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SOC 783 Transnational Studies – FALL 2012
B. Nadya Jaworsky, jaworsky@fss.muni.cz, Office 3.59
Office Hours: Mondays 16.00 – 17.00; Tuesdays: 14.00 – 15.00; or by appointment
In recent years, 'transnationalism' has become a common reference across the social sciences. Moving beyond theoretical
approaches to the study of global social phenomena that have traditionally centered on the nation state as the central
conceptual unit of analysis, transnational studies considers social life as the constantly evolving product of multiple economic,
political, cultural and historical factors that manifest across ‘social fields.’
This course charts the evolution of transnational studies from a sociological standpoint, taking into account multiple forms of
regional, international and local scales, identities and scopes of inquiry. We will compare and contrast transnational dynamics
in various social spheres – the state, the economy, the family, education, religion and civil society – to rethink assumptions
about identity, sovereignty, citizenship and the political economy.
Utilizing theoretical work and empirical research from sociology, history, politics, economics, anthropology and cultural
studies, we explore the ways that transnational practices and processes manifest, relate to, and inform each other in different
domains, and at different levels of social interaction, affecting the organization of social life during different historical periods.
Course objectives
By the end of the semester, students should be able to:
• Define and discuss the concept of transnationalism
• Review and analyze its historical evolution
• Compare and contrast transnational practices in different domains and at different levels of social interaction
• Apply a sociological lens for analysis of transnational phenomena in various social spheres, including the state, the
economy, the family, education, religion and civil society
• Assess and apply transnational research methods
Assessment methods
Conditions for passing the course:
1. Systematic work on and (short, 1-page) written responses to readings
2. Oral presentation and discussion leadership
3. Final essay (3,000 – 5,000 words)
4. Written final exam
Particular activities of students will be evaluated as follows:
25% - reading, responses and class participation
15% - oral presentation/discussion leader
25% - written exam
35% - academic paper
Evaluation is based upon these principles:
90-100 = A
80-89 = B
70-79 = C
60-69 = D
50-59 = E
0-49 = F
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Literature
• The transnational studies reader: intersections and innovations, Sanjeev Khagram and Peggy Levitt,
Routledge, 2007.
• Transnational Villagers, Peggy Levitt, University of California Press, 2001.
Optional:
• Nations Unbound: Transnational Projects, Postcolonial Predicaments and Deterritorialized Nation-States,
Linda Basch, Nina Glick Schiller, Cristina Szanton Blanc, Routledge, 1993.
• God Needs No Passport, Peggy Levitt, New York: New Press, 2007.
Weekly Timetable: Below you will find the proposed readings for each week of the semester. However, and this is
very IMPORTANT: You must check the Interactive Syllabus and the Study Materials pages for specific reading
assignments and any last-minute changes. Please make is a habit to check these weekly, as this is where I will
“communicate” with you!
REQUIRED READINGS:
1st Seminar-Sept. 17: What is
Transnationalism?
No reading
2nd Seminar-Sept 24: Historical
Perspectives
Chapter 1, pp. 1-22 in TS Reader.
Chapter 5, pp. 50-63 in TS Reader.
Section 3 (Chapters 13-16), pp. 179-216 in TS Reader.
3rd Seminar-Oct. 1: Identity; Arts and
Culture
Chapter 29, pp. 333-338 in TS Reader
Chapter 31, pp. 342-346 in TS Reader
Martiniello, Marco, and Jean-Michel Lafleur. 2008. "Ethnic Minorities’
Cultural and Artistic Practices as Forms of Political Expression: A Review
of the Literature and a Theoretical Discussion on Music." Journal of
Ethnic and Migration Studies 34:1191-1215.
Sheringham, O. "A Transnational Space? Transnational Practices, PlaceBased
Identity and the Making of 'Home' among Brazilians in Gort,
Ireland." Portuguese Studies 26:60-78.
Levitt, Peggy. 2012. “The Bog and the Beast.” Ethnologia, forthcoming (20
pp.)
4th Seminar-Oct. 8: The Diffusion of
Values, Norms and
Meanings
Section 8 (Chapters 33-34 & 36+37), pp. 359-371 & 377-410 in TS Reader
Dekel, Tal. 2009. "Body, Gender and Transnationalism: Art and Cultural
Criticism in a Changing Europe." Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism
9:175-197.
Shavisinsky, Neil. J. 1994. "Transnational Popular Culture and the Global
Spread of the Jamaican Rastafarian Movement." New West Indian
Guide/Nieuwe West-Indische Gids 68:259-281.
