57850 - Sociology of Migrations

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student is able to understand and contextualise contemporary migration processes, with reference to general trends, the causes of migration, the links between immigration and the labour market, and immigration-related urban changes. Through in-depth studies on ethnic networks, gender differences and families, second generations and refugees, the student is able to gather and understand the fundamental elements of migration regulation and immigrant policies.

Course contents

The course aims to provide the main conceptual and analytical tools for a sociological analysis of migration, presenting the most accredited interpretative models, the most recent trends and the social impact of the phenomenon in the Mediterranean context.

In the first part, the coordinates of the contemporary debate on international migration and the interpretative models of the phenomenon will be reconstructed starting from some theoretical contributions from different fields of study.

In the second part, lasting a total of 4 hours, the topic of recent agreements on the extraterritorialisation of migration regulation policies will be dealt with. A 2-hour talk on these topics will be given by an external guest who has been studying the underlying thinking and effects of these new European regulatory practices for several years.

In the third part, a seminar module, students will be able to follow presentations of empirical researches on the topic of migration in order to increase their knowledge and tools for analysing and discussing this complex social phenomenon. This module also aims to provide some examples of studies and research on the topic that may be useful in defining the subject of the three-year thesis for those interested in the topic.

Readings/Bibliography

1. Maurizio Ambrosini, Sociologia delle migrazioni, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2020

2. Abdelmalek Sayad, Una Nanterre algerina, terra di bidonvilles, ETS edizioni, Pisa, 2020

3. Giorgio Grappi & Sonia Lucarelli (2022) Bordering power Europe? The mobility-bordering nexus in and by the European Union, Journal of Contemporary European Studies, 30:2, 207-219, DOI: 10.1080/14782804.2021.1997728 [https://doi.org/10.1080/14782804.2021.1997728]

4. Jacopo Anderlini, Luca Queirolo Palmas, Camps archipelago: an ethnography of migrant agricultural laborers in the potato harvesting in rural Sicily in "MONDI MIGRANTI" 1/2023, pp 169-194, DOI: 10.3280/MM2023-001009

5. Valeria Piro e Devi Sacchetto, 2021, “Subcontracted racial capitalism: the interrelationship of race and production in meat processing plants”, Work in the Global Economy, 1.1-2, pp. 33-53

Teaching methods

Lectures will be complemented by seminars. In both cases the active involvement of the students is expected.

Assessment methods

The examination aims at verifying the achievement of the following learning objectives:

1. Knowing how to recognize the essential features of the discipline;

2. To know the evolution of the sociological debate on migration phenomena;

3. Being able to identify and analyze the main features of contemporary migration phenomena;

4. To know how to use with propriety the fundamental interpretative concepts of the discipline.

The final grade of the course is defined through one partial written test at the end of the course.

For those who do not take part to the intermediary test at the and of the course, the final grade of the course will be defined by an oral test on topics related to the main objectives of the course. A positive evaluation will be given to the student's ability to move within the bibliographic material indicated in the examination program, as well as an organic vision of the themes addressed and the language adopted.

Students who, for various reasons, cannot write or speak in Italian may take the written or oral test in other languages: French, English, Portuguese, Spanish.

Teaching tools

Slides made available on virtuale

Office hours

See the website of Carolina Mudan Marelli