ANTHROPOLOGY OF MIGRATIONS

The course is addressed to students of the MA programme in Cultural Anthropology, Ethnology and Ethnolinguistics (ACEL) and is optional for all curricula.
The course is open to students enrolled in other programs, who are required to write to the instructor for a preliminary assessment of their general competence in Cultural Anthropology and the identification of an appropriate program.

The course aims at promoting the following skills: reading of scientific texts, synthesis of complex concepts and themes, critique, and oral expression.
By the end of this course, students will be able to think critically about contemporary migrations and will be familiar with the main topics of debate, as well as the most relevant theories and areas of research. Students will possess the fundamental conceptual tools to critically explore these issues in specific contexts of intervention through research and applied research activities conducted in communities characterized by contemporary migratory processes and the citizenship-related policies that characterize them.

Though no particular prerequisites are required, it is advisable that students possess a basic knowledge of the main theoretical approaches and research methods characterising Social and Cultural Anthropology.
Students enrolled in other programmes are required to write to the lecturer for the assessment of their general competence in Cultural Anthropology and the identification of an appropriate programme.

Human beings migrate—and have always done so—for reasons connected to the historical moment in which they live. Contemporary migrations are the result of the “space-time acceleration” that characterizes the recent processes of globalization and, at the same time and recursively, one of the most influential engines of transformation in today’s world. Far from being mere movements of people, migrations are both the result and the catalyst of complex social processes, linked to the desire or need to move, the restrictions imposed on mobility, the dynamics of human encounter, the citizenship policies that influence them, and, more broadly, the ways in which life expectations are shaped and transformed over time. Today, migration is a highly politicized dimension of human experience, in which the legitimate desire for mobility is met with powerful mechanisms of control, expanding the space of borders far beyond the physical boundaries of the states—both within and beyond them.
As a discipline concerned with human beings and societies, anthropology has long devoted close attention to migration. Today, the anthropology of migration is one of the most dynamic and well-established fields of research. This course aims to introduce the anthropological study of contemporary migrations, exploring key concepts, theoretical models, and areas of inquiry. After an initial focus on understanding contemporary migrations through the lens of imaginaries and desires that fuel them, the course will examine analytical perspectives such as transnationalism—centered on the circulation of people and socio-cultural phenomena—and gender dynamics, which are essential for grasping the differentiated possibilities that mobility can trigger. We will explore emerging dynamics such as child migration; the centrality of the border as a device of power; asylum and so-called “forced migration”; the role of solidarity practices as responses to borders and institutional racism; return migration; the link between health and mobility; and ethnopsychiatry as a space of care and conflict.
The course’s goal is to provide critical tools for understanding migration as a set of social and political processes that challenge established boundaries of belonging and nationhood, while reaffirming the fundamental needs and rights of humanity.

A. Two mandatory texts:
1) Capello Carlo, Cingolani Pietro, Vietti Francesco, Etnografia delle migrazioni. Temi e metodi di ricerca, Edizione 2023.
2) Vacchiano Francesco, Antropologia della dignità. Aspirazioni, moralità e ricerca del benessere nel Marocco contemporaneo, 2022.

B. Articles concerning the topics covered by the course and made available through moodle.

C. One free-choice monography among the following (or others which can be suggested to the instructor):
Ciabarri Luca, L’imbroglio mediterraneo, Cortina 2020.
Agier Michel, La giungla di Calais. I migranti, la frontiera e il campo, Ombre Corte, 2018.
Taliani Simona, Vacchiano Francesco, Altri corpi. Antropologia ed etnopsicologia della migrazione. Unicopli 2016.
Khosravi Shahram, Io sono confine. Elèuthera 2019.

Attendance is not mandatory, but students who choose to attend are expected to do so regularly and actively, contributing to class discussions and engaging with the topics covered throughout the course. Students will be asked to present, possibly in groups and at the beginning of class, a reading that introduces the day’s topic, encouraging questions and generating debate with their peers. The lecture will then proceed by exploring the questions raised during the presentation and discussion, and by delving deeper into the main themes.
The final exam will be oral.

oral

A score lower than 18 is considered insufficient and the student will need to repeat the exam.

A. Scores in the 18-22 range will be awarded for:
- Limited knowledge of the subject matter.
- Difficulty in collecting and/or interpreting data, and forming independent judgments.
- Limited communication skills, especially concerning the use of discipline-specific language.

B. Scores in the 23-26 range will be awarded for:
- Fair knowledge and applied understanding of the subject matter.
- Fair ability to collect and/or interpret data, and form independent judgments.
- Fair communication skills, especially concerning the use of discipline-specific language.

C. Scores in the 27-29 range will be awarded for:
- Good or very good knowledge and applied understanding of the subject matter.
- Good or very good ability to collect and/or interpret data, and form independent judgments.
- Appropriate communication skills, especially concerning the use of discipline-specific language.

D. A score of 30 will be awarded for:
- Excellent knowledge and applied understanding of the subject matter.
- Excellent ability to collect and/or interpret data, and form independent judgments.
- Fully appropriate communication skills, especially concerning the use of discipline-specific language.

E. "Cum laude" (with honors) will be awarded for:
- Excellent knowledge and understanding of the subject matter.
- Strong judgment and communication skills.
- Demonstrated commitment throughout the course.
- Ability to integrate course content in a personal and original way.

The course is taught through lectures, audio-visual materials, class discussion and group presentations of selected articles.

The instructor receives the students in his office located in the Department of Humanities (Malcanton Marcorà) upon appointment arranged by email.

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