POL377H1F L0101

Topics in Comparative Politics I

Borders, Migrants and Refugees

Themes

This course exposes students to the tensions between the increasing mobility of people across international borders, and the hardening regimes of governance facing migrants. Drawing on a variety of concepts and theories from different fields, we will pay especial attention to the intersections of class, race and gender at stake in the politics of migration. While we will engage with studies about different migration trajectories, we will emphasize the Americas. Course content will address the following questions: Why do people migrate? How do policies, discourses, and power structures constitute different categories of migrants (e.g., economic migrant v. refugee; legal v. illegal; deserving v. undeserving)? How are migration flows governed? How have migrants responded to increasing restrictions to mobility, punitive regimes of border governance and mounting restrictions the right to seek asylum?

Texts

TBA

Format and Requirements

Quercus discussions, journal entries, blog posts, oral presentations, in-class participation, final portfolio. Format and requirements are subject to change.