Xenophobia

Contenu

Xenophobia, the "fear of the foreign or strange", continues to shape debates around migration and citizenship in the 21st century. After times where many thought xenophobic and nativist rhetoric disappeared from public discourse, recent political events such as the "Brexit" vote in the UK, the vote against "mass immigration" in Switzerland, or the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, teach us otherwise. The objective of this seminar is that students gain a better and deeper understanding of xenophobia, its manifold facets and manifestations around the world, its individual and contextual drivers, and political as well as societal consequences. We do so by seeking answers to questions such as: What is xenophobia? Which role do contact or education play for xenophobia? Did Covid-19 alter xenophobia? Is xenophobia a threat for social cohesion and democracy?

The seminar starts with a critical review of the concept of xenophobia, and how it can be measured empirically in quantitative surveys. We will then study how xenophobic attitudes emerge, and which individual or contextual factors nurture these attitudes. To further delineate and demarcate the concept, we engage in a critical discussion on related terms like nationalism, islamophobia, racism or Whiteness. The following sessions address the political and societal implications of xenophobia in terms of right-populism, discriminatory behavior or migration policy preferences and outputs. In a final block, the students will develop an empirical-analytical research question and research design, which will lay the basis for their term paper. The aim of this seminar is that participants apply and implement the theoretical knowledge acquired in the seminar when writing their term paper, which bases either on an empirical or theoretical analysis.