Interdisciplinary Arts 0282 - Dynamics of Displacement

2015 saw an unprecedented movement of people migrating from wars and poverty into Europe. This course will explore media reports, personal narratives, novels and films to fertilise imaginative grasp of the conditions of disenfranchisement, marginalization and survival that make people leave home. Examining the arc of social realities impacting people from North Africa and the Middle East we will explore complexities of their migrations, asylum quest, experiencing of displacement - and challenges and uncertainties of striving to reach re-anchoring in unfamiliar places and foreign cultures. We will explore blindnesses in the juxtapositions of different worlds and highly charged attitudes and conditions of reception in European contexts. We will Skype with asylum seekers, trace 2015 events as they unfolded and explore background readings from Refugee Studies. Students will write responses to media reports, films; seek experiences of migration closer to home and complete a final critical / creative project combining different mediums.

Writing and Research Independent Work Multiple Cultural Perspectives In this course, students are expected to spend at least six to eight hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time. This time includes reading, writing, and research.