Final Exam SOC585 Migration and Transnationalism-migrating people, migrating culture: optics, methods and impacts The Masaryk University The Autumn semester , 2013 Miriam Kanioková essay response – 400 words each, do 26. 1. 1. Sanjeev Khagram and Peggy Levitt (2007) identify five intelectual foundations of contemporary transnational scholarship. Please identify them and discuss briefly selected texts(s) from the syllabus as examples of each of these intellectural foundations.  1. Empirical Transnationalism The empirical transnationalism seems to be the dimension of the research which is intensified and collaboratng in the international context. I donot see that much difference between the transnational and international research as stated according to the text. An emplame might be the text by the study by Snell, Enxberg and the Leerkens. The essay is dealing with the economic engagement of the migrants in the study. It is dealing with the economic dimension of the study as one part of the immigrants life as it is important to see the results of the issue in the multidimentional lense.  2. Methodological Transnationalism Methodological transnationalism is putting effort into creating the new methodological models which are newly reflecting the changing nature of the world and are using the international dimension. Its studies are not emerging quite often. The historical recosntruction of the data or unifying the data accoridng to one criteria is alwas a dangerous thing. The transnational unified methodology for creation of the data is building up the unification which can easily lead to developing inequalities. As it is naturally that the most capital to change the situation are wealthy western states. Due to the specificity of this transnationalism and the orientation of our lectures I could not find this kind of rearch in the lessons offerred.  3. Theoretical Transnationalism As the theorethical theories of the transnationalism can be labelled the texts that are getting deeper in the explaining the realtionship between the transnationalism. They are coining the terms and the theories to put together a relationships between the tehorethical concepts. The text such as the Cosmopolitan memory – Holocaust Commemoration and National identity which is cleraly linking the traditional phenomena into one transnational dimension of the theory.  4. Philosophical Transnationalism Philosophical transnationalism is bounded in the ontological philosophy and showing the way of the thinking transnationally. The thesis of the approach states that our view is born to be transnational and also our intellectual work should be trasnational. The philosophical approach is in transnationalism trying to bring together the reality of the different lived lives. As our view is ontologically transnational but our lived experience might coin different dimension. An example of such study might be a study by Steven Vertovec. In the study he is using and working in the strictly transnational context. He is starting from the multicultural view but also paying close attention to the daily living reality of the people.  5. Public Transnationalism Interestling the authors are claiming the public transnationalism as an overt belief in the transnationalism which is not only an intellectual dimension. I find the describe approach to be applicable in the role of the public intelectual. I consider the Peggy Lewitt texts fitting into this moder. 4. What state is responsible for social protection of the migrants? Answer this question using at least 2 readings from the syllabus. The social protection system differs widelly around the world. The most influential work in the field was doubtlessly Esping-Enderson's (1990) classification of the welfare state regimes into three models- liberal, corporativist and social democratic. Regimes of the welfare states determinate also the social services offered. The new EU states (such as the Czech republic) share a common communist past of centralized totalitarian regimes. As the Fenger's (2007) work shows, the welfare capitalisms of the new members cannot be assorted into one of the existing type, nor they cannot make up a new category as the characteristics are so heterogenous. The purpose of the welfare state is to offer the protection of the people in the times of the late modernity. Late modernity is typical for the continuing individualization. The spiraling process in which the welfare state is offering the protection to the individualized people who are not enjoying the family solidarity, thus the families are becoming less important because there is not such an existential need of it. As the extensive results of the resarches show the transnational families often end up to be caught between the several regime state without much protection from any of them (Vonk, Walsum , Boccagni 2011:13). The exclusion of the social protection is created by the conditions to get the state support. In the state of missing the state support the family solidarity comes in. The migrants themselves are often the source of the social protection by the remittences. The exclusion from the state public service as the result of the