MIGRATION AND GLOBAL TRANSFORMATIONS

The course "Migrations and global transformations" covers one of the key areas in the LM program on “Environmental Humanities”, namely the study of social patterns of behaviour as embedded in wider global transformations, with reference to the question of climate change.
On the one side, international migrations are the effect of wider processes in political, economic, social and -indeed- environmental fields. On the other side, migrants' trajectories have an impact on their surrounding social and natural environments, in countries of origin as well of arrival, at multiple levels. It is in this perspective, that this course tackles the issue of human mobility and the transformations associated with it.
The course is also offered to students from the LM programs “Studi transmediterranei: migrazione, cooperazione e sviluppo” and “Relazioni internazionali comparate” (Global studies e EU Studies curriculums).

At the end of the course, students will be able to:
1) illustrate the main theoretical approaches to human mobilities in relation to global transformations, including climate change
2) identify the fundamental terminology and concepts used in migration studies and use the terms correctly in context
3) describe main issues from the history of international migrations, and their economic, social and political implications, in key geographical areas
4) critically analyse current academic and policy debates on migrations, and their relationship with the external social and natural environments in which they take place.
5) capacity to select and elaborate on relevant sources (secondary literature and empirical data) in order to provide a sounded and clear discussion of the course topics
6) effectively analyse and present in English (in writing and speaking) original research results, expanding on the core issues addressed by the course

Language skills, according to the admission requirements

The course will explore the main trends in contemporary international migrations and their interconnection with wider global transformations. In so doing, it provides an overview of key theories and notions in migration studies concerning the motivations, patterns and outcomes of people’s mobility in different geographical settings (e.g. Europe, US, Latin America and the Pacific Rim). The distinction between ‘humanitarian’ and ‘economic’ motivations for migrating will be put under question. In this discussion, the case of mobility - directly or indirectly - motivated by the effects of climate change is paradigmatic. At the same time, we are going to consider how human mobility also affects the social and natural environments in which it takes place. Thus, we are also looking at the way international organizations (e.g. OIM, UN, ILO, GFMD) are intervening in this realm at the policy level.

Please see the file Detailed program available on the moodle in due time for the full selection of Compulsory readings. For each lecture, you will have 2 readings of about 20 pages from books or academic journals.
The full selection of readings will be provided before the start the course and made available on the moodle page in PDF format.

For all students, the final evaluation will be based on the two following elements:

1) A PAPER to be submitted (via moodle) one week before the day scheduled for the oral exam.
The paper has to be prepared individually (except for people presenting in class as a group, see below). The paper has to follow the compulsory Template available on the moodle.
Deadlines: students have to submit a ABSTRACT (max half-page) before the deadlines published by the teacher (see below). Later abstracts will not be accepted. The abstract has to describe the chosen case-study, the way it will be approached in relation to the topics of the course, and some first bibliographical references.
Concerning the topic of your paper: you must select one of the topics covered in the course (see list on the moodle) and expand it through the analysis of a specific case study, with the support of the proper literature. You need to adequately quote and integrate in your analysis at least 2 of the Compulsory readings.
Focus: please remember that you are writing a research essay and not a policy brief or a report. This means that the selected case-study needs to be interpreted as embedded in one of the general theories and phenomena we discussed in class, showing that you master the state of the art literature on these topics and you can relate to the main research questions in this field. For this reason, the main tool to analyze your case-study will be the (Compulsory and Extra) readings available on the Moodle. You need to show how you used them in your analysis, by quoting them in the appropriate ways.

2) The ORAL EXAM will consist of a discussion starting from the written paper, and later expanding to cover other aspects of the course program, with particular with reference to the Compulsory readings, in order to have a full assessment of the knowledge and abilities they have learned through the course.

The course consists of lectures and seminars in which the main concepts will be introduced and applied to relevant phenomena, also by means of visual material (ppt presentation, videos, pictures). All materials will be made available by the teacher in the moodle page of the course.
The course will also host some guest teachers from this specific field of study.
Students are invited to contribute with critical questions and comments to the classroom discussion.

English

Abstracts and papers need to be submitted via moodle.
Deadlines for the submission of abstracts and papers will be communicated via Moodle.

written and oral