharya, G., & Shibusawa, T. (2009). Experiences of aging among immigrants from India to the United States: Social work practice in a global context. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 52(5), pages Week 10/Mar 12 Think globally, act locally: Bridging transnationlism with activism Merry, S. E. (2006).Transnational human rights and local activism: Mapping the middle. American Anthropologist, 108(1), Gabriel, C., & Macdonald, L. (2014). Domestic transnationalism : Legal advocacy for Mexican migrant workers rights in Canada. Citizenship Studies, 18(3-4), Riaño-Alcalá, P., & Goldring, L. (2014). Unpacking refugee community transnational organizing: The challenges and diverse experiences of Colombians in Canada. Refugee Survey Quarterly, 33 (2), Chowdhury, E. H. (2009). Transnationalism reversed : Engaging religion, development and women's organizing in Bangladesh. Women's Studies International Forum, 32(6), Recommended (Optional): Tarrow, S. (2005). The dualities of transnational contention: Two activist solitudes or a new world altogether? Mobilization: An International Quarterly, 10(1), Week 11/Mar 19 Transnationalism, social work and social welfare Garrett, P. M. (2006). Protecting children in a globalized world: Race and place in the laming report on the death of Victoria Climbié. Journal of Social Work, 6, Furman, R., Kaufmann, E., & Ackerman, A. R. (2012). Men at risk in a global world: Challenges for a transnational social work. Transnational Social Review: A Social Work Journal, 2(1), Boccagni, P. (2011), Migrants social protection as a transnational process: Public policies and emigrant initiative in the case of Ecuador. International Journal of Social Welfare, 20, SW 4GG3 Term 2, 2014/15 Page 7

8 Fouché, C., Beddoe, L., Bartley, A., & de Haan, I. (2014). Enduring professional dislocation: Migrant social workers perceptions of their professional roles. British Journal of Social Work, 44 (7), Recommended (Optional): Furman, R., & Negi, N. J. (2007). Social work practice with transnational Latino populations. International Social Work, 50(1), Chambon, A., Johnstone, M., & Köngeter, S. (2014). The circulation of knowledge and practices across national borders in the early twentieth century: A focus on social reform organizations. European Journal of Social Work. Advance online publication. DOI: / Week 12/Mar 26 Conclusion: Reflections, prospects and challenges Levit, P. (2012). What s wrong with migration scholarship?: A critique and a way forward. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, 19(4), Van Hear, N. (2010). Theories of migration and social change. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 36(10), Hugman, R., Moosa-Mitha, M., & Moyo, O. (2010). Towards a borderless social work: Reconsidering notions of international social work. International Social Work, 53(5), Boccagni, P. (2014). (Super)diversity and the migration social work nexus: A new lens on the field of access and inclusion? Ethnic and Racial Studies. Advance online publication. DOI: / Moosa-Mitha, M. (2014). Using citizenship theory to challenge nationalist assumptions in the construction of international social work education. International Social Work, 57(3), Week 13/Apr 2 Group project presentations SW 4GG3 Term 2, 2014/15 Page 8

