PSCI 382
The Politics of Migration: Citizen, Immigrant, Alien, Refugee
Last Offered Fall 2020
Division II Difference, Power, and Equity
This course is not offered in the current catalog

Class Details

Currently 272 million international migrants live in a country different from where they were born, an increase of 78% since 1990. What are the social, economic, and political consequences of unprecedented global mobility in both destination countries and countries of origin? This class investigates one of the most polarizing and relevant issues of our time: the politics of migration. Throughout the semester we interrogate four themes central to migration politics: rights, representation, access, and agency. The course is organized with a focus on status: which “categories” of people (i.e. citizens, migrants, refugees) have differential access to rights, services, and representation and why. Drawing on political speeches, documentary films, humanitarian campaigns, and a variety of academic texts, we critically analyze how those categories are constructed, as well as the political work they do in making claims, justifying policies, and shaping public opinion. The class situates contemporary US migration policies within a global context and over time, placing the US case in conversation with considerations of migration politics and policies in countries around the world. As an experiential education course, we will (virtually) attend a US naturalization ceremony as well as interview officials from organizations working with migrants and refugees here and abroad.
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 12
Expected: 12
Class#: 2605
Grading: no pass/fail option, no fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: Active class participation, 3 short papers (3 pages each), policy project (8-10 pages), and presentation.
Prerequisites: Prior course work in political science or global studies.
Enrollment Preferences: Political Science majors, Global Studies Concentrators.
Distributions: Division II Difference, Power, and Equity
DPE Notes: This course examines the politics of migration with a focus on the power inherent within particular categorizations of people in relation to the state (i.e. citizens, migrants, aliens, refugees). We compare policies shaping the lives of migrants around the world, with particular considerations of how race, gender, age, and religion shape migration experiences (and migration policy). We focus on rights, access, and migrant agency throughout the course.
Attributes: GBST Borders, Exiles + Diaspora Studies

Class Grid

Updated 6:47 pm

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