Syllabus
I. Introduction to the course ( 2/10/2023)
II. Do we live in the Age of migration? The Phenomenon of Migration (9/10/2023 )
Introduction to the course. What is migration? Who is a migrant? The history of people’s movement. Multidisciplinary study of migration. Migration and globalisation. Migration in the 21st century.
No group projects for this week.
III. From Nation States to Migration States (16/10/2023)
Migration policy and its actors. Genesis of migration policies in Europe. Migration and nation state. Migration waves after WWII. Labour migration. Openness and restrictiveness of immigration policies. Liberal paradox.
Group projects:
Group 1 Gastarbeiter system
Group 2 COVID-19 and migration policies
IV. Did Multiculturalism fail? (23/10/2023)
Models of integration policies. Citizenship. Multiculturalism. Assimilation. Welfare state. The `others`. Cultural differences. Identity politics. Diaspora.
Group projects:
Group 3 Islamic scarf controversy in France
Group 4 Multiculturalism in Canada
V. The Mediterranean region and irregular migration (30/10/2023)
Migration in the Mediterranean. Transit migration. Illegal immigration. Regularization. Borders. Bilateral cooperation. Crossing the Mediterranean Sea. Migration routes. Human smuggling. Human trafficking.
Group projects:
Group 5 Human Smuggling
Group 6 North Africa as a region of origin, transit and destination
VI. Migration policy of the EU (6/11/2023)
Migration as a part of economic project. Justice and home affairs. European migration governance. European Agenda on Migration. Internal and external migration policy. Nation interests versus group effort. Asylum policy. Dublin System.
Group projects:
Group 1 2015 Migrant Crisis
Group 2 New Pact on Migration and Asylum
VII. Is the system broken? (13/11/2023)
Forced migration. Refugees. Internal displacement. Migration crisis. Refugee camps. Resettlement. International Protection. Syrian civil war and crisis. ‘Safe countries’. States of origin. Geneva convention. Fragility.
Group projects:
Group 3 2022 Ukrainian Refugee Crisis
Group 4 UK-Rwanda deal
VIII. Is migration a threat? (20/11/2023)
Securitization and depoliticization of migration. Migration and populism. Right wing parties. Migration and terrorism. Radicalism. Populism.
Group projects:
Group 5 Clash of Civilizations
Group 6 Right wing parties in Europe
IX. Migration and ‚the Global South ‘ (27/11/2023
Migration and the Third World. Migration and development. African patterns of migration. Who really migrates? Can we prevent migration? Root causes of migration. Environmental migration. Colonial legacy. Remittances.
Group projects:
Group 1 World powers in Africa
Group 2 Orientalism
X. Can we close borders? And should we? (4/12/2023)
What are the costs of migration? Can we close the borders? Should we accept everybody? How does society measure the risks and benefits of migration?
Group projects:
Group 3 Joseph Carens
Group 4 David Miller
Group 5 Michael Walzer
Group 6 Matthew J. Gibney
XI. Migration in Media and Pop culture (11/12/2023)
The impact of media presentation. Visibility of migration. Migration myths. Migration and pop culture.
Every group – the concept of group works will be defined the previous week
XII. Did we overlook something? (18/12/2023)
Discussion on current issues.
Annotation
The course is suited for anyone interested in learning about the phenomenon of migration, specifically through the lenses of political science. It will cover a range of topics related to international migration including why people migrate, ethical border closure, Europe's responsibility for refugees, media influence on our view of migrants and more.
Active student participation of students is expected, as the majority of the workload will be during the semester. The course is not recommended for those who want to breeze through the semester without putting in the effort. The course encourages respectful discussion, argumentation, and compromise finding.