Re-Imagining Security

The Re-Imagining Security minor has been designed to provide an interdisciplinary and 360˚ study of security. Every course module is meant to provide you with knowledge and understanding of the academic debates and the analytical vocabulary on security and to apply this knowledge to analyse real-life case-studies. By being exposed to different disciplines, you will learn to distinguish between, think critically about, evaluate, and reflect on different forms of knowledge. You will assess how societal issues pertaining to security can best be understood through working in an interdisciplinary team. The course modules include lectures, readings, documentary screenings, individual, and group assignments. The courses will be interactive, and you are encouraged to raise questions and develop a critical approach perspective to the course contents.

Students having completed the minor will be able to:

• Identify and evaluate which information is important for understanding how the concept of security connects to different society issues.
• Trace the concept of security, and security culture, in a genealogical and conceptual way through modern history (1800 until the present).
• Distinguish between different disciplinary perspectives on security and methodological foundations of disciplines, and synthesise insights from various points of view.
• Reflect on the process of learning, and the ethical, ideological, and emotional dimensions pertaining to ‘security’.

This minor is explicitly meant for students who are interested in interdisciplinary education and who want to gain more experience with perspective taking, collaboration, critical thinking, and reflection. You will become acquainted with different disciplinary approaches, perspectives, frameworks, and methodologies on security. The course models will be collaborative and discussion rich, so you will be learning along with students from different faculties.

The minor offers an excellent preparation for students interested in some of the many Master’s degree programmes offered at UU, including the Public International Law (Conflict and Security and/ or Human Rights) LLM, Conflict & Human Rights, International Relations in Historical Perspective, Cultural Anthropology: Sociocultural Transformation, and Master of Arts in History of Politics and Society.

The interdisciplinary orientation of the minor will be particularly interesting if you have not yet made up your mind about which discipline you want to specialise in at Master’s level. It allows you to get a ‘taste’ of different disciplines and acquaint yourself with the building blocks of academic fields that are relevant to your interests, but you have not yet found the chance to study. Furthermore, the minor will prepare you for the professional world by showing how theoretical debates on security connect to case studies, policy debates, and practices.

Interview with Elliot, cultural anthropology student:

Keen to find out how students are experiencing the minor, Tessa Diphoorn and Katharine Fortin interviewed cultural anthropology student Elliott Zomerlinde about his experiences: 

What made you decide to follow the Re-Imagining Security Minor? 

I wanted to follow this minor because the theme of security interests me. The structures of power and their effects are fascinating, and I find it personally important to understand them. I have found that before this minor I did not have a clear image of what I saw as security, and now it is a bit clearer. Even though the definition of security might be vague, I now understand how the term is used and what it can bring about. The topic of security is also something that I might want to work with later after my studies, so this gives me a good idea of everything that comes into play surrounding this theme. I also chose this minor as it is such an interdisciplinary minor. I had followed only anthropology courses before this, and I wanted to expand on that a bit more, so this minor was perfectly timed. 

How have you found it learning about ‘security’ from the perspective of other disciplines? 

It is very nice to see such a big theme tackled from different perspectives. It is interesting to see how other people think about security, and what it brings to mind. Besides learning about security from the other perspectives, I have learnt some basics about other disciplines too, which is very useful. I can now use primary sources of law and history, which will make me more confident in writings for my own discipline too, as anthropology sources work differently.  

Do you find it possible to integrate these new perspectives into your own discipline? 

I have not followed a course of my own discipline besides this minor yet, but I’m sure these new perspectives will be useful. I think it will make discussions more interesting, by adding these other views. 

What is it like to be in a classroom with students from lots of different faculties and disciplines? Does it change the learning dynamic?

It definitely changes the learning dynamic, for me it is a lot of fun. You get to fill in gaps of your knowledge and abilities with the help of other students’ disciplines. It makes for a nice experience to also learn from each other, and not just from professors; it’s a nice change of pace. In general, I feel it is important for everyone to follow some interdisciplinary courses to see how other people think and to realise that your own chosen discipline isn’t the only way to think about things. 

Now that you are over half way through the Minor, what is your perspective on interdisciplinary education? Would you recommend it? 

I would definitely recommend it! It has already given me way more knowledge and abilities than I expected. Following interdisciplinary education complements my own education so far. I have found it a lot of fun to research topics through multiple lenses, adding on to each other to create a very complete picture. With each course I feel like I understand the world a little better.

The minor is taught by an interdisciplinary staff team, comprising of scholars who are actively involved in multi- and interdisciplinary teaching, educational leadership, and interdisciplinary research. They will each bring their expertise to the classroom, both in terms of innovative conceptual discussions, as well as real-life experiences as fieldwork-researchers and policy-practitioners in diverse settings.

The minor consists of five courses and starts in period 1. You must complete four (30 EC) of the five courses to complete the minor and students are advised to take all four courses in one academic year, in the order that they are offered. The course offered by UCU, namely ‘Decolonizing Security in the ‘Third World’ during the Global Cold War’ (UCHUMHIS28) is only open for students following the minor. For the other four courses, namely ‘Anthropology of Violence and Security’ (202400009), ‘Contesting Security in International Law’ (RGBUIER023) ‘Historicizing Security – in Europe and Beyond’ (GE2V23003), and ‘Open-Source Global Justice Investigation Lab’ (RGBUIER024), it is possible to also enrol for them separately.

