BLOOD AND BELONGING: ETHNICITY, NATIONALISM AND POLITICS: FYS-028
Prof. Eleanor Zeff
Fall: 2002, MW 12:30
Off. Meredith 209
Off.# 271-3102
eleanor.zeff@drake.edu
Off.Hrs: MW 2-3; TR 3:30-5
COURSE SYNOPSIS:
Ethnicity and nationalism are major political problems in todayís world. Ethnic cleavages
are frequently the cause of war and violence, yet nationalism may often play an important
role in bringing people together. Recently, many people have died as a result of
ethnic conflicts in the Balkans, the Chechen region of Russia, Northern Ireland and
Rwanda, among others. Ethnicity and nationalism contribute to territorial struggles
and political and cultural conflicts in many different parts of the world. It would
be hard to understand politics and the distribution of power in many countries without
studying the ethnic differences and conflicts prevalent in these areas.
This course is designed to develop your critical thinking, debating and writing skills
by reading, writing and arguing about an important issue of recent times. You will
explore the many meanings of the term Nationalism and will look for its influence
on politics in different parts of the world. In your search for explanations, you
will study two types of literature: 1. Literature on politics and events in several
specific countries: and 2.Literature on ethnicity and nationalism. You will explore
the relationships between the comparative issues of ethnicity and nationalism and
the politics of several selected regions around the world.
COURSE GOALS:
This course takes an active learning approach so that by the end of the semester
you should be able to read, write and actively debate these issues as you look for
relationships. For example, you should be able to effectively discuss whether or
not politics in certain countries is related to concepts such as nationalism. There
will be many group activities, and you will be expected to work effectively within
these groups and to contribute to them, but you will also be encouraged to write
and defend your own individual opinions. Because ethnic politics is a very contentious
issue, you will not be graded on the basis of what you believe but rather on how
clearly and rationally you express your ideas. This FYS course should also orient
you around the University, introduce you to the skills you need in order to be able
to effectively use the Library and its resources, and give you practice in group
and cooperative learning.
CLASS FORMAT:
This class will emphasize class and group discussions and writing exercises. There
will be some lectures by the professor, but a typical week of two classes will consist
of one class of lecture-discussion and the second class of group discussion of the
readings. There will be several types of groups used during the semester. For paper
discussions you will form groups of three, and for other discussions you will usually
have groups of four. Once and awhile you may just discuss a topic with the person
sitting next to you in class that day. You need to come to class ready to discuss
the readings. I will give you some study guides to take home to help you know what
you should emphasize in your reading, especially at the beginning of the semester.
I may also begin class with a written problem-solving exercise or question related
to the theme or concept to be discussed, or I will give your group a problem to solve
or a question to answer. I will monitor these group discussions and they will be
counted as part of your participation grade. You will also be expected to keep a
journal in which you will record thoughts or questions about the discussions. One
journal entry will be entered during a class period each week. You will also work
with your classmates on your papers and give them written comments during several
class periods. Because of the inter-active format of this class, your attendance
is very important. Students who have excuses, but who have to miss more than 2 classes,
will be assigned a further short essay. There will be two debriefing periods where
we will discuss the progress of the class as well as other issues dealing with being
a first year student. One session will be held toward the middle of the semester
and the other will be at the end. We will also try to arrange some sort of an outing
as a class.
REQUIRED READINGS:
1. Michael Ignatieff, Blood and Belonging, Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1993
2. Samuel Huntington, "The Clash of Civilizations: The Debate," 1996. I
will also put "The Man In The Baghdad Café" (another commentary
on this discussion) from the Economist, Nov. 9, 1996 on Reserve in the Library.
3. Peter Gourevitch, We Regret to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With
Our Families, Picador, USA, 1998.
4. Taras and Ganguly, Understanding Ethnic Conflict, 2nd ed. Longman, 2002
On Reserve in the Library: These readings will be mostly optional:
1. Gregory Scott and Stephen Garrison, The Political Science Studentís Writerís Manual,
Prentice-Hall, 2000: there are 2 copies of this book; one is the 1st edition and
the other is the 3rd edition.
2. Several articles and book chapters on review in the Library
a.. "The Man in the Baghdad Café" the Economist, Nov. 9, 1996,
b. "Ethnic Conflict: Challenging the Myths," and "Religious Nationalism:
A Global Threat?" in Annual Editionsí Developing World, 00/01, pp. 90-101
c. Chapter 3 in Handelman, "The Politics of Cultural Pluralism and Ethnic Conflict,"
The Challenge of Third World Development,
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. 20 % Participation: includes: 1. Regular class attendance: 2. Attendance
at the Jay Light lecture on AUGUST 28 at the regularly scheduled class time (in Old
Main): 3.Attendance at the Library briefing SEPT. 9 (meet at the Reference Desk at
the Library): 4. A library exercise and a sample bibliography and footnotes section
are due on SEPT 16 and 5. Group Work and active participation in the group activities,
including written proof that you are doing your reading (I will look at your study
guides from time to time) and group reports. A member of each group will report on
the findings after the discussions. These reporters should rotate throughout the
semester.
