MIGRANTS, REFUGEES, AND POLITICS

The course provides students with a basic understanding of the science of demography, health implications of major population issues, immigration/emigration and refugees in the contemporary world. Students explore population changes over time; elements of demography; fertility and mortality; demographic change; the demography of social and economic inequality, role of women, urbanization, migration. Finally, students evaluate world demographic patterns, synthesizing the data and issues surrounding the political and economic impact of the population growth. Consequently, this course also examines the relations between population and development and their potential consequences from a sociological, economic and geographical perspective. Other topics include global variation in population size and growth, various demographic perspectives and their modern implications, environmental impacts, and population policy.

On completion of this course, students will be able to:  Delineate the substantive scope of demography  Describe the major trends in birth rates, death rates, population growth, population sex and age structure and population distribution throughout history  Appreciate the complexity of contemporary processes of forced migration, from a range of different perspectives;  Critically analyze key principles (legal, political and ethical) related to refugees and forced migration;  Learn fundamentals regarding the key components of demography: fertility, mortality and migration and their societal implications;

METHOD  The format of the course is a combination of lectures and class discussions/presentations  There are approximately 20to 30 pages of reading assigned for each week  Students are expected to read the assignments thoughtfully before class

 Develop and present persuasive oral and written arguments related to forced migration;  Critically analyze, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the behavior of different actors involved in the creation and resolution of displacement crises;  Engage in contemporary debates on forced migration and humanitarian responses from an interdisciplinary perspective, drawing on insights from historical experiences and current cases;  Identify how demographic rates and population distribution impinge upon the health of populations  Think critically and creatively about policies related to population growth, refugees and forced migration, identifying their positive and problematic aspects and the intentions underlying them