Moodle UDE

In this course students will be given the opportunity to improve their oral language skills by participating in in-class debates on a wide variety of controversial issues. In so doing, students will be able to develop their public speaking skills as well as hone their powers of persuasion by arguing for or against motions which they may not necessarily support or have strong views about themselves. Students will be expected to take an active part in all debates, either as speakers in at least two debates or as members of the audience in the open discussions towards the end of each debate.

In addition, we will continue our review of problem areas in English which frequently cause difficulty to German learners and therefore lead to mistakes. As in Basic Communication Skills II, students will be expected to identify, correct and explain typical errors that Germans still make at university level in the area of grammar, vocabulary, punctuation and spelling.

In this course students will be given the opportunity to improve their oral language skills by participating in in-class debates on a wide variety of controversial issues. In so doing, students will be able to develop their public speaking skills as well as hone their powers of persuasion by arguing for or against motions which they may not necessarily support or have strong views about themselves. Students will be expected to take an active part in all debates, either as speakers in at least two debates or as members of the audience in the open discussions towards the end of each debate.

In addition, we will continue our review of problem areas in English which frequently cause difficulty to German learners and therefore lead to mistakes. As in Basic Communication Skills II, students will be expected to identify, correct and explain typical errors that Germans still make at university level in the area of grammar, vocabulary, punctuation and spelling.

This lecture deals with the fundamentals of photorealistic and interactive image synthesis. In particular, we discuss techniques to achieve interactive frame rates for the realistic rendering of complex models and scenes using GPU accelerated techniques. Selected graphics algorithms and their efficient implementation exploiting state-of-the-art graphics hardware through graphics APIs will be demonstrated. We focus on dedicated parts of the graphics pipeline and we review the functionality provided by consumer class graphics accelerators including programmable vertex-, geometry- and fragment shaders. In addition, we discuss the governing equations in physics based light transport and we demonstrate effective solution methods for the simulation of global illumination. Topics include:

• Interactive image synthesis
• Graphics APIs & hardware, OpenGL, DirectX, Vulkan and CUDA
• Fixed function & programmable graphics pipeline
• Introduction to General-purpose computation on graphics hardware (GPGPU)
• Lighting
• Local lighting models
• GPU implementation
• Environment Mapping
• GPU Shadowing techniques
• Projective Shadows
• Shadow Volumes
• Shadow Maps
• Transparent Objects:
• (depth) sorting with implementations on graphics hardware
• Order independent transparency & depth peeling on GPUs
• Physics based rendering
• Radiometric quantities, rendering equation
• Raytracing / path tracing
• Radiosity
• Irradiance volumes
• Precomputed radiance transfer (PRT)
• Ambient Occlusion with focus on GPU-based interactive methods
• Special topics:
• GPU friendly High quality terrain rendering & synthesis
• Rendering of fur and hair
• Scenegraph APIs
• Acceleration structures and culling techniques
• Human visual perception and high dynamic range imaging (HDRI)
• REYES
• Image compression techniques

This introductory course focuses on discussing efficient techniques to visually represent large-scale data sets from simulation and measurement. Starting with a brief introduction on the data generation processes, the visualization pipeline, data structures, mapping techniques, and special rendering techniques for scientific data will be discussed. Various examples will outline the benefits of visualization techniques in practical applications. A particular focus is put on interactive methods using GPU-based techniques. Topics include:

• Interactive image synthesis
• Graphics APIs & hardware, OpenGL, DirectX, Vulkan and CUDA
• Fixed function & programmable graphics pipeline
• Introduction to General-purpose computation on graphics hardware (GPGPU)
• Lighting
• Local lighting models
• GPU implementation
• Environment Mapping
• GPU Shadowing techniques
• Projective Shadows
• Shadow Volumes
• Shadow Maps
• Transparent Objects:
• (depth) sorting with implementations on graphics hardware
• Order independent transparency & depth peeling on GPUs
• Physics based rendering
• Radiometric quantities, rendering equation
• Raytracing / path tracing
• Radiosity
• Irradiance volumes
• Precomputed radiance transfer (PRT)
• Ambient Occlusion with focus on GPU-based interactive methods
• Special topics:
• GPU friendly High quality terrain rendering & synthesis
• Rendering of fur and hair
• Scenegraph APIs
• Acceleration structures and culling techniques
• Human visual perception and high dynamic range imaging (HDRI)
• REYES
• Image compression techniques

This introductory course focuses on discussing efficient techniques to visually represent large-scale data sets from simulation and measurement. Starting with a brief introduction on the data generation processes, the visualization pipeline, data structures, mapping techniques, and special rendering techniques for scientific data will be discussed. Various examples will outline the benefits of visualization techniques in practical applications. A particular focus is put on interactive methods using GPU-based techniques. Topics include:

• Interactive image synthesis
• Graphics APIs & hardware, OpenGL, DirectX, Vulkan and CUDA
• Fixed function & programmable graphics pipeline
• Introduction to General-purpose computation on graphics hardware (GPGPU)
• Lighting
• Local lighting models
• GPU implementation
• Environment Mapping
• GPU Shadowing techniques
• Projective Shadows
• Shadow Volumes
• Shadow Maps
• Transparent Objects:
• (depth) sorting with implementations on graphics hardware
• Order independent transparency & depth peeling on GPUs
• Physics based rendering
• Radiometric quantities, rendering equation
• Raytracing / path tracing
• Radiosity
• Irradiance volumes
• Precomputed radiance transfer (PRT)
• Ambient Occlusion with focus on GPU-based interactive methods
• Special topics:
• GPU friendly High quality terrain rendering & synthesis
• Rendering of fur and hair
• Scenegraph APIs
• Acceleration structures and culling techniques
• Human visual perception and high dynamic range imaging (HDRI)
• REYES
• Image compression techniques

The main focus of this course is on the art of debating. Students will be given the opportunity to participate in a number of in-class debates on a wide variety of controversial issues. In so doing, students will be able to develop their public speaking skills as well as hone their powers of persuasion by arguing for or against motions which they may not necessarily support or have strong views about themselves. Students will be expected to take an active part in all debates, either as speakers in at least two debates or as members of the audience in the open discussions towards the end of each debate. In addition to the debates, students will take part in several other oral activities in class, some of which require prior preparation.

