Students will develop:

Critical (thinking) skills;

Deepened understanding of global public spaces as an area for political discourses and movements (i.e. social justice, decolonisation, etc. as global phenomena) in order to strengthen an ability to think in a global context.

The module encourages students:

To be researchers and experts by fostering a critical voice and an ability to articulate informed positions on current debates (an important aspect of global citizenship – but also to critically question what this means across different contexts);

Analyse in their historical and political contexts an array of primary sources, including visual materials, political and legal documents, and creative responses;

Further develop critical engagement through close-reading
of secondary sources;

Communicate findings clearly and producing coherent and
structured arguments through consistent writing practice;

Develop transferable employability skills through authentic assessment and active learning (i.e. peer learning, digital literacy).

(LO1) A deepened understanding of global public spaces as an area for political discourses and movements (i.e. social justice, decolonisation, etc. as global phenomena).

(LO2) A basic knowledge of Belgian colonialism and postcolonialism, Italian colonialism and fascism, the postwar history of Berlin/the German Democratic Republic, resistance in late 20th-century and today's China and Hong Kong, political and violent conflict in Colombia

(S1) Critical thinking: the module encourages students to be researchers and experts by fostering a critical voice and an ability to articulate informed positions on current debates (an important aspect of global citizenship – but also to critically question what this means across different contexts)

(S2) Analyse in their historical and political contexts an array of primary sources, including visual materials, political and legal documents, and creative responses

(S3) Further develop critical engagement through closereading of secondary sources

(S4) Communicate findings clearly and producing coherent and structured arguments

(S5) Develop transferable employability skills through authentic assessment and active learning

The majority of teaching will be delivered face-to-face on campus. Online delivery will be used to complement the on-campus delivery and where technology affords a better learning experience.

Lecture:
The lectures introduce students to the weekly theme's historical background, key theoretical terms and existing critical approaches, as well as interpretative issues and ongoing debates.

Seminar:
Weekly seminars provide the opportunity for students to deepen their knowledge on the respective topic and to develop their own critical positions and broader understanding of global connections in direct engagement with the specific case studies.

The lectures and seminars will cover topics such as:

Introduction: Heritage, Memory and the Everyday - what is public space? (Dr Sarah Arens);

From the Atomium to Black Lives Matter: colonial heritage and contested public space in Belgium, plus postgraduate guest lecture (Dr Sarah Arens);

Remembering German division: The Berlin Wall Memorial (Prof. Anna Saunders);

Decentralised remembrance of the Berlin Wall (Prof. Anna Saunders);

Transitional justice and memorialisation in Colombia: the museum Casa de la memoria y de los derechos humanos de las mujeres I (Prof. Claire Taylor);

Transitional justice and memorialisation in Colombia: the museum Casa de la memoria y de los derechos humanos de las mujeres II (Prof. Claire Taylor);

Tiananmen Square: Space of revolution and repression (Dr Angela Becher);

Hong Kong: The umbrella movement and the occupation of city space (Dr Angela Becher);

Toppling Columbus, Recasting Italian Americans i n Times of Decolonization (Dr Barbara Spadaro);

Retracing and performing anti-fascist memory in Italy: the contromarcia su Roma (Dr Barbara Spadaro);

Conclusion and assessment clinic (Dr Sarah Arens).