What are the factors shaping global migratory movements? Who are the individuals and groups who move across borders? Why do they decide to migrate and what means do they use to do so? How do states respond to different kinds of human mobility and who are the other actors involved in managing migration? And how do “immigrants” themselves become involved in the politics of migration governance?
Through a series of conceptual discussions and empirical case studies, this seminar will reflect on the politics of global mobility and examine how a range of actors at different scales become involved in its management, with effects both internationally and on national polities. It will look at international institutions and frameworks, national and regional migration policies, as well as local support for migrants' rights, transnational social processes and diaspora policies.
The course will be structured in three sections of four lectures: the first section will look at the way in which migration is organised through different legal categories and zoom into the politics and dynamics of the global refugee regime. The second section will examine key paradigms of migration governance, such as securitisation, humanitarianism and local integration, and question how different actors engage in those. The third section will study the multiple meanings, politics and processes related to diaspora communities and assess the relationships between diasporas and state policies.
By the end of the semester, students will be equipped with conceptual and empirical understanding of key debates in migration and diaspora studies and will have become familiar with a corpus of relevant research in sociology, anthropology, history, political sciences and political economy. Learning Outcomes
1. Acquire and critically assess core debates and approaches in migration and diaspora studies.
2. Identify and analyse major policy developments in the realm of migration, asylum and diaspora politics.
3. Develop an informed and in-depth knowledge of specific case-studies (worldwide)
4. Strengthen analytical skills and the ability to apply tools from the social sciences to empirical situations related to the governance of migration and membership.
5. Map out key institutional actors in the field of global migration governance.
Professional Skills
1. Research & Analysis: Conduct research on a specific topic using empirical and theoretical material and drawing upon various sources and data (qualitative and quantitative).
2. Critical thinking: Acquire an informed and critical vision of migration issues allowing you to participate in public and professional debates regarding connected policies
3. Reflexivity: Develop the ability to mobilise conceptual tools in relation to real-life situations, including in a work environment, allowing a more reflexive professional practice.
4. Oral and written communication: Communicating effectively and adequately, based on clear facts and data
5. Policy skills: Strengthen your ability to assess data sources and to develop fact-based policy recommendations.
- In Class Presence: 2 hours a week
- Online learning activities: 2 hours a week
- Reading and Preparation for Class: 5 hours a week
- Research and Preparation for Group Work: 15 hours a semester
- Research and Writing for Individual Assessments: 30 hours a semester
None.
Autumn 2024-2025
- Final essay (40% of the final grade): 4,000-word essay (excluding bibliography) on a freely chosen topic (subject to approval) to be handed at the end of the semester. The final essay can be presented as a research design for students who wish to enroll in the research track.
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- Detailed outline (20% of the final grade) which will serve as the basis for the final essay will have to be submitted by mid-term. Students will receive feedback in order to work towards the final essay.
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- Oral presentation (20% of the final grade): Five minute individual presentation to the rest of the class of one of the readings.
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- In-class group activities (20% of the final grade): text discussions, group debates and oral participation. In particular, the last session of the course will be dedicated to a group debate.
Classes propose a mix between lectures and debates aiming to be interactive and participatory. Each class starts with a student's oral presentation followed by a student-led discussion on key themes addressed in the session. Then, the instructor (or a guest lecturer) introduces the general theme or topic of the class, provides an introductory lecture and raises key questions and puzzles in order to guide a group reflection on some of the main issues related to the session's key themes and readings. Written feedback on assignments is provided individually by the end of the semester and general feedback is provided orally on a weekly basis (individually or collectively) on methodological, theoretical and empirical issues.
1. Marfleet Philip. Refugees in a global era. Basingstoke New York : Palgrave Macmillan. 2006.