This course deals with African American Vernacular English, the distinctive varieties of English used primarily by and among speakers of African background in North America. We will investigate the present-day linguistic features of AAVE, as well as the ways in which the variety is expressively employed in black speech communities. We will also spend some time exploring the history of AAVE, its source in African languages, as well as the controversial question of its possible creole ancestry. These issues will be discussed in the light of educational and applied concerns, such as teachers’ expectations and students' progress, linguistic profiling and discrimination of AAVE speakers.

This course deals with African American Vernacular English, the distinctive varieties of English used primarily by and among speakers of African background in North America. We will investigate the present-day linguistic features of AAVE, as well as the ways in which the variety is expressively employed in black speech communities. We will also spend some time exploring the history of AAVE, its source in African languages, as well as the controversial question of its possible creole ancestry. These issues will be discussed in the light of educational and applied concerns, such as teachers’ expectations and students' progress, linguistic profiling and discrimination of AAVE speakers.

The goal of this bachelor project is to familiarize students with basic problems related to the surveillance of traffic-scenes. Within the project, participants will be implementing different surveillance-related tasks, such as speeding detection on highways or parking lot monitoring.

Thereby, students will get in touch with the OpenCV library that implements a broad range of computer vision algorithms, most notably neural networks, feature-matching or image manipulation.

This seminar is about the interconnectedness of language and social identity, looking at how human beings use language in order to construct, manage, and project parts of their identity within a group. Our focus will be on Communities of Practice (CoP), a concept originally taken from anthropology and learning theory, which has been defined in linguistics as “an aggregate of people who come together around mutual engagement in an endeavor” (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 1992: 464). Through frequent interaction within the same group, e.g. for a shared hobby, people develop a sense of community. One important part of that is that they start sharing linguistic norms and ideals. We will study how exactly this happens and how such processes can be studied within the framework of Sociolinguistics. Throughout the term, we will read some seminal publications in the field and investigate different types CoPs, encompassing different social backgrounds and including social networks found online. We will explore models used to describe language use and methods of data collection. Students choosing this course should be avid readers and should share an interest in variational linguistics and identity-related language use. The course is open to all students who have successfully completed Modules A/II/Ling1 and C/III/Ling2 (please check your study programme guidelines).

Preparatory readings

Meyerhoff, Miriam, and Anna Strycharz (2013) “Communities of Practice.” In: J.K. Chambers and Natalie Schilling (eds), The Handbook of Language Variation and Change. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell. 428–447. (book downloadable via university library)

Also note any current lectures on language variation and change in the Humanities faculty.

2. Excercise Schedule

Institutional Theory and Management: South Korean case

The objective of this module is to examine the institutional approaches of the national business system, which produces different systems of economic organisations across national economies. This approach regards institutions as cultural and historical outcomes as well as ‘the rules of game in a society (North, 1990)’, providing firms with distinctive features of business strategy and capabilities. The module focuses on the case of South Korea, which witnessed a rapid economic development with notable achievements in global niche markets. The first part of the module introduces different schools of thoughts and dynamics in institutional theory. Through the institutional lens, the second part of the
module discusses key domains of a modern business system in the Korean context such as the role of the state; corporate governance; educational system; human resources; welfare state; international/global business. This module is open to all students who are interested in Korean business and economy and have been trained in economics/business, political studies, sociology or other social science disciplines.

Institutional Theory and Management: South Korean case

The objective of this module is to examine the institutional approaches of the national business system, which produces different systems of economic organisations across national economies. This approach regards institutions as cultural and historical outcomes as well as ‘the rules of game in a society (North, 1990)’, providing firms with distinctive features of business strategy and capabilities. The module focuses on the case of South Korea, which witnessed a rapid economic development with notable achievements in global niche markets. The first part of the module introduces different schools of thoughts and dynamics in institutional theory. Through the institutional lens, the second part of the module discusses key domains of a modern business system in the Korean context such as the role of the state; corporate governance; educational system; human resources; welfare state; international/global business. This module is open to all students who are interested in Korean business and economy and have been trained in economics/business, political studies, sociology or other social science disciplines.

This course is designed to acquaint students with the key principles of sustainable urban health and to identify the relationships between health, urban planning and development approaches using real-world examples. Students will develop their own solutions to a real-world problem in support of urban health tools. Specifically, the course is based on a healthy urban development scenario for the “Weberplatz“ in the City of Essen. The “Weberplatz “and its surrounding in the City Nord are often abundant and not very popular for people to gather or walk by. Although this public open space has a lot to offer and is close to the University Campus Essen, it is not clear why visitors are missing – especially students.

