Citizenship, Migration and Belonging

(3 Credits)

What is it to be and become a citizen, what does citizenship mean, and how does it impact our ways of being in the world? With roots in Ancient Greece and Rome, citizenship today defines the legal relationship between citizen and state. But discourse surrounding citizenship goes beyond the legalities to include collective identity and community solidarity. In this course, we will examine how citizenship is organized, performed, and contested in various contexts and at multiple levels of social organization - individual, familial, and societal. Using Florence, Italy, as our base, we will explore the origins and evolutions of citizenship from city-state to nation-state to supra-national status and beyond. We will also trace the intersections of race, gender, class, sexuality, age, and family with definitions of citizenship and access to citizenship across time and space. Fieldwork across Florence’s historic hubs of civic and political life, UNICEF research centers and migrant welcome centers will allow us to understand the ever-changing process of being and becoming citizens.