QLC 220: Migration & Belonging

Dr. Nathan Michalewicz
michalewiczn@queens.edu

Course Schedule Headings

Class Description

From the Renaissance to the present, Europe transformed from a minor region to a global power. This course will explore the process of that transformation that created modern Europe. It will emphasize cultural changes in Europe as well as the role of interactions around the globe—including the exploitation of indigenous populations—on Europe’s path to modernity.

This course is part of the Queens University of Charlotte General Education Program.  All Queens students participate in this program, which provides a strong liberal arts foundation for future study and lifelong learning.

This general education course is part of the learning community: LC10: Refugees, Migrants, and Belonging: Past & Present

Learning communities at Queens are sets of courses that are intentionally connected around complex, real-world issues. Here you will have the opportunity to bring together multiple ways of thinking in order to address these questions.    

Other courses in this general education learning community are:

• QLC 230 L10: Refugees in the 21st Century

Learning Objectives

General Objectives:

1. Learners will identify effective approaches for answering/managing/solving complicated or complex problems in course contexts.
2. Learners will explain how integrating different approaches could help in answering/managing/solving complicated or complex problems in course contexts.
3. In at least two media, learners will present how different approaches can be integrated to answer/manage/solve complicated or complex problems.
4. Learners will examine the relationship between a global system and a local context.
5. Evaluate the impacts of your role as a citizen and your personal actions on the health of a community.

Specific Objectives:

1. Learners will understand the complex social, cultural, and political changes that led to mass migrations during different mass migration events.
2. Learners will understand the complex social, cultural, and political experiences of migrants in their new communities during different mass migration events.
3. Learners will be able to articulate arguments on the causes and lasting impacts of different mass migration events.
4. Learners will support their arguments with sources in a reasoned and logical order following standard writing conventions.

Required Reading

All readings, podcasts, and videos for this course will be available on Zotero. Students will not need to purchase any materials for this course. Everything will be available through Zotero or through the university library.

Some of the readings are in .epub format (the format for ebooks), so you will need an ebook reader. I recommend Calibre, Freda, or SumatraPDF (which reads many formats beyond PDFs).

Assignments

1. Engagement (15%)
   • This class is predicated on discussion, so attendance and participation are mandatory. You are expected to do the readings BEFORE class and come prepared with a question about the reading. Attendance will be taken by submitting the question to the class’s Nearpod (learn more about this on day 1) when there is a class discussion.
2. In-Class Quizzes (20% total)
   • There will be open-note, open-source quizzes on the readings throughout the course–each week we discuss readings. The quiz will be done at the beginning of the allotted day and submitted to Canvas. The quiz will have an open-ended prompt to which each student will respond in 3-5 sentences. A successful response will make an argument in the first sentence and support it with evidence in the following sentences. An “A” response will make an argument responding to the question directly and use substantive evidence to support it. A “B” response will make an argument but will not support it with substantive evidence. A “C” response will not make a clear argument or will provide little, if any, evidence. A “D” response will not meet any of the above criteria. These quizzes are graded quickly and simply: A = 95; B = 85; C = 75; D = 65; F = 55.
3. 2 Essays (20% each, 40% total)
   • Each student will write two essays (750-word minimum) responding to a prompt. Each essay should make an argument (thesis statement) that you will prove throughout the essay. Essays should use evidence from the readings, videos, and podcasts from the units under review and cite any direct quotations or paraphrases from these sources in a footnote. If you have any questions about citations (or any other questions about writing essays), see my document on writing guidance available here. To receive full credit, essays should reference materials only from this class (class discussions, readings, podcasts, videos, etc.), and each essay should cite at least three (3) different materials from the class. Students will be able to submit a revised essay for essay 1 to improve their grade, responding to the comments on the first submission. Revisions to essay 1 are due no later than 2 weeks after Due to timing, revisions will NOT be accepted for essay 3.
4. 1 Group Project (20%)
   • Students will be placed in a group that will present a mock application for refugee status to the United Nations on behalf of one of the migration groups discussed in this course, following the criteria for protected groups discussed in Professor Lloyd’s class. More specific information will be provided throughout the course. The presentations will be done during a combined meeting on the last week of class.
5. Reflection (5%)
   • Write a 300 – 500 word reflection on your role in influencing a community based on what you have learned during this class. It is due at the same time as the final project. See below for more information.

Grading

Queens uses a plus/minus grade scale: B- receives less than 3 points, for instance. Grades in this class will follow the same pattern with one exception. Here are the numeric grades associated with each letter grade:

• A = 90-100
• B+ = 89-87
• B = 86-83
• B- = 82-80

• C+ = 79-77
• C = 76-73
• C- = 72-70

• D+ = 69-67
• D = 66-60
• F = 59-0

Notice a couple inconsistencies. One, I do not give an A-. In my experience, most As in my class are in the A- scale, so I treat them as complete As. If you got an A, you deserved it without qualification. Also, there is not a D-. This difference is because Queens does not include a D-.

The Writing Center 

The Writing Center (part of the Center for Student Success) is a place for students at Queens University to receive peer feedback on their writing assignments.  Writing Consultants in The Writing Center are your peers who come from a wide range of backgrounds and majors. They are trained to work across the disciplines to support student writing no matter where you are in the process.

There are 3 options for appointments:

1. Face to Face – Monday to Thursday, 8 to 6 sessions are in the Michael Murphy Learning Studio (Knight-Crane Hall); Sundays and after 6 Monday to Thursday – sessions are in Everett Library (main floor)
   ​​​​
2. ​​​​​​​Face to Face Virtual (Synchronous)

On RingCentral (link is in the tutor’s bio on WC Online)

These options are best for brainstorming, idea development, understanding the assignment or when you are in the early stages of your writing project.

​​​​​​​3. Written Feedback (Asynchronous): submit your project for written feedback where the writing consultant gives you marginal responses to specific questions or concerns

 Feedback will be sent within 24 hours of submission of the text.

This option is great for organizing, citation questions, and the polishing stage or your project.

To make an appointment with a writing tutor, log on to www.queens.edu/tutoring to register or contact The Writing Center at writingcenter@queens.edu.

Student Accessibility Services

Queens University of Charlotte is committed to making reasonable accommodations to assist students with disabilities. If you have a disability which may impact your performance, attendance or grades in this course and require accommodations, you must first contact Student Accessibility Services at sashelp@queens.edu. The steps for receiving accommodations must be completed before accommodations can be given. The steps are available on the Student Accessibility Homepage. SAS is responsible for coordinating classroom accommodations and other services for students with disabilities. Please note that students are responsible for sharing their letter of accommodation with their instructors to receive classroom accommodations.

Student Complaint Process

Queens University of Charlotte is committed to providing an educational climate that is conducive to the personal and professional development of each individual. To ensure that commitment, the university has developed procedures for students to pursue grievances within the university community should such action become necessary. A student who has an unresolved disagreement or dissatisfaction with a faculty or staff member, another student, a student group, or an administrator has the right to file a written complaint without prejudicing his or her status with the university. For more information, please visit the Student Complaint Process page. For information regarding the online student complaint process, please visit
the online student complaint process page.

QAlert

QAlert is the emergency notification system Queens uses to notify the campus community of an emergency, inclement weather, or class cancellations. It sends messages about the status of a given situation, as well as other details the campus needs to know. Students, faculty, and staff are automatically registered for QAlert through the university’s enterprise resource.

Religious Holidays

If any assignments or due dates interfere with your personal religious observation, I will be happy to make accommodations. Remember, within the first two weeks of the semester, the student must let me know the dates of major religious holidays on which the student will be absent or unavailable due to religious observances. Please, see the Queens Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion religious holiday calendar:

E-mail Communication

When writing emails to me, be sure to include a subject line, address me properly by my title and last name, and sign off with your name. Proper email formatting skills are required in post-university life.

