Although they are not novel or unheard-of, border-crossing engagements and activities have become among the most critical issues of several disciplines in the age of globalization. For this reason, developing perspectives on migration is critical for anyone who would like to participate in scholarly debates in various fields of contemporary intellectual life.
This seminar is designed on this rationale and aims to assist its participants in developing an inter-disciplinary perspective of “transnationalism,” with which they can approach contemporary social and political phenomena without being trapped by national borders, namely “methodological nationalism.” By specifically focusing on the phenomenon of migration, this seminar attempts to discuss border-crossing engagements and activities from a historical, inter-disciplinary and case-comparative perspective. Equally important, the seminar also focuses on how scholars have attempted to understand these phenomena at different historical moments. It is expected that this perspective would be also helpful to understand the nature of paradigmatic shifts in the social sciences at large.