16921

SoSe 21: Integration in Germany: policy and debate

Daniel Louis Nethery

Comments

Subject: In January of this year a commission appointed by the federal government released its report on the integration of immigrants in Germany. The scope of the report reflects the complexity of the concept of integration, which relates not only to health, education and employment outcomes but also to political and cultural values. Also included in the report are dissenting opinions from several commission members, which underline the extent to which the very concept of integration is open to interpretation and contested. Program: We will use the report as a starting point for an analysis of the concept of integration. We will discuss several sections of the report and connect its findings to research on the public policy outcomes of immigrants in Germany. We will also trace the way the concept of integration, initially used in respect of national economies, came to replace other terms to describe social and cultural change connected to immigration like assimilation, multiculturalism and leitkultur. By the end of the course, you will understand the uses of the word integration in German political debates today, and you will have gained an insight into social policy and its research methods. Is this course for me? This course is open to students in the humanities, social sciences and cultural studies. There are no prerequisites, but you should be willing to read research which involves quantitative analysis. Workload and assessment: To qualify for 5 ECTS points you will need to attend the course regularly, engage with the course materials, and pass the final written examination. close