2. 20% Written journals with good comments that show that you have thought
about the issues we are discussing and communicated these thoughts with your classmates.
Your comments/questions should sometimes refer to newspaper articles that you have
read which deal with the issues that we are discussing in class. You will need to
follow current events in either daily newspapers such as the New York Times, Washington
Post, the Christian Science Monitor, etc. or in weekly periodicals such as the Economist,
the Nation, etc. You should make at least two journal entries a week. You will write
one journal entry a week in class and the other you will write on your own. Journal
entries do not need to be long. Even a couple of sentences will be sufficient as
long as they show that you are thinking critically about the issues. I will check
these journals from time to time throughout the semester, and you will hand them
in for the final grade on the last day of class, DEC. 11.
3. 20% A Midterm Exam, on OCTOBER 16,testing on the material that we have
covered up to that point in the class discussions and in the readings. It will have
part short answer and part essay questions.
4. 20% Two issue papers on Nationalism topics, with an oral component. As
these papers will be reviewed by classmates, you will need to bring three copies
of them to class on the day that they are due so that you can hand the extra copies
to the other two people in your writing group. It is very important that you are
in class with the copies of your paper on the day they are due because this is your
opportunity to get some opinions from your classmates and have a chance to rewrite.
In the first paper (due on SEPT.30) you will discuss how nationalism affects you
and whether you consider yourself to be an ethnic or a civic nationalist and why.
This paper should be about 3 pages. For the second paper, you will write on an area
of the world where ethnic nationalism is a problem (a crisis area). You may choose
your own topic for this paper after the Midterm Exam from a list that I will pass
around the class. This paper (with bibliography and footnotes) and the ability to
discuss it orally is due on Nov.6.
5. 20% There will be a final paper on Huntingtonís Clash of Civilizations article
and the rejoinder articles (found in this book and also on Reserve in the Library)
due on DEC 11. This paper will serve as the final exam for this course, but you must
come to class at the regularly scheduled time for the final exam as it is a University
requirement. I will hand back your papers during the exam time as well as your journals
and give you your final grade, and we will have a debriefing discussion at this time.
CLASS SCHEDULE:
Fall 2002
Weeks:
August 26, 28 I will give you a reading handout on Nationalism with questions.
I will hand out the syllabus and introductory survey.
Buy your books and attend the Jay Light lecture on Aug. 28.
Sept. 2 --No class Mon. Labor Day
Introduction and Defining Nationalism
Discuss the Readings, Handouts and the questions.
The readings are designed to help you understand the lecture and discussion topics.
I may also have you write brief statements on the readings in class. Sample questions
to think about this week: What is ethnicity, an ethnic group, a nation? .
Read: Ignatieff, pp. 3-16 and other handouts.
Sept. 9, 11 Belonging: Myth and Reality
More on nationalism and how the meaning has changed over time.
You will have class on Sept. 9 at the Library. Please meet at the Reference Desk
in the Cowles Library. This is a required class. A librarian will conduct the class.
Bring a notebook so that you can take notes. Part of the visit will entail using
the electronic equipment and part will be to familiarize you with how to go about
doing research, etc. Be sure to have some questions ready to ask. You will have an
exercise to hand in on Sept. 16 to get you to use some of this information.
Sept.11: Discussion of the readings.
Read: Handouts on nationalism.
Sept. 16, 18 The Library exercise due on Sept. 16 is designed to let you
practice what you have learned during your visit. Also, it should help you think
about questions to ask during the visit so you can complete the exercise.
Library exercise: In the Library, use one scholarly index and find citations
for two recent articles on ethnic conflict, type or print out the full citations
for both articles in the correct form. Put them once in the footnote form and again
in the correct form for bibliographies, and note that these forms are different (see,
Scott, on Reserve in the Library to see how to write these citations. Also, please
read and bring to class two scholarly book reviews of Blood and Belonging. Be sure
to write down how and where you found these articles. This exercise is due on Mon.
Sept. 16. We will discuss this exercise in class, and then we will begin to study
the topic: Approaches to the Study of Nationalism and Ethnic and Ethno-National Issues:
Read: Taras and Ganguly, Ch. 1, pp. 1-41.
Also you should begin serious reading of a few newspapers to gather information and
write comments in your journals on ethnic conflicts which are occurring today.
Sept. 23, 25 Dr. Zeff will be out of town this week.. You should
work on your papers, due on Sept. 30. Come to class. Sept. 23, for an important
video.
Paper #1 "Are you an ethnic or religious nationalist or a civic one? Describe
your reasons for placing yourself into one of these categories. Do you have any relatives
or close friends who consider themselves to be ethnic nationalists or nationals?
What role does ethnic nationalism play in your life or in the life of your relation/friend?"
Always keep backup copies of your essays on a computer disk. Use the readings we
have done so far and the discussions for ideas. If you use outside sources, be sure
to cite t hem.
