Diasporas in History

Disruptions, disasters, and dreams have led to migrations and diasporas for millennia. In this course we explore the global flow of people across political boundaries throughout history. We will use specific case studies from (but not limited to) the African, Jewish, Latin American, and Asian diasporas to challenge the idea of the unified nation-state, meanings of race and assimilation, and ideas of belonging to more than one place. We will analyze how nationalists divide “natives” and “migrants” and utilize Adichie’s idea of “the danger of the single story” to study intersectional alliances within and across diaspora groups. Students will choose a research topic on a diaspora community of their interest and be required to make direct contact with the communities we study. 3 hrs. sem.