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SP20299: Understanding migrations: between transnational governance and lived experience

Follow this link for further information on academic years Academic Year: 2018/9
Further information on owning departmentsOwning Department/School: Department of Social & Policy Sciences
Further information on credits Credits: 6      [equivalent to 12 CATS credits]
Further information on notional study hours Notional Study Hours: 120
Further information on unit levels Level: Intermediate (FHEQ level 5)
Further information on teaching periods Period:
Semester 1
Further information on unit assessment Assessment Summary: ES 50%, EX 50%
Further information on unit assessment Assessment Detail:
  • Essay 50% (ES 50%)
  • Exam 50% (EX 50%)
Further information on supplementary assessment Supplementary Assessment:
Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
Further information on requisites Requisites:
Further information on descriptions Description: Aims:

* To equip students with the knowledge and ability to engage critically with contemporary debates and policies surrounding international migration;
* To enable students to understand the different forms of current international migration;
* To provide students with knowledge of the policy and legal framing of migration practices and of the processes through which these policies and laws are produced;
* To enable students to explore the relationship between the politics and practice of migration and the lived experience of migrants and their implications for wider social relations

Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the unit the student will have:
* Awareness of the field of migration studies as a whole and of the contributions to that field from different academic disciplines;
* An understanding of contemporary forms of international migration;
* An understanding of how different forms of international migration are constructed in academic and public debate;
* Appreciation for the ways in which international migration - in policy, legal and experiential terms - is mediated by gender, class, 'race'/ethnicity and age / generation;
* Skills in preparing a policy brief on some aspect of international migration;

Skills:

* Cross-cultural and interpersonal sensitivity (T/F)
* Effective oral communication (T/F/A)
* Ability to select, summarise & synthesise written information from multiple sources (T/F/A)
* Ability to synthesise multidisciplinary perspectives on the same topic (T/F/A)
* Ability to produce work to agreed specifications and deadlines (T/F)
* Ability to work independently, without close supervision or guidance (T/F)

Content:
What is a migrant? What happens to "illegal" migrants when they enter a country? Is international migration on the increase and can we expect more in the future? Can migration ever be controlled in one country? How is migration regulated in different places, by whom, and how does this affect migrants' experiences? What are the consequences for different social groups? What, if any, are the international responsibilities of states and international organisations, when dealing with migration? This unit addresses these and similar questions, going behind news and social media headlines to understand transnational processes of migration, and regulation, and the experiences of migrants themselves.
The unit will run over ten weeks in Semester One. The focus of these sessions is as follows:
1. Introduction - conceptualizing mobility and migration;
2. Categorisation of migrants (1) - 'forced' vs 'voluntary'
3. Categorisation of migrants (2) - labour migration
4. Gender & migration
5. Class & migration
6. 'Race' / ethnicity & migration
7. Age / generation & migration
8. Governance of migration (1) - the role of governments
9. Governance of migration (2) - the role of multi-lateral and non-governmental organisations
10. Governance of migration (3) - humanitarian response to migrants
Further information on programme availabilityProgramme availability:

SP20299 is Optional on the following programmes:

Department of Social & Policy Sciences
  • UHSP-AFB21 : BSc(Hons) International Development with Economics (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AKB21 : BSc(Hons) International Development with Economics with Year long work placement (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AFB16 : BSc(Hons) Social Policy (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AKB16 : BSc(Hons) Social Policy with Year long work placement (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AFB05 : BSc(Hons) Social Sciences (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AKB05 : BSc(Hons) Social Sciences with Year long work placement (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AFB04 : BSc(Hons) Sociology (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AKB04 : BSc(Hons) Sociology with Year long work placement (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AFB10 : BSc(Hons) Sociology and Social Policy (Year 2)
  • UHSP-AKB10 : BSc(Hons) Sociology and Social Policy with Year long work placement (Year 2)

Notes: