Prospectus

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Sociology of Migration and Diversity

Course
2024-2025

Admission requirements

This course is only open to students of the Legal Track (LL.M.) of the LDE Master on the Governance of Migration and Diversity, sub-track to European law LL.M..

Description

Over the last four decades, immigration has transformed European societies including the Netherlands. This course gives a state-of-the-art overview of the most important theoretical debates in, and empirical research findings of, the sociology of international migration and immigrant incorporation, focusing on immigration in Europe and North-America. We discuss three main themes: (1) theories of international migration, (2) theories of immigrant incorporation and (3) theories on the broader consequences of international migration for receiving societies and their institutions. We start with exploring dominant economic and sociological explanations of international migration: Why do people migrate - or: why don’t people migrate? We continue the discussion by studying theories and recent findings on return migration, including ‘assisted voluntary return’ and deportation. We then discuss the most prominent sociological conceptualisations of immigrant incorporation (assimilation, segmented assimilation, different conceptualisations of ‘integration’), and study the empirical sociological research on the determinants of immigrant incorporation processes, focusing on immigrants’ labor market positioning, social identification, and value-adoption (e.g. acceptance of homosexuality). The third theme of the course focuses on the consequences of globalisation and international migration for the institution of citizenship, which – in spite of countertrends also occurring – has generally moved from ethnic to more civic, ‘multicultural’ understandings of citizenship, as well as to forms of de-nationalized and post-national citizenship. Additionally, we go into the consequences of international migration for cities, focusing on the consequences of ethnic diversity for urban social cohesion. Students are invited to critically reflect on the literature, and find additional sources on a topic related to the course that interests them, which will culminate in a position paper (written in pairs or groups of three students).

Course objectives

Objectives of the course

After successfully completing the course, students are able to:

  • Explain and critically assess relevant economic and sociological theories (neo-classical economic explanation, new economics of labour migrations, historical-structural explanations, cumulative causation, social network theory, migration cultures, etc.) about the causes of migration and discuss how various disciplinary approaches of migration provide different, but sometimes supplementary explanations of migration

  • Understand micro and macro-level variation in return migration, and critically assess the capacity of governments to influence return rates among irregular migrants.

  • Explain and critically assess the similarities and differences between the most prevalent concepts that are being used to conceptualise immigrant incorporation (assimilation, segmented assimilation, integration, multiculturalism), and why some of these concepts have been criticized in the social sciences;

  • Explain - and discuss relevant findings on - individual and international variation in the structural and socio-cultural integration of immigrants

  • Explain how globalization and international migration have changed formal and informal dimensions of the definition of citizenship

  • Explain the consequences of international migration for social segregation and local-level social cohesion

  • Take a position of their own with regards to one of the course themes in the form of a position paper.

Timetable

Check MyTimetable.

Mode of instruction

Lectures

  • Number of (2 hour) lectures: ±5

  • Names of lecturers: A Leerkes

  • Required preparation by students: to be announced

Seminars

  • Number of (2 hour) seminars: ±5

  • Names of instructors: A. Leerkes

  • Required preparation by students: to be announced

Assessment method

Examination form(s)

  • Exam: 40%

  • Assignment: 60%

Submission procedures

To be announced.

Areas to be tested within the exam

The examination syllabus consists of the required reading (literature) for the course, the course information guide and the subjects taught in the lectures, the seminars and all other instructions which are part of the course.

Reading list

Obligatory course materials

Literature will be available on the digital learning environment.

Registration

Infiornation about registration for courses and exams will follow.

Contact

  • Coordinator: Prof. dr. AS Leerkes

  • Work address: Burg. Oudlaan 50, Rotterdam; T15-36

  • Email: leerkes@essb.eur.nl

Institution/division

  • Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences

Remarks

This course is coordinated by Erasmus University Rotterdam and forms part of the specialisation LDE Governance of Migration and Diveristy – Legal, a sub-track of the European Law Master (LL.M.). It can only be attended by students enrolled in this programme.