Global Governance and Development discusses basic theories and concepts of global governance, with a special emphasis on developing regions and their participation in global governance processes. This lecture reviews both state and non-state approaches to resolve common problems of mankind in different issue areas. We will first focus on theoretical and conceptual issues. How do we understand global governance? How do different forms of governance and actors contribute to the provision of global governance? What is the role of developing regions and actors from developing countries in global governance? We then move on to examine specific areas of global governance, including the environment, sustainable development and the world economy, especially international trade. The course is open to students of MA Internationale Beziehungen und Entwicklungspolitik as well as MA Development and Governance.

We provide two types of projects: 

A) Incubate x Future: Build your own digital product or service for Good

This student project is open for students at Faculty of Computer Science, and for students of other faculties (E3). The projects are focused on taking the first steps towards producing a digital venture that helps to solve societies’ most pressing issues, the sustainable development goals. Small teams of three to five students explore pressing problems and create a potential solution in the form of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). They develop a business model (Teece, 2010) for their solution and use the MVP to validate core assumptions of this business model (Blank, 2013). 

For more details on the Incubate x Futures project, please open the attached announcement.

B) Accelerate x Future: Expand an existing digital product or service for Good

This semester, we provide projects with the following partners.

• We build a mobile application with CHANGE CLUBS - a non-commercial entity that helps individuals live a more sustainable life.

If you have any questions, please contact us.

Computers and 'machine-intelligence' are frequently discussed as the means for addressing today's critical educational challenges: learning remotely, learning at one's own pace, learning according to one's needs and background, providing quality education to all and for all. In this course, we welcome all master-level students with technical or non-technical backgrounds. Through the semester, we will cover topics on the intersection of Artificial Intelligence in Education, Educational Technologies, and Human-Computer Interaction and we will carry out hands-on exercises to deepen our understanding of intelligent learning technologies. Specifically, we will go over the following:

- Introduction to educational technologies
- Artificial intelligence in education (AIED)
- Student Modeling
- Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS)
- Collaborative learning environments / MOOCs
- Learning Management Systems / Open Educational Resources
- Fairness, Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics in AIED.

This course offers an introduction to research methods in political science for students interested in qualitative approaches. It consists of a theoretical part and of an “illustration” part. In the theoretical part, the teacher will introduce research in social sciences, looking at the major paradigms of social research, the main investigative approaches (quantitative and qualitative) and the methods and techniques for qualitative research, to which the course is dedicated.

To illustrate the characteristics of the various methods, the course will then use practical examples taken from works of political scientists (mostly publications dedicated to China). In this way students will not only have the chance to familiarize themselves with various research methods, but also to enrich their knowledge on studies dedicated to China’s political and administrative phenomena. The course is open to all IN-EAST students and students in political science. Practical issues concerning the conduction of research in China (accessibility, language, reliability of information...) will also be addressed. There are no specific requirements for this course, except being able to understand English and write in English and course attendance. Although not compulsory, participation in the course allows the students to better grasp the proposed contents and interact with the teacher.

This course offers an introduction to research methods in political science for students interested in qualitative approaches. It consists of a theoretical part and of an “illustration” part. In the theoretical part, the teacher will introduce research in social sciences, looking at the major paradigms of social research, the main investigative approaches (quantitative and qualitative) and the methods and techniques for qualitative research, to which the course is dedicated.

To illustrate the characteristics of the various methods, the course will then use practical examples taken from works of political scientists (mostly publications dedicated to China). In this way students will not only have the chance to familiarize themselves with various research methods, but also to enrich their knowledge on studies dedicated to China’s political and administrative phenomena. The course is open to all IN-EAST students and students in political science. Practical issues concerning the conduction of research in China (accessibility, language, reliability of information...) will also be addressed. There are no specific requirements for this course, except being able to understand English and write in English and course attendance. Although not compulsory, participation in the course allows the students to better grasp the proposed contents and interact with the teacher.

Kolloqium:

The Extra Slot

Mo 18-20.00 (im zweiwöchigen Rhythmus, beginnend in der zweiten Semesterwoche)

(Offenes Oberseminar ohne Credit Points und Modulzuordnung.)

The Extra Slot provides an informal and friendly space for discussing texts and images (and occasionally also music) as well as questions and issues you find particularly interesting / fascinating / baffling. It is also a forum for discussing projects – yours as well as mine (ranging from seminar papers to BA/MA theses, to all sorts of writing projects, publications etc.). We hope to do one more little trips, maybe to see an exhibition, watch a play or attend other events associated with British literature and culture in and around Essen. This informal colloquium is for all those whose interests, enthusiasms and ambitions go beyond what they are told they have to do. It also goes beyond the acquisition of Leistungsnachweise and credit points (of which there will be none whatsoever). This is the only one of my courses where no preparation is required.

There will be a Moodle room. You will receive the Moodle password and other essential information via e-mail.

The Extra Slot is primarily aimed at students who have taken (or who are taking) one or several of my seminars/lectures. However, it is very much an open forum. Newcomers are most welcome. If you would like to join the Extra Slot, please send an e-mail to chandnirampersad@yahoo.de who will put you on our mailing list.

This seminar is about the interconnectedness of language and social identity, looking at how human beings use language in order to construct, manage, and project parts of their identity within a group. Our focus will be on Communities of Practice (CoP), a concept originally taken from anthropology and learning theory, which has been defined in linguistics as “an aggregate of people who come together around mutual engagement in an endeavor” (Eckert & McConnell-Ginet 1992: 464). Through frequent interaction within the same group, e.g. for a shared hobby, people develop a sense of community. One important part of that is that they start sharing linguistic norms and ideals. We will study how exactly this happens and how such processes can be studied within the framework of Sociolinguistics. Throughout the term, we will read some seminal publications in the field and investigate different types CoPs, encompassing different social backgrounds and including social networks found online. We will explore models used to describe language use and methods of data collection. Students choosing this course should be avid readers and should share an interest in variational linguistics and identity-related language use. The course is open to all students who have successfully completed Modules A/II/Ling1 and C/III/Ling2 (please check your study programme guidelines).