Each student is issued a University e-mail address (username@queens.edu) upon admittance. The University uses this e-mail address for official communication with students. Students are expected to read e-mails sent to this account on a regular basis. Failure to read and react to University communications in a timely manner does not absolve the student from knowing and complying with the content of the communications.

Class Calendar

Introduction

Week 1 (Jan. 8): Understanding Migration in History

Tuesday (Jan. 9):

Syllabus Day

Thursday (Jan. 11)

Lecture: Migration Theory and History

Presentation: https://lectures.nathanmichalewicz.org/migration-belonging

Unit 1–The Morisco Expulsion from Spain

Week 2 (Jan. 15): Iberia, Islam, and Reconquista

Tuesday:

Lecture: A Brief History of Iberia after Rome

Thursday:

Lecture: Medieval Iberia, the Reconquista, and the Moriscos

Week 3 (Jan. 22): Moriscos in Spain

Tuesday:

Discuss Podcast: “Not Just the Tudors – Enslaved Children in 16th Century Spain,” accessed October 9, 2023, https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9yc3MuYWNhc3QuY29tL25vdC1qdXN0LXRoZS10dWRvcnM/episode/NjQ1ZGZjYTdlZmYzNzMwMDExMmY1OTQ5?sa=X&ved=0CAgQuIEEahgKEwjQ89bN7uiBAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQxxs.

Thursday:

Discuss Readings: Bernard Vincent, “The Geography of the Morisco Expulsion: A Quantitative Study,” (19-36) and “The Moriscos Outside Spain: Routes and Financing” (219-234) in The Expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain: A Mediterranean Diaspora (BRILL, 2014). (on Zotero and in the library)

Week 4 (Jan. 29): The Morisco Diaspora

Tuesday:

Discuss Readings: Mercedes García-Arenal Rodriquez, Gerard A. Wiegers, and Youssef El Alaoui, eds., “The Moriscos in France after the Expulsion: Notes for the History of a Minority,” in The Expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain: A Mediterranean Diaspora (BRILL, 2014), https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004279353. (On Zotero and library)

Thursday:

Discuss Readings: Tijana Krstić, “Moriscos in Ottoman Galata, 1609–1620s,” in The Expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain: A Mediterranean Diaspora, ed. Gerard A. Wiegers (BRILL, 2014), https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004279353. (On Zotero and library)

Unit 2 — Puritan Migration

Week 5 (Feb. 5)

Tuesday: The Reformation

Lecture: The Reformation and England

Thursday: Religion and State

Lecture: Puritans in Tudor/Stuart England

Week 6 (Feb. 12):

Tuesday: A Pilgrim Overview

Discuss: “In Our Time – The Pilgrim Fathers – BBC Sounds,” accessed December 18, 2023, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b007rlb6.

***Thursday: Pilgrims in the Netherlands***

Discuss: Nathaniel Philbrick, “They Knew They Were Pilgrims,” in Mayflower (New York: Penguin Audio, 2006).

Week 7 (Feb. 19):

Tuesday: Puritans and Natives in North America

Discuss Reading: Michael Freeman, “Puritans and Pequots: The Question of Genocide,” The New England Quarterly 68, no. 2 (1995): 278–93, https://doi.org/10.2307/366259. (On Zotero)

Thursday: A Puritan Colony in North America

Discuss Reading: Frank Lambert, “Puritan Fathers and the ‘Christian Common-Wealth,’” in The Founding Fathers and the Place of Religion in America (Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2003), 73–99. (on Zotero)

Unit 3 — The Irish Potato Famine

Week 8 (Feb. 26):

Tuesday (2/27):

Lecture: Ireland in the 19th Century & Liberalism

Thursday (2/29):

Group work day

Essay #1 Due (Mar. 3 @ 11:59am)

Week 9 (Mar. 4) — No Class — Spring Break

Week 10 (Mar. 11)

Tuesday:

Discuss Podcast: “In Our Time – The Great Irish Famine – BBC Sounds,” accessed December 19, 2023, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0003rj1. (use URL)

Thursday:

