81697 - Anthropology of Migratory Processes (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student will be socialised to the main anthropological paradigms in the study of migration and multicultural societies. She will know also the theoretical and methodological challenges of cultural anthropology when applied to social policies towards migrants. She will be able to translate the anthropological reflections towards ethnicity, nation, religion and culture into a careful project elaboration within multicultural societies. She will be able to champion the anthropological (theoretical as much as methodological) perspective also in the evaluation of project for the socio-educational contexts. She will be better able to communicate her or his (often comparative) readings of contexts within her or his working groups. She will be able to refer to ethnographic approaches to enhance her or his ability of listening and interpreting communication in different working environments. Finally, she will be able to expand autonomously her or his analytical perspective in the exploration of the anthropological knowledge (MA thesis, internship reports etc.)

Course contents

Te course is divided into three parts. The first part is focused on the historical developments of the discipline, from the studies of the Chicago school to the Manchester school, to migration between the 1960s and 1970s, to studies on globalisation, the transnational perspective, and the “mobility turn” in migration studies. In this context, the historical development of forced migration studies will also be discussed as a specific area within migration studies.
The second part is focused on methodological aspects: multi-sited ethnography, access to the field, the researcher's position, interdisciplinarity, the use of images and digital media, ethical issues and their resolution, and the relationship between anthropological research and professional activity.
The third part is devoted to the discussion of some central themes, discussed through ethnographic cases: migration cultures, borders and boundaries, migration and asylum policies, gender, youth identities and intergenerational issues, work, religious dimensions, urban dynamics, racism and discrimination, ethnopsychiatry and health, the relationship between migration and development, and return migration.

Readings/Bibliography

1 ) Capello, C., Cingolani, P., Vietti, F. (2023) Etnografia delle migrazioni, Carocci, Roma.

2) Riccio, B. (a cura di) (2022) Antropologia e migrazioni, CISU, Roma.

3) One of the following volumes:

- Biffi, D. (2025) Auto-etnografia dell'accoglienza. Lavorare nei servizi per richiedenti asilo e rifugiati, Junior, Reggio Emilia.

- Cingolani, P. (2009) Romeni d’Italia, Il Mulino, Bologna.

- Grimaldi, G. e Vicini F. (a cura di) (2024) Figli di migranti e italianità. Antropologia delle nuove generazioni d’Italia, Antropologia Pubblica, 10, 1.

- Holmes, S. (2023) Frutta fresca, corpi spezzati. Braccianti migranti negli Stati Uniti d’America, Meltemi, Milano.

- Masi, G.B. (2024) Fallire la migrazione. Esperienze senegalesi di ritorno dalla Rotta Centrale Mediterranea, Arcoiris, Salerno.

- Quagliariello, C. (2021) L'isola dove non si nasce. Lampedusa tra esperienze procreative, genere e migrazioni, Unicopli, Milano.

- Sanò, G. (2018). Fabbriche di plastica. Il lavoro nell'agricoltura industriale, Ombre Corte, Verona.

- Santanera, G. (2024). Diritti mediati. Antropologia digitale e domanda di asilo politico in Italia, Ledizioni, Milano.

- Vietti, F. (2024) Unexpected Encounters, Migrants and Tourists in the Mediterranean, Berghahn Books, Oxford.

Teaching methods

Formal lectures with audio-visual support (when appropriate).

In each lecture, students will be engaged in order to verify the proper understanding of the issues discussed.

Attending students will be engaged in group work and the presentation of their works to the class.

Assessment methods

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending.The final exam will be an oral one, with questions aimed to verify the student's knowledge of the themes discussed during frontal lessons (only for students that participated in classwork) as well as those treated in the program's texts. The questions will deal with general themes, and in his answer the student should show his capacity to go into specific details. Among the elements that concur in the final evaluation there are: detailed knowledge of the book's content, property of language, and especially the capacity of organizing the information showing expositive and critical skills.

Proper language and the ability to critically speak/write about the books' content will lead to a good/excellent final grade.

Acceptable language and the ability to resume the books' content will lead to a sufficient/fair grade.

Insufficient linguistic proficiency and fragmentary knowledge of the books' content will lead to a failure in passing the exam.

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Exam sessions are scheduled for the following months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, September, October.

Teaching tools

Attending students are required to register at the following mailing list: pietro.cingolani2.Antropologia_Processi_Migratori

Students who require specific services and adaptations to teaching activities due to a disability or specific learning disorders (SLD), must first contact the appropriate office: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students .

Office hours

See the website of Pietro Cingolani