INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION AND THE MEDITERRANEAN

This course will provide students with a critical grounding in the core issues of international migration, with particular reference to the Mediterranean region. It will introduce key concepts, theories and approaches in the interdisciplinary field of migration studies and it will provide an overview of the history of mobility in the Mediterranean from both European and Middle Eastern/North African perspectives. The course will focus on key topics to enable students to acquire the knowledge and tools necessary to pursue further research and to actively participate in contemporary debates on migration in the Mediterranean region. These topics include multi-level migration governance, the European ‘refugee crisis’ of the last decade, the impact of international migration upon labour markets and economic development, the relationship between gender and migration, and the specific urban dimensions of migration. The course will be structured around lectures, films and group activities and discussions.

By the end of the course, students will have acquired a solid understanding of:
- key theories and approaches in migration studies;
- the history of international migration in the Mediterranean region.

In addition, students will be able to:
- understand key themes and debates in migration studies and how these relate to the Mediterranean area;
- understand the complexities of specific case studies on migration in the Mediterranean area;
- apply their knowledge to propose suitable topics for research in the field of migration studies;
- critically intervene in current debates on migration and how these relate to the Mediterranean.

Criteria for admission are the same as those for the study programme of "Trans-Mediterranean Studies: Migration, Cooperation and Development". A good knowledge of English is essential.

The first part of the course will introduce key concepts, theories and debates in research on international migration, including differences and similarities between ‘voluntary’ and ‘forced’ migration. It will present an overview of the history of human mobility in the Mediterranean region and will discuss the national contexts of Italy and Morocco to provide a trans-Mediterranean perspective on contemporary migration.

The second part of the course will examine in depth key themes in migration studies and how these relate to the Mediterranean region:
(1) different levels of migration governance;
(2) the European migration/refugee ‘crisis’;
(3) gender perspectives on international migration;
(4) the relationship between migration and cities.

Key texts:
De Haas, H., Castles, S., & Miller, M. J. (2020). The Age of Migration: International Population Movements in the Modern World (6ª ed.). Bloomsbury Academic / Red Globe Press.
Khosravi, S. (2010). 'Illegal' Traveller: An Auto-ethnography of Borders. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Students will be assessed on classroom participation and a final exam ((presentation of a written paper and subsequent oral presentation)). The details and weighting of each assessment will be specified in the course.

Regarding the grading scale, scores will be assigned according to the following schema:
A. Scores in the 18-22 range will be awarded in the presence of: Sufficient knowledge and applied
comprehension of the program;
B. Scores in the 23-26 range will be awarded in the presence of: Fair knowledge and applied
comprehension of the program;
C. Scores in the 27-30 range will be awarded in the presence of: Good or excellent knowledge and
applied comprehension of the program;
D. Honors will be awarded in the presence of excellent knowledge and applied comprehension of
the program.

oral

Independently from the attendance modality, evaluation is expressed by the following assessment scale:
18-22:
- sufficient knowledge and capacity to understand what has been requested according to the course program
- sufficient capacity of application of the acquired knowledge through autonomous text and grammar analysis
- sufficient capacity of data collecting and interpretation and of autonomous research

23-26:
. average knowledge and capacity to understand what has been requested according to the course program
- average capacity of application of the acquired knowledge through autonomous text and grammar analysis
- average capacity of data collecting and interpretation and of autonomous research

27-30:
- good or very good knowledge and capacity to understand what has been requested according to the course program
- good or very good capacity of application of the acquired knowledge through autonomous text and grammar analysis
- good or very good capacity of data collecting and interpretation and of autonomous research

The grade of excellence ("lode") is assigned in cases of excellent achievements according to the criteria listed above.

The course is structured as in-person seminar lessons in which the students and the professor comment together on the week's readings. The teaching approach aims to encourage students' active participation through discussions on the topics introduced by the professor.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development