International Law and Migration

Catalog description

In this course, we will examine how international migration law functions as a technology of classification. To understand law's technological functions, we must (i) expand our notion of what technology "is," beyond the metallic/silicon and digital, and (ii) interrogate the categories of mobility migration law has naturalized in our everyday language, including distinctions between "economic migrants" and "genuine refugees." Course materials include a broad range of literature from legal studies, history of science, critical technology studies, and migration history; primary source documents such as legal instruments and judicial opinions; and works of creative nonfiction and film. While open to anyone interested in issues related to immigration and/or technology, this course is designed to be particularly useful for students considering law school in the future and law students/lawyers with blackletter law training who desire a more critical and humanistic orientation to the field. "Critical making" activities are a central part of this course, and the "engagement-based" grading system may be different from those you have experienced thus far in your educational career. Please read the syllabus - and the "Course Requirements" and "Grading Policy" sections in particular-carefully as you decide whether this course would be a good fit for you in light of your own learning goals and priorities.