This course investigates the history of refugees and statelessness in the 'long' twentieth century, from the late Ottoman refugee crises around 1900 to the present. Adopting a comparative approach, it addresses population displacement as a key process in modern global history, one which relates to nationalism, conflict, state formation, humanitarianism, and the development of international institutions.

1 x 3hr session per week over 20 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus.

This course is a senior Honours special subject in History and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

HIST4240 'The Scum of the Earth': Refugees and Statelessness in World History, c.1900-1951

None

The standard assessments for this course are: 

■ Two Portfolios (4 x 400-word seminar tasks per semester) - 15% each 

■ Poster presentation - 10% 

■ Creative project - 40% 

■ Research report (2000 words)- 20% 

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available: 

■ There are no alternatives to the two Portfolios, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

■ Written script of equivalent length as alternative to the presentation.

■ There are no alternatives to the Creative project, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions). 

■ There are no alternatives to the Research report, but flexible deadlines can be offered as reasonable adjustment (Students should follow the usual process for extensions).

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.  

It is the default expectation that all courses will offer opportunities for reassessment or deferred assessment. Where it is not possible to offer this in some assessment components, the grade achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade, and any exceptions for this course are described below.

[No exceptions]

This course aims to:

■ Gain a detailed knowledge and understanding of the history of refugees and statelessness throughout the twentieth century

■ Develop analytical skills in making comparisons across a range of different empirical cases

■ Develop a methodological awareness of the range of different approaches that different kinds of primary source require, and of the challenges posed to historians by the uneven production and archiving of sources

■ Consolidate a critical understanding of how historians frame a historical enquiry, present and support interpretations of past events, and contribute to historiographical debate

■ Develop skills in primary research, including a reflective understanding of the value of primary sources in historical research and other spheres

■ Enhance skills in presenting complex information and arguments in a variety of formats

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

■ Identify key aspects of the role mass population displacement has played in modern global history, relating it to state formation, conflict, nationalism, and the development of international institutions

■ Make analytical comparisons across different cases of population displacement, and of responses to it by states, international organizations, and displaced persons themselves

■ Identify the methodological challenges implicit in the historical study of population displacement and evaluate the success or otherwise of historians' attempts to overcome them, especially in ways that recover the voices of the displaced

■ Critically summarize and contextualize a range of historiographical arguments, and use them to frame a productive research question and identify sources that could be used to pursue it

■ Independently locate relevant primary materials relating to the subject, assessing the reliability of their source

■ Present research and conclusions in a variety of forms, adapting to different registers (more or less formal) and formats (oral, textual, visual)