Global Immigration

Catalog description

This course analyzes mass migrations and refugee movements and what they mean for the stability of nations, the increasing potential of severe culture clashes within societies, and the root causes of (forced) migration movements, such as problems of violence, terror and genocide, as recently seen in Darfur, Rwanda and Bosnia. In certain European countries the frequently failed integration and assimilation policies resulted in an Islamic alienation; terrorist attacks and race riots are some of the consequences. Particular attention will be given to the conflict between the refugees’ and migrants’ needs that result from violent, socio-economic or ecological catastrophes in the countries of origin and the various forms of reception within the host countries. Students will explore theoretical, political, legal, and socio-economic dimensions of the refugee and immigration phenomena in a global world. Other themes will include international human rights and refugee laws, theories of immigration, for example, the feminization of migration, as well as problems of acculturation, assimilation and integration in different host societies.