Module Overview

There are no prerequisites for this course.  However, a basic background in political analysis as well as a keen interest in global political developments is assumed. 

This course will be conducted as a graduate seminar, which means it is readings intensive and hinges on active participation between the instructor and students as well as among students.  The best way to learn is from intense engagements with each other.  Full lectures will be conducted only when necessary.

Seminar 1:       Introduction to PP5252

PART ONE:  EXPLANING AND UNDERSTANDING ETHNIC POLITICS

Seminar 2:       Ethnicity and Ethnic Politics

Seminar 3:       Analytical Frameworks – The Primordialism versus Instrumentalism Debate

Seminar 4:       New Trends in Ethnic Politics

Seminar 5:       Explaining and Understanding Ethnic Politics: Case Study I

Seminar 6:       Explaining and Understanding Ethnic Politics: Case Study II

Semester Break

PART TWO:  MANAGEMENT OF ETHNIC POLITICS/MULTI-ETHNIC SOCIETIES

Seminar 7:       Mid-Term Exams

Seminar 8:       Partition and Secession as a Management Strategy

Seminar 9:       Domination, Assimilation and Acculturation

Seminar 10:     Political Accommodation, Federalism and Autonomy

Seminar 11:     National Integration Models – Multiculturalism & Multiracialism

Seminar 12:     The Management of Religious Diversity in Singapore – Visit and Discussion at the Harmony Center, 9A Bishan Street 14, Singapore

Seminar 13:     Ethnicity and Public Policy

This course is about understanding the dynamics of ethnic politics and of its management in the 21^st Century.  The increasing saliency of ethnicity in the everyday lives of people, in their economic, political and social behaviors cannot be ignored.  Multi-ethnic states are now very much a reality of the globalized world.  Yet, the nature and management of ethnic politics have evolved alongside global transformations.  This course is intended to provide students with the necessary tools to explain and understand the dynamics of ethnicity in the public sphere and explore concrete management strategies for multi-ethnic societies. 

This course is divided into two broad sections.  Section one will focus on the introduction and exploration of key concepts and analytical frameworks that explain ethnic identity formation and its saliency in the contemporary world.  This section will also introduce students to new developments in the study of ethnic politics.  Section two will explore various strategies and tools for the management of ethnic politics, ranging from the debate over partition to the push for multiculturalism as the best policy option for 21^st Century. 

Summary of the Assignments and Grading Percentages is as follows:

1 Short Discussion Essay       =          10%

1 Final Research Paper          =          40%

§  Poster Session (5%)                

§  Written Research Paper (35%)

Mid-term Exam                      =          20%

Participation                          =          30%

§  Presenter (10%)

§  Discussant (5%)

Total                                       =          100%