Political Science: The Politics of Pluralism

Course offered as a part of a programme

Course offered as a part of a programme, Master’s level

7.5 hp

Malmö daytime 100%

18 January 2021 - 21 February 2021

Full tuition fee: 10000 SEK

About the course

This course is offered as part of a programme:

Political Science: Global Politics, Master’s Programme (Two-year)

Course content

What are the claims and challenges of cultural pluralism? What are some of the major theoretical positions regarding cultural pluralism and how does it influence and find expression through politics and policy?

This course addresses these question by engaging with the by now large and diverse literature on multiculturalism, which focuses on how public authorities ought to respond to minority groups’ claims to recognition, inclusion, equality, autonomy, and self-government. Having analyzed this literature, the course turns to empirical and political aspects of pluralism. The main question with which the coruse grapples is how states and societies change as a result of (increased) diversity, which in turn opens up for a large number of more specifica question, including the relationship between diversity and social welfare, parliamentary politics, constitutionalism, national identity, and integration policies.

Syllabus spring 2021

Admission requirements

A Bachelor’s Degree within a social science field, e.g., Political Science, Peace and Conflict Studies, International Relations, Human Rights or a related major field. English B

Course literature

Course literature and other teaching materials

Balibar, Étienne (2004) ‘Dissonances within Laïcité’ Constellations, vol. 11, no. 3: 353-367.
Benhabib, Seyla (1999) ‘Citizens, Residents, and Aliens in a Changing World: Political Membership in the Global Era’. Social Research, vol. 66, no. 3: 709-744.
Brown, Wendy (1993) ‘Wounded Attachments’. Political Theory, vol. 21, no. 3:390-410.
Brubaker, Rogers (1990) ‘Immigration, citizenship and nationhood in France and Germany: A comparative historical analysis’. International Sociology, vol. 5, no. 4: 379-407.
Fraser, Nancy (1995) ‘From Redistribution to Recognition? Dilemmas of Justice in a ‘Post-Socialist Age’. New Left Review, no. 212: 68-93.
Honneth, Axel (1992) ‘Integrity and Disrespect’. Political Theory, vol. 20, no. 2: 187-201.
Joppke, Christian (2007) ‘Immigration and the identity of citizenship: the paradox of universalism’. Citizenship Studies, vol. 12, no.6: 533-546.
Kastoryano, Riva (2010) ’Negotiations beyond Borders: States and Immigrants in Postcolonial Europe’. Journal of Interdisciplinary History, vol. 41, no. 1: 79-95.
Koopmans, Ruud, Ines Michalowski and Stine Waibel (2012) ‘Citizenship Rights for Immigrants: National Political Processes and Cross-National Convergence in Western Europe, 1980-2008. American Journal of Sociology, vol. 117, no. 4: 1202-1245.
Kymlicka, Will (1995) Multicultural Citizenship. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kymlicka, Will (2010) ‘The rise and fall of multiculturalism? New debates on inclusion and accommodation in diverse societies’. International Social Science Journal, vol. 61, no 199: 97-112.
Rawls, John (1987) ‘The Idea of an Overlapping Consensus’. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, vol. 7, no. 1: 1-25.
Taras, Ray (ed.) (2013) Challenging Multiculturalism: European Models of Diversity. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
Taylor, Charles et al (1994) Multiculturalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Additional material of up to 200 pages

Course evaluation

The University provides students who participate in or who have completed a course with the opportunity to make known their experiences and viewpoints with regards to the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarize the results of course evaluations as well as informing participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures initiated in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).