We are witnessing today a major refugee crisis and Italy is a country in the frontline. It seems then interesting and important to work with international students on this subject while they are staying in Italy. The course will first treat the question of migrations in general: Why do people migrate across international borders? Can states control migration, including “unwanted” migrants? We begin with these questions and we examine the policies that let some people in, while keeping others out. We then move to the question of forced migrations and to the “refugee crisis”.
We will try to understand this phenomenon from below by listening to migrants that have been forced from their homes by interlinked factors including persecution, armed conflict and socio-economic deprivation. We will hopefully meet a group1 that organizes face-to-face meetings between migrants and students, and we will write the story of a short number of refugees (English-speaking ones). We will interview the refugees (life-history interview) and listen to their story, draw their family-tree, prepare a map of their trip, take a photo of them (if he/she gives consent), gather data on the political and economical situation in their country of origin. The final goal is to put on a little exhibition with printed posters that tell the stories of these refugees, and eventually to open it to the public. Possibly a copy of the posters will then be given to the aid group, that could use this material for educational purposes.
Teaching methods:
The course will be divided in two parts:
1) Introductive sessions: we will read fundamental texts and authors on the subject of migrations, in order to acquire the tools necessary to understand the refugee’s experience (weeks 1 to 8). Each week there will be two different kinds of sessions. The first one will be structured around the discussion of essays (essentially on anthropology, sociology, political science). The second one will be structured around the analysis of sources (such as the UN report on migration or the EU laws on migration) or around methodology issues (i.e. how to do an interview). Both kinds of session will privilege interactivity.
2) Workshop: there will be no more traditional classes, but we will work together on our data to create the posters (weeks 9 to 12).
Learning outcomes of the course:
• To gain knowledge about migration, both as theoretical phenomenon, and especially as a current political actuality.
• To learn to read and discuss theoretical texts on the course's subject.
• To learn to analyse first-hand material (sources) by applying the knowledge acquired during the lessons.
• To learn to produce first-hand material (interview, family tree, map) and to analyse-it
To succeed in and enjoy this class, please make a commitment to it!
1 If possible, “Noi migranti della Venezia Orientale” (www.noimigranti.org)
Syllabus and Readings
Week 1. An introduction to immigration
Week 2. Theorizing Immigration: Why do people migrate?
Reading:
- Massey, Douglas S. 1999. “Why Does Immigration Occur? A Theoretical Synthesis." Pp. 34-52 in The Handbook of International Migration: The American Experience, edited by C. Hirschman, P. Kasinitz and J. DeWind. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Source:
Based on the UN report, what are the causes of migration?
Week 3. Immigration policy 1
Reading:
- Zolberg, Aristide R. 1999. Matters of State: Theorizing Immigration Policy. Pp. 71-93 in The Handbook of International Migration: The American Experience, edited by C. Hirschman, P. Kasinitz and J. DeWind. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Source:
Week 4. Immigration Policy 2
Reading:
- Messina, Anthony A. 2007. The Logics and Politics of Post-WWII Migration to Western Europe. Cambridge University Press, Chapter 2: read pp. 19-39.
Getting ready for fieldwork:
- Preparing the interview: what should we ask and how.
Week 5. Can States Control Borders? Unauthorized Migration
Reading:
- Ngai, Mae. 2003. The Strange Career of the Illegal Alien: Immigration Restriction and Deportation Policy in the United States, 1921-1965. 21 Law & History Review 69: 1-32.
Getting ready for fieldwork:
- Preparing the interview: gathering data about the country of origin of the migrants that we are going to meet.
Week 6. Should Nation-States Control Borders? The Moral Dilemmas of Migration
Reading:
Source:
- The 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and Its 1967 Protocol.
Week 7: Who is a refugee? Legal, political and theoretical definitions and frameworks
Reading:
- Shacknove, Andrew. 1985. “Who is a refugee”. Ethics 95(2).
- Zetter, Roger. 2007. “More Labels, Fewer Refugees: Remaking the Refugee Label in an Era of Globalization” Journal of Refugee Studies 20(2), pp. 172-192.
Source:
- The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) most recent global report
Week 8: Immigration and refugee crisis in Italy
Lecture:
- We will invite a colleague, i.e. Devi Sacchetto or Stefano Allievi from the University of Padova, both well-known specialists of the immigration phenomena in Italy.
Source:
- The Dublin Regulation and the EU most recent summits on the refugee crisis.
Week 9: Workshop
Analysing the interviews, drawing the family trees and the journey maps.
Week 10: Workshop
Analysing the interviews, drawing the family trees and the journey maps.
Week 11: Workshop
Preparing the posters
Week 12: Workshop
Preparing the posters
Evaluation
Evaluation will be based on:
• Class participation (40%), which means not only being present (I will record attendance, class absences will affect your grade), but also being an active participant (you must read the essays and be able to discuss them in class).
• Two reports on our sessions (20%), to summarize the content of the texts we have studied, as well as the discussions and exchanges during our work in the classroom. These reports will be done in small groups (2-3 students) and will be available to other students on the moodle platform.
• Final Poster (40%).
Reading
I will send out PDFs of the readings as the class progresses (on the moodle platform). These are book chapters, scholarly articles or source (reports, laws, protocols). Readings must be done on time.