Preparatory readings

Meyerhoff, Miriam, and Anna Strycharz (2013) “Communities of Practice.” In: J.K. Chambers and Natalie Schilling (eds), The Handbook of Language Variation and Change. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell. 428–447. (book downloadable via university library)

Also note any current lectures on language variation and change in the Humanities faculty.

This seminar offers an introduction to two related disciplines of linguistics that are both concerned with language variation. While Dialectology studies language variation across space, investigating the geographical distribution of linguistic features that differ from the standard variety of a given language, the focus of Sociolinguistics is on the correlation between language use and social variables, such as socio-economic class, occupation, gender and age. We will look at different types of variation found within the English language, depending on where, by whom and for which purpose it is used, in order to detect principles of variation that apply to all living languages. We will discuss central concepts and issues that affect the study of variation, such as the difference between ‘dialect’, ‘accent’ and ‘language’, the bias between prescriptivism and real language use, the treatment of linguistic minorities, and the social implications of using a certain variety or feature in everyday speech. We will look at different models that have been used to describe the mechanisms of variation, different methods of data collection, the work of renowned variational linguists, and some major linguistic projects from the two fields. Finally, you will also get some hands-on experience with recordings and transcripts of real language data. The course is open to all students who have successfully completed Modules A/II and C/III.

Preparatory readings:

J. K. Chambers and Peter Trudgill (1980) Dialectology. Cambridge University Press.

The seminar is about methods to analyse open-ended questions in the field of Political Science, especially election studies and research on immigrant-related attitudes. This way of data collection and analysis is an excellent possibility to conduct your own analysis for your empirical theses! The seminar consists of two major parts. First, we read and discuss central works on the topic together in synchronous sessions. We identify common problems, see which research questions can be answered with this sort of data collection and gather information about possible methods. Second, we use the methods ourselves to code open-ended questions. This section will be the larger part and consist of synchronous and asynchronous units. We learn about coding schemes and apply manual coding, use these codes to analyse specific empirical questions, may apply Latent Class Analysis to cluster people according to the codings, and look at possible ways to use automatic classification. We will discuss the specific contents in the first session and take into account your specific skills.

The Extra Slot provides an informal and friendly space for discussing texts and images (and occasionally also music) as well as questions and issues you find particularly interesting / fascinating / baffling. It is also a forum for discussing projects – yours as well as mine (ranging from seminar papers to BA/MA theses, or perhaps your first conference paper or plans for a Ph.D. thesis, to all sorts of publications etc.). This informal colloquium is for all those whose interests, enthusiasms and ambitions go well beyond what they are told they have to do. It also goes beyond the acquisition of Leistungsnachweise and credit points (of which there will be none whatsoever). This is the only one of my courses where no preparation is required.

Given the circumstances, this semester we will have an online Extra Slot - we will need to work out what is best. I am sure that, with a bit of improvisation, we will manage.

"If any interesting opportunities come up, we may go and watch an English play, see an exhibition or attend other events connected with British literature and culture in and around Essen." - This is what it usually says in the course description. In times of Corona, we will need to think about digital near-equivalents of such activities.

The Extra Slot is primarily aimed at students who have taken (or who are taking) one or several of my seminars/lectures. However, it is very much an open forum. Newcomers are most welcome. If you are new to the Extra Slot, please send an e-mail to christian.feser@uni-due.de who will put you on our mailing list

Dieser Kurs befasst sich mit der Bedeutung und Philosophie von Open Source Software (OSS) sowie deren Einfluss auf die Softwareentwicklung und Geschäftsmodelle. Open Source Software ist nicht nur eine spezifische Form von Software, sondern repräsentiert eine besondere Entwicklungsphilosophie, die sowohl für den Einsatz in Organisationen als auch für die Anwendung von Open Source Prinzipien innerhalb von Unternehmen (bekannt als Inner Source) relevant ist. Das Verständnis des Wechselspiels zwischen Organisationsstrukturen, Produktentwicklung und Geschäftsmodellen ist zentral für den erfolgreichen Aufbau einer Open Source-gestützten IT-Infrastruktur aus der Perspektive der Anwender.

Zudem wird OSS aus einer ökonomischen Perspektive betrachtet, da der frei zugängliche Softwarecode vielfältige Geschäftsmodelle sowohl für Software produzierende Unternehmen als auch für Anwenderunternehmen ermöglicht. Diese Geschäftsmodelle basieren auf einem fundierten Verständnis der rechtlichen Rahmenbedingungen, wie zum Beispiel verschiedenen Lizenzmodellen. Um das Zusammenspiel dieser Faktoren besser zu verstehen, wird der Kurs durch praktische Übungen ergänzt, in denen Fallstudien und Forschungsartikel behandelt sowie die Geschäftsmodelle von Softwareunternehmen analysiert werden.

Policies of International Development in the Polycrisis – Current Issues and Novel Approaches

(Entwicklungspolitik in der Polykrise – Aktuelle Themen und neue Ansätze)

In the face of multiple interconnected crises—collectively known as the polycrisis— critiques of international development policies are growing increasingly vocal. Critics are questioning the effectiveness of foreign aid, development assistance and development cooperation as reliable instruments for ensuring the well-being of humanity and the planet (Gabriel et al., 2022, Brand et al., 2021). The polycrisis has exposed the limitations of Western anthropocentrism and instrumentalism, which perpetuate several binaries and dichotomies inherent in the "civilizational" approach (Godrej, 2016). As a result, there is a pressing need for alternative perspectives that transcend Western-centric and purely technocratic approaches to development.

