Making sense of international migration

Aims

This course aims to: 

• set our contemporary concern with international migration in its full and proper cultural and historical context
   
• outline the various contemporary debates on migration: is it good, or bad, for sending countries, receiving countries, and migrants themselves? are current rates of migration normal or exception? 
   
• explore how our way of thinking about migration is shaped by circumstance, and how we might escape this

Content

In recent years, international migration has become a particularly divisive and politically polarising issue, particularly in Europe and North America. Whether one’s interest is in empowering migrants, or stopping migration, a prerequisite to action is to understand what is meant by ‘migration’, what we can know about it once it has been defined, and what mechanisms exist to address the ‘problems’ that are associated with it once we know what those ‘problems’ are.   

This course aims to provide a neutral perspective not just on migration, but also the politics and debates surrounding it. To achieve this, the course pulls right back, and sets our contemporary preoccupation with migration in its broadest historical and cultural context.   

In their course, the lectures cover the deep anthropological and biological anthropological roots and routes of migration, which set in train the course of human history. It then examines the role of migration in that history, particularly in the context of the emergence of the nation state and the advent of European colonialism.  

Turning to more modern times, the course then examines the institutions that shape the global governance of migration, before turning to the role of emigration in home-country development. The course then scrutinises the arguments for and against immigration on ‘global north’ countries and examines the various theories that exist to explain what drives migration in the first place. The course then critically examines the relationship between climate change and migration, before concluding with a discussion on the future trends of migration.

Presentation of the course 

The course will be taught over five two-part lectures, with time for questions at the end of each. 

Course sessions

1. International Migration: context and background 
   In this first session, we will discuss the current political climate around migration, before moving on to discuss the place of migration in our prehistory, as we advanced from a local to a global species. 
    
2. Migration and the State: the invention of a 'problem', and the Age of Empire  
   In this second session, we will explore how the emergence of the administrative nation state invented the idea and problem of 'international migration'. We will then examine how migration, and slavery in particular in turn played a central role in building the modern world and its industrial economy.  
    
3. Migration and Modernity: the role of international institutions, and the impact 
   of migration on development 
   In the third session, we will examine the emergence, following the Second World War of institutions to protect refugees, and to govern migration in general. We will then examine the various arguments for the effect of 'global south' emigration on home-country development.  
    
4. The Nature of Migration: perspectives on its effects and its causes 
   In the fourth session, we will explore the debates on the impact of immigration on 'global north' countries, before turning to how we can understand what 'drives' or 'causes' migration.  
    
5. The Future of Migration: what we don't know about the climate, and what we know about society 
   In the final session, we will examine whether fears of 'climate migration' are valid, and look at future trends in migration, particularly with regard to human trafficking, and the diplomatic weaponization of migration by states.  

Learning outcomes

You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course. 

The learning outcomes for this course are: 

• to be aware of the broad range of issues at play when we think about international migration
   
• to be aware of the various debates on those issues
   
• to be able to set migration in its full and proper context, particularly with regard to the history of liberal democracy

Recommended reading

Betts, Alexander, & Collier, Paul, Refuge: transforming a broken refugee system (Oxford: Oxford University Press 2017)

De Haas, Hein, Castles, Stephen, & Miller, Mark, The Age of Migration: international population movements in the Modern World (London: Bloomsbury 2019) 

Livi-Bacci, Massimo, A Short History of Migration (Cambridge: Polity Press 2012)

Typical week: Monday to Friday 

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students.   

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to your learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events. 

Evaluation and Academic Credit  

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.  

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay. 

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit. 

Certificate of attendance 

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.