Theories of Citizenship, Civil Society and Integration

Third-cycle level | 7.5 credits | Course code: SC30020
VT 2025
Study period: 2025-04-14 - 2025-05-23
LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION: The course is given in English
Application period: 2024-12-19 - 2025-02-28
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Course description

The course provides a survey of and examines key theoretical debates around citizenship, integration and civil society. Citizenship rights vary with tensions around and between formal rights, structures that grant or deny rights, and substantial rights that refer to security, prejudice and mechanisms enforcing citizenship rights.

We analyse post-national, supranational, cosmopolitan and transnational citizenship models – beyond and below the level of the nation-state and models of integration. Integration, a much-critiqued concept, used for processes of inclusion, participation and incorporation and often referring to migrants, refugees and their descendants is increasingly contingent on demonstrating indicators of integration for instance speaking a language, getting a job etc, and related to citizenship. Perspectives and governance models of incorporation, ideal typical models, at supranational, national and local levels are also analysed. Thus, the course will problematize and analyse different perspectives and models of citizenship, integration and incorporation alongside their exclusive and inclusive features, highlighting intersections between migration class/ethnicity/gender and racialization.

Theories and perspectives are also examined in relation to the voluntary non-for-profit sector or civil society, how civil society works to expand rights, compensate for shortcomings of the welfare state also addressing its exclusionary mechanisms.

International and comparative case studies are used to explore the action-oriented nature of citizenship, the role of civil society in conditions of socioeconomic challenge and diversity, theories of social capital, actors, actions, activities, challenges, innovations, and ways of working to enhancing opportunities and mitigating challenges.

Requirements and Selection

Entry requirements

Eligible applicants are individuals admitted to doctoral postgraduate studies in the Social Sciences or other related areas at the University of Gothenburg or other universities. A very good knowledge of English, both in speech and writing, will be required to be able to take the course.

Selection

Doctoral students enrolled at the Department of Sociology and Work science at the University of Gothenburg and at REMESO at the Linköping University.

Doctoral students enrolled at the Faculty of Social Science at the University of Gothenburg

Doctoral students enrolled at another faculty at the University of Gothenburg or another university in Sweden

Doctoral students enrolled at a university outside Sweden

Educational partnership

The Swedish Research Council's Research school is a collaboration between the University of Gothenburg and Linköping University.

Other information

The course duration is 5 weeks of full time work with one intensive week at the Department of Sociology, University of Gothenburg in Gohtenburg.

Accommodation is provided free of charge to all enrolled PhD students who are not residents in Gothenburg or the nearby suburbs.

Link to website

https://www.gu.se/global-migration/vetenskapsradets-vr-forskarskola-i-migration-och-integration

Course syllabus

SC30020

Reading and reference list

Reading and reference list for the course

Department

Department of Sociology and Work Science

Subject

Social Science

Type of course

Subject area course

Research School/Graduate School

Graduate School in Migration and Integration

Keywords

theories of citizenship, civil society, integration, citizenship models,

CONTACTIréne Carlensberg
031 786 4098
irene.carlensberg@gu.se