This seminar seeks to revisit, reimagine and reshape international development policies by exploring how alternative conceptions and practices can effectively the polycrisis. The seminar will achieved this aim through the following three steps:

1)      Vision - Reimagining international development by incorporating bodies of knowledge beyond Western ideation, such as indigenous wisdom and non-Western development outlooks.

2)      Barriers – Assessing the current limitations of international development, with a focus on power dynamics, dominance structures and path dependencies in consensual knowledge and multilateralism.

3)      Actions – Developing policy recommendations for advancing international development policies

Throughout the seminar, students will enhance their critical thinking skills and deepen their understanding of diverse concepts and practices in international development. They will also learn to critically and analytically engage with international development discourse, exploring its various theoretical approaches and related practices.

Requirements and Organization of Course:

The course is open to students of MA Internationale Beziehungen und Entwicklungspolitik as well as MA Development and Governance.

To achieve the course objectives, students are expected to attend regularly, read the assigned texts, and actively participate in each session. Since every session includes a discussion of the readings, thorough preparation is essential. The required readings are clearly identified below and are accessible via the Moodle platform. Access to Moodle will require a password, which will be provided during the first meeting.

The main assessment for this course will be an individually composed policy paper. To support the development of the policy paper, students will be divided into groups. Each group will present a report during the block portion of the seminar. Detailed guidelines regarding the format of the policy papers and class presentations will be provided during the course.

Privatization of Migration Governance (M.A.)

Module 4 Globalization and Transnationalism

Mondays, 12:00 to 14:00: LK 062

Dr. Sandhya A.S.

Institute of Sociology, University of Duisburg-Essen

sandhya.as@uni-due.de

Description

This course uses state-of-the-art literature in the field of migration studies to understand and contextualize the growing trend of privatized migration governance. As the neoliberal “management” of migration gains traction, the role of private actors and institutions becomes increasingly pivotal. It examines the emerging role of civil society actors, international organizations, the migration industry (profit-making actors), networks, and migrants themselves in shaping migration policies and practices across nation-state. Although the course identifies the relevance of privatization of migration governance, it recognizes that such a trend does not indicate a retreat of the states, but rather a reformulation of the traditional state roles.

Through an interdisciplinary approach, this course aims to equip students with a comprehensive understanding of the privatization of migration governance, its drivers, impacts, and ethical considerations. Throughout the course, students will critically analyze the evolving landscape of migration governance and its implications for migrants, states, and societies. They will gain an in-depth understanding of the complex interactions and power dynamics between public and private actors in shaping migration policies and practices. Offered in English language, this course is also directed at students who seek to practice and improve their English language skills and advance their academic training in an international linguistic medium. The course ‘privatization of migration governance’ further engages students through a combination of lectures, interactive discussions, case studies, guest lectures and viewing of documentaries and/visual aids such as photographs. The course also offers advanced MA students the opportunity to develop a sound basis for writing their master's thesis in this topic area.

The course is organized into three parts. The first part focusses on two dimensions of transnational labour -- global labour and transnational migration. Each of these raises specific governance issues, crossing states and regional borders. The second part discusses the role of specific actor-groups in the governance of transnational migrant labour, particularly the role of non-state, private actors. Here, we talk about international organizations and protocols, which have always been important in the transnational governance of labour and the outsourcing of governance functions to private actors. In this section, we also explore the role of commercial brokers or ‘middlemen’ in moving and placing migrant workers from one place to another, conditioning their skills and exercising control over their labour market participation.

Evaluation in this course will be based on three aspects: regular class participation, a presentation on a topic of choice and a term paper/written review essay (depending on the MA enrollment). As a part of class participation, students are required to come prepared with the readings and send two questions or comments on the assigned readings, by 16.00 of the day before the class. These questions will be used to structure the discussion in class. All participants are also expected to conduct a presentation of 15-20 mins (on the topic of their choice) at least once a semester and to write a review/response essay on one of the sessions. The date for submission of essays will be 12-02-2023. Certification of participation for course credit is based on these tasks and in class participation.

Important dates:

1. University-wide exam registration deadline in the winter semester: November 6^th to 17^th 2023

2. Christmas holidays: December 23^rd 2023 to January 7^th 2024

PART I:

Session 1: Introduction (09-10-2023)

Session 2. Labour on The Move (16-10-2023)

Sassen-Koob, S. (1981). Towards conceptualization of immigrant labor. Social Problems, 29 (1), 65-85.

Sassen, S. (2008). Two Stops in Today’s Global Geographies: Shaping Novel Labor Supplies and Employment Regimes. American Behavioral Scientist, 52 (3), pp. 457-496.

Recommended readings:

Gereffi, Gary (2014). Global value chains in a post-Washington Consensus world. Review of International Political Economy, 21 (1): 9-37.

Lucassen, Jan (ed.) Global Labour History – A State of the Art. Bern: Peter Lang.

Session 3: Why Govern Labour on The Move? Screening of Guardian’s documentary on Qatar's World Cup 2022 workers (23-10-2023)

PART II:

Session 4: International Organizations and Treaties (30-10-2023)

Georgi, F. (2010). For the benefit of some: The International Organization for Migration and its global migration management. In The politics of international migration management (pp. 45-72). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.

