The course examines the formation and dynamics of ethnic groups in the contemporary world. It surveys major topics, theoretical definitions/debates and approaches in the field of race and ethnicity. Moreover, it also examines social and ethnic relations as part of larger social systems by emphasizing the relationship between ethnicity on the one hand and nations, state, class, minority groups, gender, power, and politics on the other.

The aim of the course is to provide academic background, conceptual clarity, and guidance to the students around the key concepts of race and ethnicity. Classical studies on nationalism and state-formation emphasize territoriality, clearly delimited boundaries, and a homogenous population with a focus on universalism, inclusion, civility, modern tolerance, transnational integration and civic nationhood. The increasing emphasis on particularity, exclusion, violence, ancient hatreds, and national disintegration (stemming mainly from the post-communist east Europe and the former Soviet Union and the increasing number of immigrants in Europe) constitutes a challenge to the analytical gains of the mainstream literature on nationalism. In this context ethnic group formation, ethnic integration and ethnic conflict appear among the defining phenomena of the modern era. While one understanding in the field of race and ethnicity emphasizes membership in definite groups (similarity), the other emphasizes cultural differentiation (difference); both aiming to explain and understand human diversity through the processes of social identification and interaction. Ethnic integration and ethnic conflict can be divided into several sub-categories, such as assimilation, melting pot or cultural pluralism (multiculturalism) on the one hand and discrimination, ethnic cleansing or genocide on the other. Since ethnic groups can (and often do) generate various forms of conflict, ethnicity appears as one of the most controversial topics in the literature. Most theoretical approaches to understanding racial and ethnic identification or racial and ethnic relations remain inconclusive. Thus, it is important to emphasize a broader understanding of the concept of ethnicity as a social phenomenon. Ethnicity also has political, historical, economic, and religious dimensions none of which can be ignored. In this context, conceptions like “the return of the repressed” or “elite manipulation” need to be critically reconsidered in relation to the concepts of collective identity (and its expressive forms) and (ethnic and racial) social movements.