Dr Kristin Surak

This course is available on the MSc in Inequalities and Social Science, MSc in International Migration and Public Policy, MSc in International Migration and Public Policy (LSE and Sciences Po), MSc in Political Sociology and MSc in Sociology. This course is available with permission as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit. This course uses controlled access as part of the course selection process. For information on controlled access courses, including eligibility, application processes, deadlines, and departmental contact details, please refer to the Controlled Access Courses webpage.

This course has a limited number of places. For information on how to apply for a place on this course, please see Courses offered and related information.

International migration is one of the fastest growing subfields of the social sciences. If phenomenon is hardly new (and indeed not as common as many assume - only 3% of the world’s population falls under the UN’s definition of international migrant), it nonetheless grabs newspaper headlines, impacts political outcomes, transforms economies, and has profound consequences for many people.  To unpack these complexities and the stakes at play, this class will cover key facets of international migration, addressing a different angle every week.  To narrow this wide field, we will focus on macropolitical aspects of international migration: specifically why, when, how crossing a nation-state border matters and the role of states in producing international migration.  It’s the politics of borders that make it a very different wager to move 5000 kilometers between New York and Los Angeles, that then the mere 50 kilometers between San Diego in the US and Tijuana in Mexico, one of the busiest border-crossings in the world.  In unpacking these cross-border dynamics, we will examine international migration processes in different parts of the world, such as the Gulf, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.

This course has a reading week in Week 6 of Winter Term.

This course is usually delivered through a combination of lectures and seminars. There will be two hours or more of teaching each week in WT.

Students will be expected to complete one piece of formative coursework in WT.

• Massey, Douglas. 2009.  “The Political Economy of Migration in an Age of Globalization.”  In Samuel Martinez, ed. International Migration and Human Rights: The Global Repercussions of US Policy.  Berkeley: UC Press.
• Jamal, Manal. 2015. “The ‘tiering’ of citizenship and residency and the ‘hierarchization’ of migrant communities: The United Arab Emirates in historical context.” International Migration Review 49(3): 601-32.
• Surak, Kristin. 2023. The Golden Passport: Global Mobility for Millionaires. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Kashiwazaki, Chikako. 2013. “Incorporating Immigrants as Foreigners: Multicultural Politics in Japan.” Citizenship Studies. 17(1): 31-47.
• FitzGerald, David, Rawan Arar. 2018. “The Sociology of Refugee Migration,” Annual Review of Sociology.
• Acacio, Kristel. “Managing Labor Migration: Philippine State Policy and International Migration Flows.  Asian Pacific Migration Journal. 103-32.
• Lubkemann, Stephen. 2000. “Transformation of Transnationality among Mozambican Migrants in South Africa.” Canadian Journal of African Studies. 34(1): 41-63.
• Adamson, Fiona and Gerasimos Tsourapas. 2019. “The Migration State in the Global South: Nationalizing, Developmental, and Neoliberal Models of Migration Management.” International Migration Review.
• De Haas, Hein. 2005.  “International Migration, Remittances, and Development: Myths and Facts.”  Third World Quarterly. 1269-184.

Essay (100%, 4000 words) in May.

Attendance at all seminars and submission of all set coursework is required.