Geiger, M., & Pécoud, A. (2010). The politics of international migration management. In The politics of international migration management (pp. 1-20). Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Ashutosh, I., & Mountz, A. (2011). Migration management for the benefit of whom? Interrogating the work of the International Organization for Migration. Citizenship studies, 15(01), 21-38.

Recommended readings:

Huw, Thomas and Turnball, Peter (2018) From horizontal to vertical labour governance. The International Labour Organization (ILO) and decent work in global supply chains, human relations, 71 (4) 536-559.

Klabbers, J. (2019). Notes on the ideology of international organizations law: The International Organization for Migration, state-making, and the market for migration. Leiden Journal of International Law, 32(3), 383-400.

Weber, L. (2006). The shifting frontiers of migration control. In Borders, mobility and technologies of control (pp. 21-43). Springer, Dordrecht.

Session 5: Exhibition on migration (to be confirmed) (06-11-2023)

Session 6: Group Discussion and Application of learning (on international organizations’ role) (13 -11- 2023)

Session 7: Infrastructural Governance of Migrant Labour and Role of Migrant Brokers (20-11-2023)

Lindquist, J., Xiang, B., & Yeoh, B. S. (2012). Opening the black box of migration: Brokers, the organization of transnational mobility and the changing political economy in Asia. Pacific Affairs, 85(1), 7-19.

Xiang, B (2013). The intermediary trap: international labor recruitment, transnational governance and state-citizen relations in china.

Recommended readings: (Special Issues)

Pacific Affairs 2019, Vol. 19, No. 4

Mobilities, 2017, Vol. 12, No. 2

Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2017, Vol 44, No. 2

Session 7: Analyzing interviews (lessons in research and analysis on brokers and their role in migration) (27-11-2023)

PART III:

Session 8: Privatization or delegation? (04-12-2023)

Mayer, F. W., & Phillips, N. (2017). Outsourcing governance: States and the politics of a ‘global value chain world’. New political economy, 22(2), 134-152.

Tseng, YF, & Wang, HZ (2013). Governing migrant workers at a distance: Managing the temporary status of guest workers in Taiwan. International Migration , 51 (4), 1-19.

Recommended readings:

Zajek, S. 2013: Transnational private regulation and the transformation of labour rights organizations in emerging markets: new markets for labour support work in China. Journal of Asian Public Policy, 6 (2), pp. 178-195.

Phillips, Nicola 2015. Private Governance and the Problem of Trafficking and Slavery in Global Supply Chains. In In Waite, L., Craig, G., Lewis, H. and Skrivankova, K. (eds.) Vulnerability, Exploitation and Migrants. Insecure Work in a Globalised Economy. Houndmills: Palgrave macmillan

Toffel, M W, Short, J, Ouellet, M 2015, Codes in Context: How states, markets and civil society shape adherence to global labor standards. Regulation and Governance, 9, pp. 205 – 223.

Surak, K. (2017). Migration industries and the state: Guestworker programs in East Asia. International Migration Review.

Session 9: Debate: Are the States Retreating or Restructuring? (11-12-2023)

NO CLASS ON 18-12-2024 and 08-01-2024

Session 10: Role of Migrant Networks and religious organizations (15-01-2024)

Levitt, P. (2022). Hybrid transnational social protection: The role of religious institutions and networks. Social Compass, 69(2), 153-170.

Gray, B., & Levitt, P. (2022). Social welfare versus transnational social protection regimes: the changing roles of church and state. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 48(11), 2721-2739.

Recommended readings:

Faist, T. (2017). Transnational social protection in Europe: A social inequality perspective. Oxford Development Studies, 45(1), 20-32.

Barglowski, K., Bilecen, B., & Amelina, A. (2015). Approaching transnational social protection: Methodological challenges and empirical applications. Population, Space and Place, 21(3), 215-226.

Bilecen, B., & Sienkiewicz, J. J. (2015). Informal social protection networks of migrants: Typical patterns in different transnational social spaces. Population, Space and Place, 21(3), 227-243.

Session 11: Consultations and feedback (22-01-2024)

The topic of the module Social Structure/Social Content Analysis in the Winter Term 2020/2021 is gender inequalities in Japan. The course takes a macro-sociological and institutional approach to understanding how Japanese institutions and organizations are gendered, with systematic disadvantages accruing to women, but also to men who wish to lead non-heteronormative life courses. The course begins with an historical analysis of what we will call the “conservative gender regime” in Japan, and how this transformed from an authoritarian to a democratic form from the Meiji reforms of the late 1800s through the high growth period in the 1960s. The emphasis thereafter is the transformation from a “domestic-conservative” to a “public-conservative” gender regime. The contemporary era is the main focus of the course. In this context we will consider Japanese feminist movements and gender-reactionary politics, especially those motivated by demographic and economic crises in Japan. One part of the module taught by Karen Shire will focus on theory and research on gender transformations in the social sciences internationally and in Japanese sociology. The second part of the module taught by Aimi Muranaka will focus on sources and the development of student research papers, which will focus on some dimension of gender transformations in Japan. Some course meetings will be scheduled together (student presentations of their paper topics, for example). The course requirement, a research paper of 15 pages, can be mobilized to prepare an expose for an MA thesis. The course is also open to doctoral students in East Asian Studies or in Comparative Sociology. Students interested in the course are invited to read the open access article: Shire, Karen and Nemoto, Kumiko. (2020). The Origins and Transformation of Conservative Gender Regimes in Germany and Japan. Social Politics, 27(3), 432-448. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxaa017 for a brief overview of the topic.