Courses

Anthropology of Violence and Security (202400009), period 1

Violence and security have become prominent subjects of analysis in the anthropological discipline. This course will demonstrate how anthropologists have provided insights into the diverse ways in which violence and security are enacted, performed, experienced, and defined across historical trajectories and geographical localities.

Contesting Security (RGBUIER023), period 2

The aim of the course is to introduce students to how issues like: (i) war (ii) counter terrorism (iii) climate change (iv) protest (v) nationality (vi) disease/ pandemic and (vii) racial injustice are addressed and analysed in international law lens (e.g., human rights, use of force). Students will be encouraged to reflect on how the concept of ‘security’ operates as both a permissive and limiting force in the framework of international law.

Decolonizing Security in the ‘Third World’ during the Global Cold War (UCHUMHIS28), period 2-3

This course will examine how the ideological struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union shaped not only domestic ideas of security (citizenship, minority rights, counter-culture movements, etc.), but especially international security frameworks, alliances, and conflicts. It will therefore adopt a global perspective to examine how the Cold War rivalry impacted the 'Third World' - the space where the 'cold' standoff between the superpowers often manifested in 'hot' conflicts.

Note: UCU has a different schedule, and this course will be running from January 25.

Open-Source Global Justice Investigation Lab (RGBUIER024), period 2-3

Globalization and the growth of digital technology make knowledge and information spread like never before. This also inevitably means that misinformation, disinformation, and fake news are on the rise, which in turn asks society at large to develop and teach skills of critical inquiry that cross disciplinary boundaries. Through open-source intelligence (OSINT) and investigation techniques, in this course you will learn to identify, document, verify, analyse, and evaluate open-source material such as news reports, social media posts, and satellite images. Your work will contribute to reporting and advocacy around the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by tackling issues such as food security and deforestation as well as human rights and international justice. Working together with societal partners on real-world projects, this course combines digital innovation with new media literacy. More information about the Lab can be found online.

NOTE: After students register for this course through Osiris, they will receive an email to sign up through the website of the Lab, where there is a separate admissions process. This process focuses mainly on motivation for the course, study background, relevant experience and on grades. During the sign-up on the Lab website, they are asked to indicate whether they are taking part in the minor and these students are given priority in the sign-up process.

Historicising security – in Europe and beyond (GE2V23003), period 4

This course applies a conceptual history approach, unpacking genealogies of security and its ramifications through time. It does so in combination with notions from public administration, law, cultural studies, and sociology (for example by also working with adjacent concepts as sovereignty, legitimacy, state of emergency, defence, and intelligence). The course provides a brief inquiry into the meaning of the concept ‘security’ as a travelling concept through time, both in its tandem with ‘the national’ and ‘the international’.

You can apply for the minor and the courses online via OSIRIS Student during the enrolment period, for 2026-2027 the period is from 8-26 June.

Please note! First you must register for the minor to see if it is possible to enrol. Your subscription to the minor does not automatically mean that you are also enrolled to the courses within the minor. You will have to enrol in the courses separately. Be sure to enrol for courses during the regular enrolment period; there are usually no more places outside this period. You will find the course descriptions in the OSIRIS Course Catalogue.

NOTE:

1. For the UCU course, ‘Decolonizing Security in the ‘Third World’ during the Global Cold War’, students enrolled for the minor will automatically be registered for this course.
2. As discussed above, there is a separate admissions process for the Lab. 
    

If you are a paying student at a different Dutch HBO or University, you can also follow this minor. Please see the subsidiary courses page for all information. Important: please note that to follow the UCU course, you will need to pay an additional fee of 250 euros.

Application:

First, it is necessary to register by filling in the registration form in the registration period between June 8 - June 26 (for periods 1 and 2) and between November 2 - November 20 (for periods 3 and 4).

If the minor has not yet reached the maximum yet, there is a possibility to enrol in the second half of the academic year and follow the last two courses first.

After we have processed your registration form, we will send you an e-mail containing your student number and other useful information. Once you have been accepted into the minor, you will need to apply for the courses. Please note that in this particular minor, there are courses from different faculties so you will need to apply for each course separately. Take into account the individual deadlines/registration periods.

• One of the courses is provided by University College Utrecht. Read the information about how to apply for external students. For this course, you will need to pay UCU an additional fee of 250 euros.
• You will need to apply for Anthropology of Violence and Security, 202400009 via https://students.uu.nl/en/fss/subsidiary-courses.
• You will need to apply for Contesting Security in International Law, RGBUIER023 via https://students.uu.nl/rebo/rechtsgeleerdheid/bijvakken (in Dutch only).
• You will need to apply for the Open-Source Global Justice Investigation Lab (RGBUIER024) via https://forms.uu.nl/universiteitutrecht-gw/osgjil-24-25.
• You will need to apply for Historicizing Security – in Europe and Beyond, GE2V23003 via https://students.uu.nl/en/hum/curriculum/subsidiary-courses.