4709259: CF_Migration (Lecture)

Description

The phenomenon of migration can be understood and explained in various ways.
It depends on the discipline and on the perspective. What we know with certainty is that people are increasingly mobile. Commonly, we talk of migration when crossing a national border is involved and when migrants intend to stay in the target state for longer than a touristic sojourn. Usually, people migrate because they wish to improve their life situation. This might be defined on the level of economy (work migration or tax saving migration), of emotionality (marriage migration and family reunion), of life-saving necessity (refugee migration), of learning (student/training migration), of health (treatment migration), etc. Although migration is connected to the nation state and legal regulative measures are important regarding the opportunities of the migrant population and regarding the political demands on security, international and human rights are equally important. Immigration has an impact on social dynamics within the network of the sending as well as of the receiving country; and integration policy goes along with antidiscrimination measures.

In order to gain a perspective from within, the lecture cycle starts with an introduction to migration literature. Reading literature written by migrants enables us to listen to the migrant 'speak'. There is a vast body of fiction covering different genres, different topics and different points of view on migration.
The second lecture will take a global perspective on migration and look at the consequences of globalization and its effects on people. A gender approach is taken here as well, since there is a worldwide increase of female migration (feminization of migration), especially in the field of care work.
In the third lecture, we will study various ways of classifying migration as well as critically discuss theoretical models that endeavor to explain migration and how they have changed over time.
The forth lecture focuses on flight migration in general and aspects of mental health in particular.
The last lecture concentrates on the importance of the nation state when looking at immigration regulation and in particular on integration policies. How are people included into the labor market? How does a given nation state deal with multilingualism, racism and religious freedom? How is the process of naturalization organized?

Learning Outcomes

Participants will be able to:

• Describe different points of view in the debate about migration literature and familiarize themselves with a view from 'within'
• Understand the effects that globalization has with regards to migration and the role of gender in international migration
• Know a selection of models that explain migration
• Realize what flight migration entails, and what its possible consequences on health can be
• Develop critical thinking with regards to the various immigration and integration regimes

Lectures Method

Lectures, written examination

Literature

Will be announced

Comments

Cross-faculty elective subject:
Notice the special Multi-stage allocation process.