Syllabus query



Academic Year/course: 2016/17

8056 - Master in Current Democracies: Nationalism, Federalism and Multiculturalism

31210 - Migration and Society. Socioeconomic and Political Dimensions of the Integration Process


Teaching Guide Information

Academic Course:
2016/17
Academic Center:
805 - Masters Centre of the Department of Political and Social Sciences
Study:
8056 - Master in Current Democracies: Nationalism, Federalism and Multiculturalism
Subject:
31210 - Migration and Society. Socioeconomic and Political Dimensions of the Integration Process
Credits:
5.0
Course:
---
Teaching languages:
Theory: Group 1: English
Teachers:
Pau Baizan Muņoz
Teaching Period:
Second Quarter
Schedule:

Presentation

Together we will explore the role of migration in contemporary society.  We will learn to think from three perspectives:  1) from the context of reception, 2) from the context of origin, and 3) from neither/both (i.e. transnationalism).  Our primary focus will be on migration to developed countries, particularly the European and North American migration flows.  However, these three perspectives will allow us to account for the multiple dimensions of what has become a controversial and fundamental engine of social, cultural, and economic change in both the developing and developed world.

 

From the perspective of the context of destination, we will consider the meaning and reality of the terminology used to describe the relationship between immigrants and their host society such as “integration”, “assimilation”, and “acculturation”.  From the perspective of the context of origin, we will consider the implications of migration for those left behind, focusing on human capital investment and economic/social remittances. 

 

We will understand the difference between what we know, using objectively collected data, and what we do not know.  We will address migration theoretically and empirically, considering mechanisms rooted in economics (e.g. wage differentials, remittance obligations, and family insurance), sociology (e.g. social networks and cumulative causation) and political science (public sentiment and political organization).  All of this will shed light, not heat, on a lively and ongoing debate into the causes and consequences of migration.

Associated skills

General:

  • Students will be able to interpret contemporary, quantitative research.
  • Students will be able to link general theory to specific case studies derived from the literature.
  • Students will be able to apply academic research to contemporary debate.
  • Students will be able to present material in a public forum.

 

Specific:

  • Students will be able to describe the basic sociological and economic theory that predicts human migration.
  • Students will be able to describe the implications of migration for sending-countries at the national and individual-level
  • Students will be able to describe the implications of migration for receiving-countries at the national and individual-level
  • Students will be able to access and interpret contemporary, publically available data on migration and migrants.
  • Students will identify unresolved or conflicting conclusions about migration

Prerequisites

Written and spoken English is required.  Students should be numerate and feel somewhat comfortable interpreting quantitative data.  The ability to have fun is a plus.  Students should also bring an open mind and a willingness to challenge themselves and their classmates. 

 

Contents

Session 1: Introduction: Who is a migrant and what is migration?

 

Session 2: Causes of International Migration

 

Session 3:  Social capital and network effects

 

Session 4: Migrants’ characteristics

 

Session 5:  Migration policies

 

Session 6:  Data sources

 

Session 7:  The Context of Destination

 

Session 8:  Immigrant Incorporation – the second generation

 

Session 9: The Context of Origin

 

Session 10: Migration and family change

Teaching Methods

Each class will involve the following three elements:

1:00 – 1:30 hour(s): Lecture

0:00 – 1:30 hour(s): Presentation of readings

1:00 – 1:00 hour(s): Discussion.

 

Evaluation

The assessment will be in the following form:

20% Participation

30% Presentation of a paper

50% Final paper

 

Bibliography and information resources

Baizan P., and González-Ferrer A.,  2016. What drives Senegalese migration to Europe? The role of economic restructuring, labor demand and the multiplier effect of networks. Demographic Research 35(13): 337-380. Available at: http://www.upf.edu/demosoc/wp/

 

Baizan P., Beauchemin C. and González-Ferrer A. 2014. An Origin and Destination Perspective on Family Reunification: The Case of Senegalese Couples. European Journal of Population 30(1) 65-87. [MAFE Working Paper 16. DemoSoc Working Paper 44].

 

Castles, Stephen 2010. Understanding Global Migration: A Social Transformation Perspective, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 36:10, 1565-1586.

Castles Stephen, Hein de Haas and Mark J. Miller, 2013. The Age of Migration, International Population Movements in the Modern World, 5th Edition. Palgrave Macmillan.

 

Heath, Anthony F., Catherine Rothon, and Elina Kilpi, 2008. The Second Generation in Western Europe: Education, Unemployment, and Occupational Attainment,  Annual Review of Sociology 34:211–35.

 

Massey, D., Arango, L., Graeme, H., Kouaouci, A.,  Pelegrino, A. and Taylor,  1993. Theories of international migration. A review and appraisal, Population and Development Review, Vol. 19 (3): 431-466.

 

Massey, D. S., Durand, J., & Pren, K. A. 2014. Explaining Undocumented Migration to the U.S. International Migration Review, 48(4), 1028–1061.

Piore, Michael J. 1979, Birds of Passage. Migrant labor and industrial societies, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Portes, A. 2010. Migration and Social Change: Some Conceptual Reflections. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 36(10): 1537-1563.

 

Portes, Alejandro and Rubén G. Rumbaut, 2006, Immigrant America: A Portrait. Berkley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, chapters 1 and 2. pp. 1-33.

 

Taylor Edward J., Joaquín Arango, Graeme Hugo, Ali Kouaouci, Douglas S. Massey, Adela Pellegrino, 1996. International Migration and Community Development, Population Index, Vol. 62, No. 3 (Autumn), pp. 397-418.