5th Seminar-Oct. 15: Transnationalism
and the Digital Age
Nedelcu, Michaela. 2012. “Migrants’ New Transnational Habitus:
Rethinking Migration Through a Cosmopolitan Lens in the Digital Age.”
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 38(9): 1139-1356.
Schrooten, Mieke. “Moving Ethnography Online: Researching Brazilian
migrants’ online togetherness.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 35(10):1794-
1809.
Carpenter, R. Charli and Betcy Jose, “Transnational Issue Networks in Real
and Virtual Space: The Case of Women, Peace and Security.” Global
Networks 12(4):525-543.
Morris, Karen A. “Diasporic Politics, Transnational Media Circulation, and
the Multifocality of Côte d’Ivoire.” City & Society 24(2): 240-59.
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6th Seminar-Oct. 22: Religious Life
across Borders and
Transnational Islam
Section 6 (Chapters 27-28), pp. 308-332 in TS Reader.
Grillo, Ralph. 2004. "Islam and Transnationalism." Journal of Ethnic and
Migration Studies 30:861-878.
van der Veer, Peter. 2004. “Transnational Religion: Hindu and Muslim
Movements.” Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies 3(7):4-
18.
7th Seminar-Oct.29: No class – reading
period
pp. 1- 176 in Transnational Villagers, Peggy Levitt, University of California
Press, 2001.
Levitt, Peggy, and B. Nadya. Jaworsky. 2007. "Transnational Migration
Studies: Past Developments and Future Trends." Annual Review of
Sociology 33:129-156.
8th Seminar-Nov. 5: Migration
9th Seminar-Nov. 12: Corporations,
Classes and Capitalism
Section 9 (Chapters 38, 39, 41), pp. 411-414 & 429-458 in TS Reader.
Mirchandani, Kiran, 2004, “Practices of global capital: gaps, cracks and
ironies in transnational call centres in India,” Global Networks 4(4):
355–373.
Leslie Sklair, 2000, “The transnational capitalist class and the discourse of
globalization,” Cambridge Review of International Affairs 14(1): 67
10th Seminar-Nov. 19: Non-state
Actors, NGOs and Social
Movements
Section 10 (Chapters 43-44), pp. 474-500 in TS Reader.
Conway, Janet, 2008, “Geographies of Transnational Feminisms: The
Politics of Place and Scale in the World March of Women,” Social
Politics 15(2): 207-231.
Levitt, Peggy and Merry, Sally, 2009 “Vernacularization on the ground:
local uses of global women’s rights in Peru, China, India and the United
States,” Global Networks 9(4): 441–461
Ru, Jiang and Ortolano, Leonard, 2009 “Development of Citizen-Organized
Environmental NGOs in China,” Voluntas 20: 141–168.
11th Seminar-Nov. 26: Security, Crime
and Violence (focus on
terrorism)
Section 11 (Chapter 49), pp. 555-562 in TS Reader.
Beck, Ulrich, 2002, “The Terrorist Threat: World Risk Society Revisited,”
Theory, Culture & Society 19(4): 39–55.
Asal, Victor, Nussbaum, Brian, and D. William Harrington. 2007.
“Terrorism as Transnational Advocacy: An Organizational and Tactical
Examination.” Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 20:15-39
Bowman, Blythe A. 2008 “Transnational Crimes Against Culture: Looting at
Archaeological Sites and the “Grey” Market in Antiquities,” Journal of
Contemporary Criminal Justice 24: 225-242.
12th Seminar-Dec. 3: Methodological
Practices – what does it
mean to use a
‘transnational lens’ to
study social phenomena?
Section 2 – Chapter 9, pp. 104-117
Amelina, Anna and Thomas Faist, “De-naturalizing the National in
Research Methodologies: Key Concepts of Transnational Studies in
Migration.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 35(10)1707-1724.
Mazzucato, Valentina, 2008, “Simultaneity and Networks in Transnational
Migration: Lessons Learned from an SMS Methodology,” In DeWind,
Josh and Holdaway, Jennifer (eds) Migration and development within
and across borders: Research and policy perspectives on internal and
international migration, Geneva: International Organization for
Migration, p. 69-100.
Olesen, Thomas, 2007, “The Porous Public and the Transnational Dialectic:
The Muhammed Cartoons Conflict,” Acta Sociologica 50(3): 295–308.
13th Seminar-Dec. 10: Conclusion –
What is the future of ‘transnational
studies’?
Levitt, Peggy and Deepak Lamba-Nieves. 2010. “Social Remittances
Revisited.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 37(1):1-22.
Eckstein, Susan, and Thanh-Ngai Nguyn. “The Making and
Transnationalization of an Ethnic Niche: Vietnamese Manicurists.”
International Migration Review 45(3):639-674.