GLOBAL INEQUALITIES, ENVIRONMENT, AND MIGRATION

The course aims to provide the analytical tools to read, in their historical and social dimension and from a critical perspective, global inequalities, which are also expressed in the different impact they have on environmental devastation and climate change, and which are at the basis of international migrations.

The course contributes to an advanced understanding and the development of analytical and critical skills of social phenomena, such as the intertwining of historical colonialism and neocolonialism, inequalities between nations and continents, climate-environmental devastation, international migrations, migration and social policies.

The theoretical and analytical tools provided in the course, which draw on the social sciences and, in particular, sociology and social anthropology, are useful for addressing the topics covered in the course and can be further applied to the study of social transformations.

At the end of the course, students:
- have a framework of the historical and social processes that generate, reproduce and expand global inequalities
- sociologically frame the social effects of environmental devastation and climate change;
- deepen the conceptual tools for the study of international migration, as developed by the most advanced and recent studies;
- know the specific terminology, the main research topics and problems of the field of study related to inequalities and international migration;
- are able to work with the concepts and paradigms necessary to understand past and present transformations, related to global inequalities and international migration;
- are familiar with the different configurations of migration in Italy, Europe and the world;
- are aware of the role of policies in defining individuals, workers and immigrant populations, within the international division of labour;
- can deconstruct social representations and stereotypes related to the status of individuals, workers, and immigrant populations;
- can critically analyze theories and policy discourses that stereotype and explain inequalities as based on racial, national, cultural and religious factors;
- can orally present and discuss the main theoretical and empirical problems related to global inequalities and migration;
- can analyze in written form, a specific problem related to global inequalities, international migration and social transformations, based on the main theoretical approaches and empirical results of research;
- can formulate the contents of the course in a clear and reasoned way, can correctly use the current terminology in the field of global inequalities, climate change, international migration;
- can gather information, provide analysis and interpretations by applying the knowledge acquired, providing relevant examples, also constructed autonomously.

There are no prerequisites required.

The course presents, compares and critically discusses theories and concepts used to analyze global inequalities, environmental devastation and climate change and the related international migrations.

The course offers a historical and social analysis of the genesis, reproduction and expansion of global inequalities and the articulation of social contradictions. It shows how these are declined (also) with respect to environmental devastation and climate upheavals and how they generate migratory phenomena.

1. A book to be chosen among the following:
- Saitō Kōhei, "Capital in the Anthropocene"
- Saitō Kōhei, "Marx in the Anthropocene: Towards the Idea of Degrowth Communism"
- Saitō Kōhei, "Karl Marx's Ecosocialism: Capital, Nature, and the Unfinished Critique of Political Economy"
- Fallot, J. "Sfruttamento, inquinamento, guerra" (the English edition is fine)

2. A book to be chosen among the following:
- Wallerstein, I. "World-Systems Analysis: An Introduction"
- Wallerstein, I. "The Capitalist World-Economy"
- Wallerstein, I. "World-Systems Analysis: Theory and Methodology"
- Wallerstein. I. "The Politics of the World-Economy"

3. A book to be chosen among the following:
- Fanon, F. "The Wretched of the Earth"
- Pappè, I. "The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine"
- Galeano, E. "Open Veins of Latin America"

4. A book to be chosen among the following:
- Castles, S. and Miller, M.J. "The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World"
- Castles, S., de Haas, H, and Miller, M.J. "The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World"

5. A book to be chosen among the following:
- Baldwin, A. and Bettini, G. "Life Adrift. Climate Change, Migration, Critique"
- Hall, N. "Displacement, Development, and Climate Change. International Organizations Moving Beyond their Mandates"
- Kelman, I. "Disaster by Choice"
- McLeman, R. and Gemenne, F. "Routledge Handboook of Environmental Migration"
- Behrman, S. and Kent, A. "Climate Refugees. Global, Local and Critical Approaches"
- Rosignoli, F. "Environmental Justice for Climate Refugees"
- White, G. "Climate Change and Migration: Security and Borders in a Warming World, Oxford University Press. https://academic.oup.com/book/5092 . "

- Ruggeri, B. 2024 "Crisi climatica, (im)mobilità e adattamenti". Venice: Edizioni Ca' Foscari.
in free download here: https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/it/edizioni4/libri/978-88-6969-769-2/

Important:
The Professor is available to negotiate any other readings proposed by the student or guide him/her based on his/her interests.
ALL STUDENTS must write and present a thesis on the topics of the course (the Professor will follow the student in writing the thesis) ALSO, they must complete an exercise and participate in the discussion based on the movies seen and sicussed in class.

Verification of learning will be carried out on the basis of:
- active participation in classroom work and thematic seminars (and classroom active discussion after the vision of films and/or documentaries);
- active participation in discussions;
- participation in discussions on the films seen in class and drafting of related exercises;
- presentation of an essay on the topics of the course (the professor is available to follow the student in drafting the essay);
- oral exam.

The assessment of the written and oral tests focuses on:
- clarity, relevance, validity of the analysis and proposals;
- ability to rework in the analysis and design of the concepts and theories discussed in the course;
- argumentative ability;
- clarity of presentation and adequacy of language;
- quality of reflection on the limits and problems of the policies analyzed and of the proposed interventions.

oral

Regarding the grading of the grade (the way in which the grades will be assigned), regardless of whether the student is attending or not attending:
A. scores in the 18-22 range will be awarded in the presence of:
- sufficient knowledge and ability to understand applied in reference to the program;
- limited ability to collect and/or interpret data, formulating independent judgments;
- sufficient communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific language that pertains to the economic functioning of public services;
B. scores in the 23-26 range will be awarded in the presence of:
- fair knowledge and ability to understand applied in reference to the program;
- fair ability to collect and/or interpret data, formulating independent judgments;
- fair communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific language that pertains to the economic functioning of public services;
C. scores in the 27-30 range will be awarded in the presence of:
- good or excellent knowledge and ability to understand applied in reference to the program;
- good or excellent ability to collect and/or interpret data, formulating independent judgments;
- fully appropriate communication skills, especially in relation to the use of specific language that pertains to the economic functioning of public services.
D. honors will be awarded in the presence of knowledge and understanding skills applied in reference to the program, judgment skills and communication skills, excellent.

Classroom lessons, collaborative work, seminars, supervision of term papers, critical-analytical vision of films and/or documentaries.

Students who have issues of accessibility or special learning are strongly encouraged to contact the professors (and the office disabilita@unive.it) at the beginning of the course.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development