POL 200 - Modern Migration and the Construction of Citizenship (SYS) (1)

We live in an era when large-scale migration is reshaping political landscapes, reconfiguring national identity and constructions of citizenship. This course will incorporate scholarship from the fields of human rights, history, sociology, anthropology, political science, geography, and linguistics to examine the relationship between migration and citizenship from an international perspective. We will consider why people migrate and how this experience affects their sense of belonging, how conflicts emerge as a result of intergroup encounters, and the push and pull factors driving migration. This course will draw concrete case studies from a range of contexts and countries to explore human rights issues related to modern migration and how these impact empirical and normative meanings of citizenship. Specific topics will include refugee flows, internally displaced persons, statelessness, smuggling, human trafficking, changing conceptions of nationality, the role of international institutions in influencing state policies, and exploring legal and ethical issues posed by international population movements. Only open to sophomores.
(Sophomore Year Seminar (SYS)) (Social Science)