Jean Monnet Module

SM628 European Policy and Practice towards Ethnic Minorities: Implications for the Czech Public and Social Policy

Department of Public and Social Policy, ISS, Faculty of Social Science, Charles University

 

Lecturer:                     PhDr. Laura Laubeová & guest speakers,

Time & Place:            Winter term Wednesday 17:00 – 18:20, Jinonice 2019

Office hours:              Wednesday 15:30 - 16:30 J 3007

ECTS Credits:            8

 

Background

The principles of equality, non-discrimination, observance of human rights and protection of ethnic minorities are fundamental European values. Ethnic discrimination in its various forms and manifestations has been made illegal through the recent EU anti-discrimination directives, recognising that it is harmful to the social and educational development of individuals and to Europe as a whole.  It can lead to marginalised and socially excluded groups, unemployment and poverty in ghettoised districts and negatively influence already disadvantaged regions. One of the traditionally most severely marginalized and excluded groups have been the Roma, Gypsies, and Travellers. The course aims to explain reasons behind prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination against these ethnic groups and to introduce students to public and social policy measures dealing with these negative phenomena at the European level as well as in the Czech Republic.

Organisation of course and classes

The course will be composed of 12 lectures followed by discussions-cum-seminars. For each discussion students should prepare a single sheet of A4 presenting an article from the reading list for that class in the format of ARGUMENT, QUESTION, CONNECTIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS: AQCI - as explained below (PLEASE READ OVER!) THE PRESENTERS MUST SUPPLY THE LECTURER AND EACH STUDENT WITH A COPY OF THEIR AQCI.  Due to a large number of students in the class students should notify the lecturer by e-mail that they want to present and ask whether there is enough time to be allocated for their presentation. All AQCIs must be sent to the lecturer by e-mail.

Readings

The reader contains all materials listed for class readings. All other materials may be obtained from the instructor or are to be found in the library. A sufficient number of copies of the readers will be placed in the University library study room in Jinonice.

  Students´ Assessment

Three AQCI’s delivered during the course until week 10                                  45%

Attendance and active participation in the course                                            10%

An oral presentation on one of the lecture topics or on the final essay            5  %

Final essay (up to 3,000 words, due the first day of week 11)                         40%

 

In case a student will not meet any of the above requirements he/she will be required to take a written test during the regular examination period. The test will cover all compulsory readings and all lectured topics.

 

Each class the discussion will be based around the AQCIs presented. Those who do not have to prepare an AQCI need not but may find it helpful nonetheless to do so in order to structure their reading and thinking. (Only three AQCI’s will be marked per person.) AQCI’s should be written on a single reading.

 

The structure of an AQCI should be as follows (i.e. you should keep the numbered paragraph structure).

 _________________________________________________________

ARGUMENT, QUESTION, CONNECTIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS: AQCI

 

1.CENTRAL QUOTATION. Quote a sentence (or excerpts from linked sentences) from the text that you think is central to the author's (or authors') implicit or explicit argument(s). Always cite the page.

 

2. ARGUMENT. In a few sentences, state the author's explicit or implicit argument. Be sure to include both: what the author is arguing for, and what s/he is arguing against.

 

3. QUESTION. Raise a question which you think is not fully, or satisfactorily, answered by the text. The question should be a question of interpretation or of inquiry, not simply a question of fact.

 

4. EXPERIENTIAL CONNECTION. Say, in a few lines only, how the argument confirms or contradicts your own experience or common sense.

 

5. TEXTUAL CONNECTION. Connect the argument of this text to an argument or point you find in another reading assignment covered in this course or one you have picked up from earlier study at the University or elsewhere. Present a quote from the other text (citing it properly), and explain how the present text's argument contrasts with, contradicts, confirms, clarifies, or elaborates the other text's argument or point.

 

6. IMPLICATIONS. Lay out what this argument (#2 above) implies for understanding or improving society, relations between individuals, or groups (e.g., inter-ethnic, nations, etc.) or any facet of social or cultural reality (a few sentences only).

AQCIs should not exceed one typed page. They should be typed or word-processed, proofread and printed with the same degree of care as other essays.

 

 

Course outline and compulsory readings:

 

Week 1 (5th October 2004): Introduction to the course and terminology

 

Week 2 (12 October 2004): Liberal theory of Minority Rights, Myth on Neutrality of the State and Ethnocultural Justice - Mgr. Selma Muhic

Birch, Anthony (1989) Nationalism and National Integration, London: Unwin Hyman Ltd, chapter 4: National integration, pp. 36-51 – classical text on integration!

Brubacker, Rogers, “Civic and ethnic nations in France and Germany”, text 28. in Hutchinson, John, Smith Anthony, ed. (1996) Ethnicity, Oxford - New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 168-173

Kymlicka, Will (2001)” Western Political Theory and Ethnic Relations in Eastern Europe”, in Kymlicka, Will, Opalski, Magda (eds.) Can Liberal Pluralism be Exported? Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.13 – 103

Recommended literature – not included in the reader:
Kymlicka, Will (2001) Politcs in the Vernacular, Oxford University Press, Oxford

Cole, Phillip (2000) Philosophies of Exclusion, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh

Bauböck, Rainer, Rundell, John (Eds.) (1998) Blurred Boundaries: Migration, Ethnicity, Citizenship, European Center Vienna and Ashgate, Ashgate

Taylor, Charles, Gutmann, Amy (ed.) (1994) Multiculturalism, Princeton University Press, Princeton

 

Week 3 (19 October):  Terminology – cont. : Ethnicity, race, culture, identity, racism

Eriksen, T. H.: “Ethnicity, Race, Class and Nation “, text 4, in Hutchinson, John, Smith Anthony, eds. (1996) Ethnicity, Oxford- New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 28-31