In this beginner course, we will explore the basic building blocks of Spanish, in terms of both grammar and vocabulary. This highly interactive class emphasizes real-life competencies, such as introductions, ordering at a restaurant, and shopping. We will use a task-based approach to practice speaking and listening right from the start. The course is taught in English as it is open to international students. Because the material is designed for true beginners, instruction will move slowly for the first half of the semester and pick up speed in the second half. Homework and active participation will be evaluated for the final pass/fail mark. Students with more than beginner knowledge will not receive credit. Both course book and workbook are required. We will cover the first half of the book.

In this beginner course, we will explore the basic building blocks of Spanish, in terms of both grammar and vocabulary. This highly interactive class emphasizes real-life competencies, such as introductions, ordering at a restaurant, and shopping. We will use a task-based approach to practice speaking and listening right from the start. The course is taught in English as it is open to international students. Because the material is designed for true beginners, instruction will move slowly for the first half of the semester and pick up speed in the second half. Homework and active participation will be evaluated for the final pass/fail mark. Students with more than beginner knowledge will not receive credit. Both course book and workbook are required. We will cover the first half of the book.

In this beginner course, we will explore the basic building blocks of Spanish, in terms of both grammar and vocabulary. This highly interactive class emphasizes real-life competencies, such as introductions, ordering at a restaurant, and shopping. We will use a task-based approach to practice speaking and listening right from the start. The course is taught in English as it is open to international students. Because the material is designed for true beginners, instruction will move slowly for the first half of the semester and pick up speed in the second half. Homework and active participation will be evaluated for the final pass/fail mark. Students with more than beginner knowledge will not receive credit. Both course book and workbook are required. We will cover the first half of the book.

This seminar offers a general introduction to the different dimensions along which language tends to vary in everyday life, as well as a more specific introduction to the concept of ‘speech communities’, used to study language variation within the framework of sociolinguistics (Gumperz; Labov). Throughout the term, we will look at different speech communities – in more recent years also called ‘communities of practice’ (Lave and Wenger; Eckert), i.e. groups of people who through frequent interaction start sharing linguistic norms and ideals. We will look at how these groups – ranging from groups of friends to entire countries, and encompassing different ethnicities, ages and social backgrounds – use language to construct social and group identity, how speakers can be members of different groups, how dialect features spread through space and society, and how the concept of speech community can be applied to language use in the newly emerging social networks found online. In addition to various studies that we will read and discuss in this course, we will also look at models used to describe the mechanisms of variation, methods of data collection, and what the analysis of real language data implies. Students choosing this course should be avid readers and share an interest in variational linguistics. The course is open to all students who have successfully completed Modules A/II and C/III.

Preparatory readings:

William Labov (1963) “The social motivation of a sound change.” Word 19:3, 273–309.

Testing of Metallic Materials

To be enrolled in this classroom, please contact

Dr.-Ing. Christian Overhagen at christian.overhagen@uni-due.de.

Lecture: Wednesdays 16:30 - 18:00  in Room ST 118

The first lecture is on 11.10.2023 !

Mo 18-20

The Extra Slot (offenes Oberseminar, alle zwei Wochen)

The Extra Slot provides an informal and friendly space for discussing texts and images (and occasionally also music) as well as questions and issues you find particularly interesting / fascinating / baffling. It is also a forum for discussing projects – yours as well as mine (ranging from seminar papers to BA/MA theses, or perhaps your first conference paper or plans for a Ph.D. thesis, to all sorts of publications etc.). This informal colloquium is for all those whose interests, enthusiasms and ambitions go well beyond what they are told they have to do. It also goes beyond the acquisition of Leistungsnachweise and credit points (of which there will be none whatsoever). This is the only one of my courses where no preparation is required.

In pre-Corona times, the Exta Slot description used to say: If any interesting opportunities come up, we may go and watch an English play, see an exhibition or attend other events connected with British literature and culture in and around Essen. Now that things are a bit different for reasons beyond our control, we will have to look for enjoyable digital alternatives.

The Extra Slot will be conducted entirely online and entirely in real time. We will meet each online via Zoom, each week of the semester at the time of the seminar. Please join the seminar´s Moodle room (password: ExtraWS20-21); you will receive further information via Moodle/e-mail. Please make sure to use and check your official university e-mail addresses at all times. Do not use any other addresses, and do not have e-mails sent to your university address forwarded to other addresses. Our experience in the last semester has shown that that using non-university addresses / forwarding mails will lead to our messages bouncing back in very many cases.

The Extra Slot is primarily aimed at students who have taken (or who are taking) one or several of my seminars/lectures. However, it is very much an open forum. Newcomers are most welcome. If you are new to the Extra Slot, please send an e-mail to christian.feser@uni-due.de who will put you on our mailing list

The Extra Slot provides an informal and friendly space for discussing texts and images (and occasionally also music) as well as questions and issues you find particularly interesting / fascinating / baffling. It is also a forum for discussing projects – yours as well as mine (ranging from seminar papers to BA/MA theses, or perhaps your first conference paper or plans for a Ph.D. thesis, to all sorts of publications etc.). This informal colloquium is for all those whose interests, enthusiasms and ambitions go well beyond what they are told they have to do. It also goes beyond the acquisition of Leistungsnachweise and credit points (of which there will be none whatsoever). This is the only one of my courses where no preparation is required.

In pre-Corona times, the Extra Slot description used to say: If any interesting opportunities come up, we may go and watch an English play, see an exhibition or attend other events connected with British literature and culture in and around Essen. Now that things are a bit different for reasons beyond our control, we will have to look for enjoyable digital alternatives.