migration is an often phenomenon. Ratification of the minimum protection for the migrants is not successful throughout the world (Sabates-Wheeler, Feldman 2011 :133). I do believe it show the tendency the greater problem of the transnational social protection. The system are so complex that to set up a international agreement is a long way to go unless there is deeper convergion processes. Let's take up an example of the European union. All of the member states had to take some time to converge the suitable legislative. The system of the EU is established to make sure that the social benefits one has worked for are eligible across the region. The ratification process of the agreements took several years. Thus my answer is that to ensure the keeping of the human rights it is necessary to use transnational organs (such as in the case of the European union) to set the rules which are to be respected. I doubt the possibility of the creation of the international organ and internationally applicable law. Sources: Boccagni, P. 2011. “Caring about migrant care workers: from private obligations to transnational social welfare?” (Unpublished manuscript) Esping-Andersen, G. 1990. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Fenger ,D.J.M. 2007. „Welfare regimes in Central and Eastern Europe: Incorporating post-communist countries in a welfare regime typology.“ Contemporary issues and ideas in social science, vol.3,no. 2. Sabates-Wheeler, R. , Feldman, R. 2011. “Introduction: Mapping Migrant Welfare onto Social Provisioning.” In Migration and Social Protection. Claiming Social Rights Beyond Borders. Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 3-35. Vonk, G., Van Walsum, S. 2012. “Access denied: Towards a new social protection approach for excluded migrants.” Gijsbert Vonk (ed.). Cross-Border Welfare State: Social security & integration. Intersentia, pp. 3-59. 7. Discuss the relationship between nationalism and cosmopolitanism using the example of arts and museums. I use the term nationalism and the cosmopolitanism as the opposite parts of the scale, though it might occur as a strange mix. In the logic of the contemporary sociological theory it represents the opposites of being preoccupied with the nation in-group or the permanent outlook to the world. Opened view is thought to be equal with high rating of the human kind as such. The widest group the emotion of solidarity is felt is the national group (Alexander 2006), nevertheless in the late modernity the solidarity feeling going across the different cultures becomes strengthens. Social scientists tend to connect the post- modern idea of the human unity with the universal experience and re membering of the international human terror, such as holocaust (Levy, Sznaider 2012). The attitude of remembering all the people and not the fine selection might be understood as the primary quality of the cosmopolitan view. Nationalists are using the collectivity to feel the security of the in-group. The nationalist ideology is trying to draw the line on who is in and who is out, so that it can be distinguished who is to be the subject of solidarity. The changing discourse of the (world) society is naturally being reflected in the artifacts of the society. The museum practice and the art are the tools which fuels the reification of the universal or nationalistic memories. The social reality is becoming (Sztomka 2004) and part of its becoming is through the practice of remembering. The museum practice and the art pieces are part of the reification of the history. Once the memory sediments, it is able of undergoing the process of the reification. As I mentioned in the beginning the nationalism and the cosmopolitanism can occur in the strange personal mix, but it is hard to imagine its occurrence in the artifacts. The value of feeling solidarity towards the nation or being reflexive towards the short history of such collectivity, inevitably presupposed the binary division. Museums can be understood as the temples of knowledge. In the European states there is even a tradition of building a national museums which are funded by the state. The state has the control over the objects displayed and the officials shows the story which is to be spread. Peggy Lewitt (2012) in its research studies museums which show the wide way to go. From the museum which is trying to demonstrate the intellectual incoherence in translating and narrowing the history into the national terms to the strict national-line museums. To compare art with the museum I can say the art objects are more individual selections of the memories but the museum are in its complexity the great thing to discover. Sources: Alexander, J. C. . 2006. The Civic Sphere. New York: Oxford University Press. Lewitt, P. 2012. ,,The Bog and the Beast.” Ethnologia Scandinavia. Vol. 42. Levy, D., Sznaider, N. 2010. ,,The Ubiquity of Human Rights in A Cosmopolitan Age”. Human Rights and Memory. The Pennsylvania State University Press. Sztompka, P. 2004. „The Trauma of Social Change: A Case of Post-communist Societies.“ Pp 155-195. In Alexander et al. Cultural Trauma and the Collective Identity. Berkley: University of California Press. 4