Migrants and integration

Course goals

• Students will obtain knowledge and insights in the main theories, research questions, empirical findings and policy in the field of migration and immigrant integration.
• Students will be able to apply these insights to a particular problem in the field of migration and immigrant integration
• Students will be able to critically evaluate theoretical concepts, data sources, empirical studies and policy developments in the field of in the field of migration and integration.
   

All the 3 goals will be tested by means of a written exam; while the second and third goal will also be tested by means of an assignment and a final paper.

Content

This course aims to gain insight into immigration and integration by discussing theories, empirical studies and policy regulations with an interdisciplinary approach combining insights from mainly sociology and social psychology, and to a lesser extent economy, human geography and anthropology.
First of all, attention will be paid to international migration by discussing volume, trends and types followed by an overview of the main theories on why people migrate and a few empirical studies on explaining immigration volume in general and of refugees to European countries. Furthermore, immigration and integration policy will be discussed by questions such as: has immigration policy become more restrictive across time? what are the main reasons why countries decide to implement a more restrictive (or open) immigration policy? Is there evidence that immigration policy has been effective and what are the limitations in empirical studies on the effects and effectivity of immigration policy? Subsequently, attention will be paid to the consequences of immigration such as socio-economic and cultural integration of people with immigrant background and their interethnic relations with natives. These topics will be studied by discussing questions on social inequality in societies: to what extent do different immigrant groups (e.g., from different countries of origin, or first and second generation) have different educational levels or positions on the labor market? Attention will also be paid to questions on social cohesion: to what extent are different immigrant groups culturally integrated in country of residence and do they perceive social distance or other forms of prejudice from natives? In the last weeks, the focus is on more specific topics in the field of migration and integration such as (mental) health and transnationalism among immigrants.  


Academic skills
Writing academic paper
Presenting academic paper