Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Summer 2025 - SA 360 D100

Special Topics in Sociology and Anthropology (SA) (4)

Race, Labour & Migration across Indian Ocean

Class Number: 2659

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 12 – Aug 8, 2025: Tue, 11:30 a.m.–2:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Instructor:

    Elliot Montpellier
    elliot_montpellier@sfu.ca
    Office Hours: Tues. 10-11am, or by appointment Via: In Person, or via Zoom by appointment

  • Prerequisites:

    SA 101 or 150 or 201W.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A seminar exploring a topic not regularly offered by the department.

COURSE DETAILS:

Students in this course will engage anthropological and sociological approaches to studying the movement of people, ideas, and goods across the Indian Ocean world. From the Suez Canal (Egypt) to the Sulu Archipelago (Philippines), the course examines and connects cultural spaces along the coasts of Eastern Africa, West, South, and Southeast Asia. Examining mega building projects such as Chinese ports, World Cup soccer stadiums, and foreign military bases alongside the work and migrations of religious entrepreneurs, domestic workers, and ‘pirates,’ the course will focus on how colonialism, decolonization, and racial capitalism shape contemporary societies in the littoral regions of the Indian Ocean. The course takes a distinctive focus on how labour and religious lifeways around the Indian Ocean contribute to and complicate the formation of social and racialized difference in local spaces in this expansive region.

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

  • Engage scholarship across anthropology on the study of race, labour, and migration in the Indian Ocean World drawing together reading skills and conventions for producing original research;
  • Identify and utilize different methodological approaches to the study of world systems, multi-sited ethnography, maritime human-environment interactions, and diasporic worlds;
  • Identify and analyze diverse understandings of how the anthropological and social historical inquiry can be used to consider race, labour, and migration as interconnected objects of study;
  • Analyze anthropological and sociological debates about colonization, slavery, development, and capitalism specific to historical and contemporary issues in the region;
  • Understand the lasting impacts of colonial and postcolonial experiences on racial formations, migrations, and labour conditions in the region;
  • Use information effectively and appropriately in written work and oral discussions.

Grading

  • Class attendance and active participation 20%
  • Weekly Reflections/Discussion Questions 20%
  • Response papers (2) 30%
  • Final Essay 30%

NOTES:

Attendance and participation in all assignments is required. Please complete all readings prior to coming to lectures, participating in exercises, and submitting assignments.

Please submit assignments on time or write to me to request an extension in the case of illness or emergency. Late assignments for which no extension was granted will be accepted up to five calendar days past the due date with a penalty of 5% per day.

Please come to class prepared to engage in critical thinking, to consider where scholars are coming from in their writing, and to respect differences in intellectual opinions among your peers.



Grading: Where a final exam is scheduled and the student does not write the exam or withdraw from the course before the deadline date, an N grade will be assigned. Unless otherwise specified on the course syllabus, all graded assignments for this course must be completed for a final grade other than N to be assigned. An N is considered as an F for the purposes of scholastic standing.

Grading System: The Undergraduate Course Grading System is as follows:

A+ (95-100) | A (90-94) | A- (85-89) | B+ (80-84) | B (75-79) | B- (70-74) | C+ (65-69) | C (60-64) | C- (55-59) | D (50-54) | F (0-49) | N*
*N standing to indicate the student did not complete course requirements

Academic Honesty and Student Conduct Policies: The Department of Sociology & Anthropology follows SFU policy in relation to grading practices, grade appeals (Policy T20.01), and academic honesty and student conduct procedures (S10‐S10.05). Unless otherwise informed by your instructor in writing, in graded written assignments you must cite the sources you rely on and include a bibliography/list of references, following an instructor-approved citation style. It is the responsibility of students to inform themselves of the content of SFU policies available on the SFU website.

Centre for Accessible Learning: Students with hidden or visible disabilities who believe they may need classroom or exam accommodations are encouraged to register with the SFU Centre for Accessible Learning (1250 Maggie Benston Centre) as soon as possible to ensure that they are eligible and that approved accommodations and services are implemented in a timely fashion.

The Sociology and Anthropology Student Union, SASU, is a governing body of students who are engaged with the department and want to build the SA community. Get involved!  Follow Facebook and Instagram pages or visit our website.



Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

A dedicated notebook for in-class writing exercises and project development.

REQUIRED READING:

All readings will be available through the SFU Libraries and/or in open access publications. All materials will be posted or linked to on the class Canvas page.


REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.