EUROPEAN POLICY OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES IN SERBIA – minorities: national minorities, women and Roma population

Course Title and Purpose

1. Course Title
EUROPEAN POLICY OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES IN SERBIA – minorities: national minorities, women and Roma population

2. Aims of the Course:
Students who take this course will:

::	promote greater understanding of issues related to equal opportunity
::	be more aware of position of the vulnerable groups – especially in societies in the process of transition
::	develop knowledge about domestic legislation and international standards that espouse equality

Course Delivery

3. Contents:
Course would be divided into 3 groups of issues:

I	National minorities (notion of national minorities; problems of multiculturalism and process of globalisation – new forms of cultural identities; importance of cultural rights in achieving equal opportunity in the field of education, official use of minority languages, representation on local and general level; domestic legislation, international standards).
II	Gender equality (position of women as minority, the importance of genuine equality between women and men in the democratisation process, identifying factors that may be basis for discrimination, emphasizing the difference between de iure and de facto /in/equality in law).
III	Roma population (ways of eliminating unfavourable social and economic position, i.e. high rate of unemployment, high mortality rate, low educational level; overcoming social and political marginalization, institute of affirmative action, analysis of international documents and domestic law).

4. Indicative Reading:
A. Phillips – A. Rosas, Universal minority rights (Turku/Abo, London 1995)
M. J. Lacey – K. Haakonssen, A culture of rights (Cambridge University Press 1992)
W. Kymlicka, The rights of minority cultures (Oxford University Press 1996)
European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages
European Social Charta, Framework Convention for the Protection of National MinoritiesSusan Moller Okin, Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? (Princeton University Press 1999)
Z. Mrsevic, Standards and Mechanisms for Gender Equality in Democratic Countries (Belgrade 2003)

5. Learning and Teaching Methods:

Total Contact Hours: 28
Lectures (one hour fortnightly), fortnightly seminars based on small groups presentations based on independent learning and directed reading

Range of other Learning Methods: Independent learning and directed reading

Total Study Hours: 150

Course Assessment

6. Course Learning Outcomes:
After taking this course, students will be able to:

::	better understand that membership of a minority is not just a matter of number but of unequal individual access to power and decision-making in the economic, social, family and political sphere
::	identify and improve the knowledge on legal position of women, national minority and Roma population
::	develop new approaches and new sensibility in achieving equal opportunity
::	get acquainted with standards and mechanisms of equal opportunity

7. Assessment Methods:
Assessment is by oral course work (short individual contributions based on recommended reading) and a written exam paper (duration: two hours) set at the end of the course

Number, Type and Weighting of Elements:

1.	coursework 25%
2.	exam 75%

Course Management

8. Credit Points and Duration:
8 credit points, duration of the course one semester

9. Contact Person:
Dr Agneš Kartag Odri
E-mail : akartag@pf.ns.ac.yu