Sept. 30, Bring to class 3 copies (one for me and 2 others for your group-mates) of a short essay on your ethnicity (see instructions below for a topic). You will exchange papers in class in your small groups, and you will discuss and comment on (in writing) the papers of the 2 other people in your group during the class period. Afterwards, time permitting, the class will come together to discuss the topic of the week. This format will be followed each time a paper is due in class this semester.
Oct. 2: Continue with the study of Ethnic and Ethno-National Issues.
Read: Annual Editions article on "Religious Nationalism: A Global threat?"
on Reserve in the Library.
Also: Handelman, Ch. 3, pp. 48-77 (on reserve)
Oct. 7, 9
Read: Taras and Ganguly, Ch. 2, pp. 42-69. Class discussion on Monday.
Wed. we will have a midterm assessment discussion (debriefing).
Oct. 14, 16 Mon. Conflict and Conflict Resolution;
Read: Taras and Ganguly, Ch. 3.
Wed. Oct. 16=Midterm Exam
Oct. 21 Fall recess Mon-Tuesday:
Oct. 23 Some Sources of Conflict and Conflict Resolution: Europe
Germany, Discussion and video on the problems of putting 2 parts of one country back
together again after 50 years of separate existence where different ideas of nationalism
had developed. See Ignatieff Video
Read: Ignatieff, pp 57-102
Oct. 28, 30 Northern Ireland, and begin Case Studies in Eastern Europe
(Slovakia, Russia, the Ukraine, Kurdistan and Chechnya)
Read: Ignatieff, pp. 213-249 (Northern Ireland)
Discussion: Why is the situation in Northern Ireland so hard to resolve? Why is it
different from the situation in Germany? Watch the Ignatieff Video and discuss.
Read: Taras and Ganguly, Ch. 5, (Soviet Union, Russia and Chechnya)
pp. 126-155.
Nov. 4 Continue with Eastern Europe Case Studies:
Discussion: Why are there so many conflicts in this area? What is the relationship
between democracy and ethnic conflict?
Read: Ignatieff, pp. 103-142, and 178-212 (Ukraine and Kurdistan).
Paper # 2 due in class Nov. 6. This paper should state the problems in the country
or area you have chosen, the current policy positions of the major actors in the
conflict and then discuss the progress (or lack of progress) occurring to solve the
problems. What is the prognosis for the future resolution of this crisis? Give the
feelings of the experts as well as your own ideas about the situation.
Nov 11, 13 The Yugoslav Crisis:
Read: Ignatieff, (Croatia and Serbia), pp. 19-56; and Taras and Ganguly, Ch 4, pp.
92-125 ("Resolving Ethnic Conflicts Through Internatinal Intervention").
Also, there is a copy of Ignatiefís newest book, Virtual War on Reserve for you.
This book gives a very good account of the situation in Kosovo. It is my personal
copy, so take care of it and only use it in the Library. There are also some other
articles on this crisis on Reserve.
Discussion: Why did multi-ethnic Yugoslavia fall apart? Who is fighting who? What
has been done to try to solve the multiple problems? Should the outside world get
involved? Be sure that you understand the points of views of the many different factions.
Video.
Nov 18, 20 Case Studies Outside Europe:
Read: Begin to read the Peter Gourevich book on Ruanda: We Regret To Inform You---
Class discussion of this crisis with reference to the readings. Possible in-class
writing questions on the situation and the readings. The book is very intense.
Nov. 25 The Ruanda Crisis
Read: Finish the Gourevich book and review Taras and Ganguly "Resolving Ethnic
Conflicts Through International Intervention"
Nov 26 (Tues) Thanksgiving Break begins after evening classes
Dec. 2, 4 Classes resume on Mon at 8:00 a.m.
Cases of Moderate Conflict
Discussion: What societal differences do you see in these countries with moderate
conflict from other regions which are experiencing greater problems?
Read: Taras and Ganguly, Ch. 6, pp. 156-181 (Canada and Quebec), and Ignatieff, pp.
143-177 (Quebec).
Dec. 9, 11 Last week of classes
(Friday) is a study day
Conclusions:
Hand in Your Journals on Dec. 9
Discussion: What conclusions can we make (if any) from the case studies or
the readings we have done this semester? Is ethnic (cultural) conflict the wave of
the future? Do any solutions work? Why or why not? In class debate of these topics
Read: Taras and Ganguly, Ch. 10, pp. 258-276 ("The US Response To Nationalism:
To Intervene or Not To Intervene?"). Discuss opinions?
Dec. 11: Final papers due, and we will hold a discussion of the topic.
Final Papers due on Dec. 11: The paper will be written on Huntingtonís "The
Clash of Civilizations" and the rejoinder articles in the book and should also
include "The Man in the Baghdad Café" article which is on reserve
in the Library. In your paper think about if you agree with Huntingtonís opinion?
Why or why not?
Dec 16-20 Mon-Fri Examinations Debriefing during the exam period
Dec 20 Friday Semester ends
See my course guides for more information on writing papers and class policies.