The Extra Slot will probably be conducted entirely online and entirely in real time. We will meet online via Zoom every other week of the semester. You will receive further details (Moodle room, password and Zoom link). Please make sure to use and check your official university e-mail addresses at all times. Do not use any other addresses, and do not have e-mails sent to your university address forwarded to other addresses. Our experience in the last semester has shown that using non-university addresses / forwarding mails will lead to our messages bouncing back in very many cases.

The Extra Slot is primarily aimed at students who have taken (or who are taking) one or several of my seminars/lectures. However, it is very much an open forum. Newcomers are most welcome. If you would like to join the Extra Slot, please send an e-mail to christian.feser@uni-due.de who will put you on our mailing list.

The seminar covers central concepts and controversies of development research and development cooperation. We will start by introducing key theoretical concepts of development and strands of critique. We will then discuss central controversies concerning normative ideas about developmental success/failure, and contemporary programmatic policy changes that characterise the developmental field. We will also engage with radically critical perspectives on the discourse and practice of development cooperation (e.g. based on post- and decolonial perspectives).

We put a special focus on addressing the role of private, transnational actors: the power and responsibility of large corporations as development actors, their regulation, and the development policy controversies around global trade policy, supply chains and financial markets. These represent particular challenges and at the same time key areas for international development. We approach them by linking development research with theories of transnational private governance and global political economy. We include empirical highlights on transnational development policy controversies about private corporations.

The seminar will enable students to deepen their knowledge of development concepts and political-economic paradigms and to critically engage with the sometimes contradictory assumptions and policies associated with them. Students will learn to critically reflect on the development discourse, its different theoretical approaches and related practices of development cooperation with a view towards engagement in their own research projects.

The course is open to students of MA Internationale Beziehungen und Entwicklungspolitik and MA Development and Governance.

Students are expected to attend regularly, to read assigned texts, and to engage actively in our discussions.

The seminar covers central concepts and controversies of development research and development cooperation. We will start by introducing key theoretical concepts of development and strands of critique. We will then discuss central controversies concerning normative ideas about developmental success/failure, and contemporary programmatic policy changes that characterise the developmental field. We will also engage with radically critical perspectives on the discourse and practice of development cooperation (e.g. based on post- and decolonial perspectives).

We put a special focus on addressing the role of private, transnational actors: the power and responsibility of large corporations as development actors, their regulation, and the development policy controversies around global trade policy, supply chains and financial markets. These represent particular challenges and at the same time key areas for international development. We approach them by linking development research with theories of transnational private governance and global political economy. We include empirical highlights on transnational development policy controversies about private corporations.

The seminar will enable students to deepen their knowledge of development concepts and political-economic paradigms and to critically engage with the sometimes contradictory assumptions and policies associated with them. Students will learn to critically reflect on the development discourse, its different theoretical approaches and related practices of development cooperation with a view towards engagement in their own research projects.

The course is open to students of MA Internationale Beziehungen und Entwicklungspolitik and MA Development and Governance.

Students are expected to attend regularly, to read assigned texts, and to engage actively in our discussions.

Seminar:

They met at the Fitzroy Tavern:

London’s Unconventional Literary and Cultural Scene (1920s-1950s)

Di 14-16.00 

The Fitzroy Tavern was (and is) more than just a beautiful old London pub. It was a meeting place of authors, musicians, artists, dancers and comedians from the 1920s to the early 1950s. The Fitzroy was a very special cultural hub, a home from home to people creating unconventional art and literature, and leading unconventional lives.

These included familiar names such as Virginia Woolf, George Orwell, Dylan Thomas, Ezra Pound, Richard Attenborough, and also Lady Ottoline Morell (aristocrat and society hostess, living in an open marriage), Edith Sitwell (poet and noted eccentric, known for her delightfully bizarre outfits), Augustus John (painter, spent some time living in a caravan with both his wife and his mistress), Nina Hamnett (artist and writer, famous not only for her texts and paintings but also for her flamboyant lifestyle and her open bisexuality, hated by Aleister Crowley), Aleister Crowley (into occultism, sexual magic and libertinism; founded his own religion), Wyndham Lewis (artist and writer, obsessed with Vorticism), Mark Gertler (artist, supported by Lady Ottoline Morell, obsessed with Dora Carrington), Dora Carrington (painter and designer, obsessed with Lytton Strachey), Lytton Strachey (writer and critic, living together with, but not very much obsessed with Dora Carrington), Ras Prince Monolulu (who claimed to be an Abyssinian prince) and Bud Flanagan (comedian, member of the Crazy Gang).

This seminar will approach the fascinating multi-faceted phenomenon of English modernism through studying people who met at the Fitzroy Tavern. It will give you a chance to get acquainted with selected texts, images etc. created by this remarkable set of writers, painters, designers, musicians etc. – and of course with their rather interesting lives.

Material to be studied (texts, images, music, videos) will be provided in a Moodle room; you will receive your Moodle password via e-mail.

Requirements: thorough preparation for each session, active participation, and written work according to your particular Studienordnung. As always: read, think, enjoy (!), annotate  and look things up if necessary (why not begin with “Vorticism” right now?)

Just in case your application is rejected by the LSF system: If you want to do this course because you are genuinely interested, you will be most welcome, no matter what LSF says. Please get in touch with c.hausmann.ude@ajvm.de who will enrol you manually. The worst that might happen to you is that you cannot do a Leistungsnachweis if you lack the formal requirements.