Discuss Reading: Michael de Nie, “The Great Famine, 1845-1852 (Excerpts),” in The Eternal Paddy : Irish Identity and the British Press, 1798-1882 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2004), http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/gmu/detail.action?docID=3445178. (on Zotero)

Week 11 (Mar. 18): The Irish Diaspora

Tuesday:

Discuss Reading: Dale T. Knobel, “‘Celtic Exodus’: The Famine Irish, Ethnic Stereotypes, and the Cultivation of American Racial Nationalism,” Radharc 2 (2001): 3–25. (on Zotero)

Thursday:

Discuss Reading: Raymond L. Cohn, “Nativism and the End of the Mass Migration of the 1840s and 1850s,” The Journal of Economic History 60, no. 2 (2000): 361–83. (on Zotero)

Unit 4 — Greco-Turkish Migration

Week 12 (Mar. 25):

Tuesday, Mar. 26:

Lecture: The Ottoman Empire and Minority Communities in the 19th/20th centuries

Thursday, Mar. 28:

Discuss Video: The Greek-Turkish War 1919-1923 (Greco-Turkish War Documentary), 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ht6cz9vOnLk.

Week 13 (Apr. 1):

Tuesday, Apr. 2:

Discuss Reading: Renée Hirschon, “The Consequences of the Lausanne Convention,” in Crossing the Aegean: An Appraisal of the 1923 Compulsory Population Exchange between Greece and Turkey, ed. Renée Hirschon, Studies in Forced Migration, v. 12 (New York: Berghahn Books, 2003).

Thursday, Apr. 4:

Discuss: William Stroebel and Kristina Gedgaudaitė, “Borders, Belonging, and Refugee Memory since the Greco-Turkish War and Population Exchange,” Journal of Modern Greek Studies 40, no. 2 (October 2022): vii–xxxvii, https://doi.org/10.1353/mgs.2022.0021. (32 pgs)

Week 14 (Apr. 8)

Tuesday, Apr. 9:

Group Work Day

Thursday, Apr. 11:

Discuss: Aslı Iğsız, “Rethinking the Greco-Turkish Population Exchange in the Civilizationist Present,” Journal of Modern Greek Studies 40, no. 2 (October 2022): 271–98, https://doi.org/10.1353/mgs.2022.0022. (29 pgs)

Week 15 (Apr. 15): Group Presentations

Tuesday, April 16 (No Class)

Thursday, April 18 (9 am- 11 am), McEwen 205
Group Presentations

Friday April 25: Final Essay Due

Essay Questions

Essays should be a minimum of 750 words. Each paragraph (excluding the introduction and the conclusion) should include at least one citation, and the essay as a whole should cite three (3) sources from this class (podcasts included). External sources are not permitted. Feel free to cite lectures, but they do not count toward the three sources. We have read more than enough in this class to write a very strong essay.

Essay #1 due March 10 @ 11:59pm

Compare the experiences of the Moriscos and the Puritans. Use their experiences to discuss migration in a pre-nationalist world. How did they form ideas of belonging? What caused them to migrate? How were they included or excluded in their new homelands? How did the actions of individuals work to include or exclude others from society, and under what criteria? What role did this have in the community’s health? Make sure you make an argument and support it with evidence from the sources.

Essay #2 due April 25 @ 11:59pm

How did nationalism impact the mass migration experience? Focus on the examples we discussed during this class. While this is designed as a cumulative essay, most of the essay should discuss the changes brought by nationalism in the experiences of the Irish Diaspora and the Greco-Turkish population exchange. While coming up with an argument, consider how the different communities defined belonging, whom they excluded, the reasons for migration, and their experiences in their new communities. Essentially, think about how the actions of individuals worked to include or exclude others from their community and under what criteria? What role did this have in the health of the community?

Reflection due April 25 @ 11:59pm

After reading and discussing mass migrations and the struggles communities and individuals experienced that pushed them to migrate and that they experienced in their destinations, reflect on how that knowledge influences your role in your own community. Has it caused you to rethink how you define your community, who belongs to it, or the policies associated with migration? Include information from this class and Professor Lloyd’s class on refugees.