Van den Berghe, Pierre: “Does race matter?”, text 9, in Hutchinson (above), pp. 57-63

Cornell, Stephen, Hartmann, Douglas (1998) Ethnicity and Race. Making Identities in a Changing World, Pine Forge Press/A Sage Publication Company, text on The definition of race, pp 21- 43, 68-69

Richmond, Anthony (1994) Global Apartheid, Toronto: Oxford University Press (pp.1-45) on power, conflict, identity (good description of race and ethnicity)

 

Week 4 (26 October): Multiculturalism, identity and politics

Malik, Kenan (1996) The Meaning of Race, London: Macmillan, “The meaning of Multicilturalism”, pp.169-177, and “The West and its Others´”, pp.221-226

Rex, John (2001) “The concept of a multicultural society” in Guibernau, Montserrat and Rex, John (eds): The Ethnicity reader, Nationalism, Multiculturalism and Migration, Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, pp. 205-220

Kuper, Leo (2001) “Plural Societies” in Guibernau (above)

 

Week 5  (2 November): State response to minority groups requirements. Impact of Liberalism Communitarianism Debate (Selma)

See readings for Week 2

Benhabib, Seyla (2002) The Claims of Culture. Equality and Diversity in the Global Era. Princeton, USA- Woodstock, UK: Princeton University Press, preface plus pp. 1-48

 

Week 6 (9 November): Definitions and forms of discrimination; institutional racism

EU race equality directive "Implementing the Principle of Equal Treatment Between Persons Irrespective of Racial or Ethnic Origin" Directive 2000/43/EC (adopted on 29 June 2000)

Parekh, Bhikhu (2000) Rethinking Multiculturalism: Chapter 7: The Political Structure of Multicultural Society

 

Week 7 (16 November): Policies twds minorities in former Ex Yu - Selma Muhic

Varadi, Tibor (2001)”…………….”, in  Kymlicka, Will, Opalski, Magda (eds.) Can Liberal Pluralism be Exported?, Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp………….

 

Other readings TBA later

 

Week 8 (23 November) – Equal opportunity policy and positive action- Míťa Castle-Kaněrová

Bagihole, Barbara (1997) Equal Opportunities and Social Policy: Issues of gender, race and disability, London: Longman, Chapter two: What is Equal Opportunities? pp. 31-47

 

Week 9: (30 Novenbert December)  Legislative framework: international instruments

Thornberry, Patrick (2001)” An Unfinished Story of Minority Rights” in  Bíró, A.M. and Kovács, P (eds) Diversity in Action, Budapest. LGI/OSI, pp.47-73

Framework convention for the protection of national minorities in in Bíró, A.M. and Kovács, P (eds) Diversity in Action, Budapest. LGI/OSI, pp.75-81

The  ERRC letter to Dr. Petra Buzková of 26 March 2003

Equality legislation in UK/ Scotland – a handout

 

 

Week 10 ( 7 December): Case Study :The Roma/ Gypsies/ Travellers

Okely, Judith (1997) “Some political consequences of theories of Gypsy ethnicity. The place of the intellectual”  in James, Alisson et al. (eds) After Writing Culture. Epistemology and Praxis in Contemporary Anthropology, London: Routledge

 

Week 11 (14 December):  Case Study :The Roma – cont.

UNDP (2003) The Roma in Central and Eastern Europe, UNDP. http://roma.undp.sk

World Bank (2003) The Roma Page, www.worldbank.org/eca/roma

Hancock, Ian (2000) “The Consequences of Anti-Gypsy Racism in Europe” in Other Voices. The (e)Journal of Cultural Criticism, v. 2, n.1 (February 2000), http:// www.othervoices.org/2.1/hancock/roma.html

 

Week 12 (21 December):  Discussion-cum- seminar, remaining oral presentation by students

 

Week 13 (4 January 2005): Virtual class/ Electronic conference- quiz results and evaluation of the course – no class at Jinonice- Laura Laubeova

 

 

Module indicative contents

 1.       Introduction to terminology:

Concepts of Ethnicity, Race, and Minority. Ethnocentrism, xenophobia, islamophobia, racisms. Discrimination, power and inequality. Concepts of multiculturalism.

Sociological perspectives (functionalism, conflict theory, social construction of reality)

Various models of interethnic relations (segregation/separation, assimilation, accommodation, integration, inclusion) (Bauboeck, Parekh)

Individual and minority rights in liberal context, policy of redistribution and policy of recognition (Taylor, Walzer, Kymlicka)

 

2.       European Standards; including legislation and monitoring of the Human Rights protection of ethnic minorities through:

Council of Europe:             Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities

European Convention on Human Rights

United Nations:                    International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

European Union:            Race Equality and Employment Equality Directives

Czech Republic compliance with these standards in legislation and public policy

 

3.       Diversity and multiculturalism in late 90s and 2000s. 

Policy and Practice in selected EU member states and in the Czech Republic.

Diversity and conflicting values. Development of policies and practice promoting good interethnic relations (from assimilation through pluralism to inclusion).

Definitions and forms of discrimination (direct, indirect, victimisation). Levels of discrimination (personal, cultural, institutional, structural).

Values and concepts behind antidiscrimination practice. Human rights, democracy and the question of representation.

Equal opportunities policy, equity, and positive/equalising programmes

Antidiscrimination mechanisms and implementation of standards in selected EU countries (UK, Netherlands, Ireland, France, Germany, Sweden)

 

4.       Liberal theory and practice of multiculturalism in Czech environment

Civic principle and minority rights protection

The government programme of Romani integration, Act on the rights of members of national minorities, and international commitments in the field of human and minority rights

Government Conception of Integration of ForeignersPublic administration reform and policies for management of multiethnic communities on local level.

Syllabus in Word is available here

For more information please contact Laura Laubeova