IMMIGRATION LEGAL THEORY SEM

Catalog description

Immigration is one of the major humanitarian and regulatory challenges of the 21st century. Our seminar will critically explore this issue through a dual approach. First, we will engage with influential legal theorists who address topics related to the regulation of borders, citizenship, mobility, and the interplay of globalization and nationalism. Second, we will contextualize this theoretical material by examining real cases from regional and international courts, as well as other quasi-judicial international bodies that pertain to border crossings. The focus of the seminar will be on international and comparative law, rather than U.S.-centric perspectives. By alternating between theory and case law, the seminar will illuminate how theoretical perspectives impact the concrete outcomes of legal disputes across various legal systems, and shape broader concepts such as membership and belonging. This juxtaposition will also encourage new ways of thinking about the regulatory challenges of mass mobility that may not be immediately apparent from either theoretical or legal perspectives alone. Additionally, by drawing on theory, the seminar will create space to explore the emancipatory potential of vocabularies beyond individual rights, including economic, moral, political, and religious considerations, for the millions of individuals who are on the move today.