9 Appendix A: Instructions for In-class Presentation (20%) The formation of presentation groups will be determined by both students interests and a relatively even distribution of presenters across sessions. The main objective of this presentation is to share your own understanding of the readings (excluding the recommended/optional readings) of a particular week. The assignment will be co-evaluated by the instructor and the rest of the class. Detailed guidelines are as follows: Pre-circulated discussion question: The questions that will be circulated in advance are expected to lead to a discussion that can enrich students understanding of individual articles, as well as the week s topic. For example, students can develop one question for each article, plus an overarching question that helps link all the articles with the seminar topic. The questions should be sent to the instructor at least two days before the class for feedback (or suggestions for revisions) before posting them on Avenue to Learn before the class. (The instructor will make hard-copies of the finalized questions.) PowerPoint presentation (25 minutes): a) Provide an outline of your presentation and indicate the objective(s) you intend to achieve through this presentation; b) Identify and elaborate on the key points of the required readings in order to provide a foundation to understand the seminar topic; c) Offer your own thoughts (e.g., interpretations, critiques, and/or reflections) on the readings. These may include, for instance, what are the common themes of the week s readings; what are the relationships (e.g., similarity, difference, connection, and conflict) between the readings; what are the gaps between the knowledge presented in the readings and your own knowledge/experiences in that regard; and how have these readings collectively contributed to your thinking/rethinking of social work or social welfare in a changing context?; d) Quickly explain the pre-circulated questions that will be used for later group discussions; and e) Provide conclusive remarks for this presentation. *Notes: This presentation should NOT exceed 20 slides and be easy to read at a distance. Relevant images and/or a short video clip can be used for the presentation.) Q & A (5 minutes): Presenters should be committed to engaging and stimulating the audience to ask questions (not only for clarification but also for brain-storming or further inquiries), and are expected to respond to inquiries in a constructive way. All students are expected to actively contribute to the dialogue, which is part of your class participation. Group members are also responsible for facilitating group discussions in the class. Evaluation criteria: 1. The presentation is well-organized, clear, interesting and stimulating, and well reflects students critical and in-depth understanding of the required readings; 2. The presenters are sensitive and responsive to various contextual dimensions (e.g., culture, place, social locations, perspectives, and/or inequalities) that are relevant to the seminar topic; 3. The process of Q & A is interactive, constructive, and inclusive; 4. The relationship between presenters is collaborative and supportive; 5. The presenters well respect the time limit; 6. Effective facilitation. SW 4GG3 Term 2, 2014/15 Page 9

10 Appendix B: Instructions for Group Project (30%) Presentation time: 2:30pm-5:20pm, Thursday, April 2, 2015 In this group project, students are expected engage in an in-depth exploration of a transnationalism-related topic from a critical social work or social policy perceptive. You are encouraged to bridge a local issue (that you have identified) with the transnational/global contexts of social justice. You can also incorporate your learning in class as well as your reflections on the readings into the presentation. Although you are encouraged to creatively carry out and present the project according to the materials you have consulted, this presentation should include four basic components below: 1) Introduction: a) Introduce the research topic of your project, and provide a brief background/context of the topic; b) Indicate the main objective(s) of this project; and c) Explain the topic s relevance to transnationalism and importance for social work (or, social policy/social justice). 2) Analysis: a) Identify and elaborate on the major issues pertaining to your research topic; b) Explain the role of transnationalism in influencing the related issues of your research topic; and c) Indicate the implications of your research topic for social work (or, social policy/social justice), including challenges (if applicable); and d) Provide critical reflections on the various resources used to support the analysis. 3) Conclusion: a) Develop your main argument(s) based on the analysis; b) Provide critical reflections on the various resources used to support the analysis and argument(s); and c) Point out the constraints or limitations of your analysis and issues meriting further exploration in the future. 4) References: List the references you have consulted according to APA style. This project should consult at least five scholarly sources (e.g., scholarly journals and academic books) published between 2004 and 2014, in addition to other nonscholarly sources (e.g., popular articles and websites). The group project consists of: a) 20-minute presentation (a 15-minute visual presentation and a 5-minute Q & A session), and b) an one-page single-spaced report that describes the research process of this project such as the selection of the topic, the division of labour, the debate among group members (if applicable), conceptual and/or practical challenges, and group-based reflections on the research process to help the instructor to understand how the project has evolved to the stage of the presentation. Please submit the e-copy of the group presentation and both the e-copy and the hardcopy of the short report to the instructor ( zhoura@mcmaster.ca) before the class on Thursday, April 2, A group-based grade for the presentation will be given. Major evaluation criteria: 1. Relevance, originality of ideas, and creativity; 2. Structure, coherence, and clarity; 3. Ability to engage in a contextualized and critical analysis and to apply class learning; 4. Effectiveness of communication; 5. Team collaboration. SW 4GG3 Term 2, 2014/15 Page 10

11 The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term. The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme circumstances. If either type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice and communication with the students will be given with explanation and the opportunity to comment on changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check his/her McMaster and course websites weekly during the term and to note any changes. SW 4GG3 Term 2, 2014/15 Page 11