AANK13505U Advanced Course in the Anthropology of Migration: Mobility as Social, Economic and Cultural Resource

Volume 2013/2014
Content
This course is only for master students. Please note that there are special admission criteria’s for this course for students not enrolled at the master in anthropology.Also, this course is primarily directed toward students who have taken the introductory migration course (Migration I). 

During recent years migration flows have changed in the light of the current economic crisis in the West, and the increasing efforts of states to control and regulate migration. This course will look at some of the new forms of migration that we are seeing today, and how they differ from previous patterns of migration, by examining the complex realities facing people on the move today. We will explore experiences of physical mobility – or sometimes immobility – and the social aspirations and structural challenges that frame current global movements of people. Through case studies of selected themes such as bodyshopping and virtual migration, the brain drain - brain gain - brain circulation nexus, the global care chain, family reunification, and homeland trips, we will discuss different kinds of mobility and migration, the social and cultural contexts in which they take place, and the possibilities and challenges that they pose to the migrants, their families, and to the sending and receiving states. 

Drawing on our own research among migrants in Denmark and the Caribbean, and among highly skilled (return) migrants in India and Europe, we will also touch upon issues of (re-)settlement and strategies to counter experienced uncertainties, as well as discuss methodological considerations when undertaking ethnographic fieldwork on migration.
Learning Outcome
By the end of the course the students should be able to: 

• Identify current forms of migration and mobility 

• Discuss why and how people engage in migration and critically examine the potentials, motivations, and challenges of various migration strategies. 

• Examine how migration shapes and is shaped by economic, social, cultural and religious practices in different parts of the world. 

• Write a well-structured essay discussing the literature from the course in relation to a chosen field/case.

500 pages obligatory literature + 200 pages of literature chosen by students.


Course literature will be available in Absalon on the course website.

The course will include guest lectures by migration researchers at the department.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Exam
  • 35
  • Exercises
  • 12
  • Lectures
  • 7
  • Preparation
  • 120
  • Seminar
  • 21
  • Study Groups
  • 15
  • Total
  • 210
Credit
10 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Essay.
Length: Min. 21.600 - max. 26.400 keystrokes for an individual essay. For group exams plus an additional min. 6.750 - max. 8.250 keystrokes per extra group member.

The essay/portfolio assignments can be written individually or in groups of max. 4 people. Read more about the rules for group examinations in the
curriculum 4.3.1.

The examination essay must address a relevant topic from the course and must include literature from the course syllabus.
Exam registration requirements
In order to be eligible to take the exam, the student must participate actively in the course. The parameters for active participation are set by the course teacher, and might for instance include giving a presentation during the course or submitting obligatory papers.
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
There is appointed a second internal assessor to assist with the assessment when the first assessor finds this necessary.
Criteria for exam assesment
See description of learning outcome. Formalities for Written Works must be fulfilled, read more: MSc Students
Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Essay.
Length: Min. 21.600 - max. 26.400 keystrokes for an individual essay. For group exams plus an additional min. 6.750 - max. 8.250 keystrokes per extra group member.

The essay/portfolio assignments can be written individually or in groups of max. 4 people. Read more about the rules for group examinations in the
curriculum 4.3.1.

The examination essay must address a relevant topic from the course and must include literature from the course syllabus.
Exam registration requirements
In order to be eligible to take the exam, the student must participate actively in the course. The parameters for active participation are set by the course teacher, and might for instance include giving a presentation during the course or submitting obligatory papers.
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
There is appointed a second internal assessor to assist with the assessment when the first assessor finds this necessary.
Criteria for exam assesment
See description of learning outcome. Formalities for Written Works must be fulfilled, read more: MSc Students/BA students (in Danish)/exchange, credit and Open University students