Liberal Arts 2A: Beyond Borders and Boundaries: Exploring Roots and Routes in Human Mobilities LIBARTS2001

  • Academic Session: 2025-26
  • School: School of Modern Languages and Cultures
  • Credits: 20
  • Level: Level 2 (SCQF level 8)
  • Typically Offered: Semester 1
  • Available to Visiting Students: Yes
  • Collaborative Online International Learning: No
  • Curriculum For Life: No

Short Description

This course offers students an opportunity to analyse different aspects of human mobilities, such as identity, belonging, hybridity, diaspora, and their multifaceted impacts on individuals, societies, and cultures. We propose to do so through a combination of a more traditional academic approach, i.e., theory-informed analysis of literary, visual and cinematic materials combined with hands-on creative methods of investigation. These may include Lego Serious Play (LSP) and other interactive/practice-based and student-informed methods (e.g., creative approaches to storytelling, photography, painting).

Timetable

10 x 2 hours weekly seminars as scheduled in MyCampus, Friday 2pm-4pm.
(each seminar will be a combination of tutor- and student-let elements)

Requirements of Entry

None

Excluded Courses

None

Co-requisites

None

Assessment

Critical reflection (A joint output based on an artefact such as an interview; a poster; etc.) informed by theoretical frameworks discussed in the class and primary sources - artefact and 1000 words - 25%

Critical commentary (based on creative outputs) providing a theory-informed commentary of primary sources (and in agreement with course conveners) artefacts and 1000 words - 75%

Course Aims

The course aims to:

 

■ Develop students' critical understanding of human mobilities and their impacts on individuals, local communities, and cultures

■ Examine migration, diaspora, and displacement through arts and humanities-informed theoretical and practice-based approaches

■ Foster empathy, support collaboration and encourage engagement through arts-based and public-facing learning

Intended Learning Outcomes of Course

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

 

■ Critically analyse the social, political, economic, and cultural impacts of human mobility on individuals, local communities, and cultures.

■ Apply diverse theoretical frameworks related to migration, diaspora, and displacement to understand complex issues of belonging, home, and identity.

■ Devise creative and empathetic arts-based responses that demonstrate their understanding of human mobility issues

■ Effectively communicate their understanding of human mobilities through multimodal artefacts and presentations.

Minimum Requirement for Award of Credits

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.