Global Labour Migration

 International migration is a central aspect of globalization in the contemporary world. More people migrate than ever before, many of them to work. This seminar seeks to understand labour migration around the world.

We examine theoretical concepts to understand labour migration as well as empirical data on trends of migrant flows. Typically, academic and public discussions focus on movements from low-income countries to more affluent ones. In this seminar we not only want to explore South-North migration, but various other migration pathways:

  • from one high-income country to another (e.g. from the Germany to the UK: North–North)
  • from high-income to low-/middle-income countries (e.g. from Portugal to Brazil: North–South)
  • from one low-/middle-income country to another (e.g. from Indonesia to Malaysia: South–South)
  • temporary and circular migration (e.g. from Germany to the US to Germany and so on)

We will thereby look at different groups of migrants ('highly skilled' and 'less skilled', e.g. expatriates and nannies) and their motivations and strategies to migrate. We will discuss economic, political and social consequences of those pathways of labour migration for sending and receiving countries.

Please note this course will be taught in English. However, students with a fair knowledge of English who are prepared to read English texts are very welcome to join and openly discuss a highly current topic.

Requirements: oral presentation and essays

 

Reading to begin with:

Castles, Stephen/de Haas, Hein/Miller, Mark J. (2013): The age of migration. International population movements in the modern world. Hampshire, London: Macmillan. 5. Edition.

Koser, Khalid (2007): International Migration. A very short introduction, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

International Organization for Migration (2013): World Migration Report. Geneva.

Further reading:

Ehrenreich, B./Hochschild, A. (Eds.) (2004): Global Woman: Nannies, Maids, and Sex Workers in the New Economy. New York: Owl Books.

Gamburd, M. (2000): The Kitchen Spoon’s Handle: Transnationalism and Sri Lanka’s Migrant Housemaids. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Piper, N. (Ed.) (2003): New Perspectives on Gender and Migration: Livelihood, Rights and Entitlements. London:  Routledge Chapman & Hall.

Pries, L. (Ed.) (2001): New transnational social spaces. London: Routledge.

Ruhs, M. (2013): The Price of Rights: Regulating International Labor Migration. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Smith, R. (2005): Mexican New York. Transnational Lives of New Immigrants. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Datenblatt
Semester: 
Sommersemester 2015
Ort und Zeit: 
5.013, Mi 16:15-17:45
Sprache: 
Deutsch
ECTS BA: 
5.0

Mitarbeiteranmeldung (nur für registrierte Benutzende)