Atlantic Studies in History, Culture and Society
(Master of Arts)

Profile

Course type

postgraduate studies (master)

Standard Course Duration

4 semester

Course Start

Winter semester, Summer semester

Primary Language of Instruction

German, English

Special Requirements

Proof of language skills (see admission and special language regulations)

Admission

Restricted admission

International

Stay abroad possible, but not obligatory.

Short Description

Course content: the Master’s degree programme in Atlantic Studies is the only programme in the whole of Germany that addresses social, cultural, political and economic relations in the South Atlantic from the interdisciplinary perspective of the Humanities and Social Sciences.

Teaching staff: members of the Centre for Atlantic and Global Studies from the History Department (African and Latin American History), the Institute of Sociology (Sociology and Cultural Anthropology), the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures (Spanish Studies, Literature and Linguistics), the English Department (English Studies and American Studies) and the History of Religions Section.

Particular advantages of the course:

• Integrated period abroad related to the professional field while at university (cooperative agreements with universities in countries such as Chile, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Canada, Mexico, Senegal and the USA, international placement exchange)

• Acquisition of empirical research skills in the integrated research learning module, e.g. in cooperation with local institutions and international visiting lecturers

• Intensive support, the possibility to specialise during the programme.

Professional skills:

• The Master’s degree programme in Atlantic Studies trains students to become regional and globalisation experts on the South Atlantic region “Latin America-Caribbean-Africa”. Graduates possess versatile language skills and intercultural skills, project management skills, and have undertaken unusual stays abroad.

Areas of Focus

Challenges of long-term social change in the Atlantic region
Conflict dynamics and attempts to resolve conflict in the Atlantic region
Demographic change, migratory movements, asymmetries in the global economy, social inequality and working conditions, cities in the Global South
House regulations in the Atlantic World
Knowledge production and knowledge systems, (new) social media, constructions of identity and their cultural and linguistic representation, cultures of remembrance and colonial pasts
Mediality, representation and perception of challenges in the multiple Atlantic
Transformations of houses, households, cultural patterns and social relationships in the domestic area as well as notions of home as a result of the mobility of people, goods and ideas in the Atlantic region from the 16th century to the globalised present
Violence and conflict resolution, interculturality and legal pluralism, political participation, social and solidarity movements, universal human rights, religions and ethnicity as a political resource

Course Content

Relations between Africa, the Americas (in particular Latin America and the Caribbean) and Europe from the 15th century to the globalised present, focusing on the South Atlantic (in its global contexts)

Interdisciplinary theoretical approaches (historical, sociological-cultural anthropological, linguistic, literature and cultural scientific, religious), empirical research practice

Structure of the degree programme:

Compulsory modules: basic module in Theory and Methods; advanced module in Research Debates; Integrated Research Learning Module; practical module (practical training with an international reference at home or abroad or a research stay abroad, generally linked to a semester abroad at an African, Latin American/Caribbean, Canadian or US-American, European university with an Atlantic/global focus), Master’s thesis

Compulsory elective modules: Globalisation and Transcultural Spaces; Inequality, Power, Difference; Social, Religious and Cultural Movements; Violence and Conflict Resolution; Cultural Anthropology

Semester	Pflichtbereich Interdisziplinäre Theorie- und Methodenmodule	Pflichtbereich Projektmodule	Pflichtbereich Masterarbeit	Wahlpflichtbereich Fach- und interdisziplinäre Themenmodule
1	Basismodul Theorie und Methoden 1 Vorlesung (Der Atlantik als historischer Raum) 1 Seminar (Theorien und Methoden der Atlantic Studies) 10LP	Integriertes Forschungslernmodul 1 Projektseminar/ Workshop mit eigenständiger Projektarbeit und 1 weiterees Projektseminar oder 1 Fremdsprachenkurs oder 1 Professionalisierungskurs 10 LP		3 aus 5 folgenden Themenmodulen (jeweils 1 Vorlesung und1 Seminar oder 2 Seminare) Globalisierung und transkulturelle Räume Ungleichheit, Herrschaft, Differenz Soziale, religiöse und kulturelle Bewegungen Gewaltprozesse und Konfliktregulierung Kulturanthropologie 3 x 10 LP
2	Aufbaumodul Forschungsdebatten 1 Kolloquium/ Workshop zu einem aktuellen Forschungsthema 1 Seminar mit Supervision und Mentoring 10 LP
3		Praxismodul Praktikum mit internationalem Bezug (In- oder Ausland) oder Studien- und Forschungsaufenthalt an einer internationalen Universität/ Forschungseinrichtung oder Feldforschungsprojekt 30 LP
4			Masterarbeit (mit Supervision durch die Lehrenden)

Recommended Abilities

Openness and the willingness to look beyond European and nation state perspectives of social contexts
Ability to persevere with exploring an object of research intensively and to thoroughly read specialised texts
An interest in interdisciplinary approaches
An interest in research trips and the willingness to get involved with multicultural contexts
Two modern foreign languages, preferably Spanish or French

Career Opportunities

Universities, higher education institutions and non-university research institutes
Science policy and management
Adult education, trade unions
Media, journalism, publishing
Cultural management, cultural mediation, marketing, public relations
Political consulting
International government institutions and non-governmental institutions (NGOs)
Foundations with an international orientation
International business enterprises and associations
Archives, libraries and museums

Admission requirements and application