Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Spring 2020 - POL 317 D100

Migration, Identity, and Citizenship (4)

Class Number: 5246

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Jan 6 – Apr 9, 2020: Tue, 11:30 a.m.–2:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Exam Times + Location:

    Apr 23, 2020
    Thu, 3:30–6:30 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    Six lower division units in Political Science or permission of the department.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Migration is on the rise around the globe, presenting challenges for many countries: Who shall be admitted? What should be the conditions of integration? How will 'we' maintain our identity in the face of growing diversity? Explores how and why liberal democracies offer varying responses to these questions. Students who have taken Selected Topics course POL 319 with this topic may not take this course for further credit.

COURSE DETAILS:

According to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are 70.8 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, including 3.5 million currently seeking asylum.  Moreover, every day 37,000 people are forced to flee their homes for fear of conflict or persecution.  Few would deny the importance to contemporary politics of issues surrounding immigration, borders, and national identity in periods of mass migration.  In 2015 then-candidate Justin Trudeau promised to increase Canada’s intake of Syrian refugees by 25,000, in response to the Alan Kurdi’s tragic death in the Mediterranean Sea.  After becoming prime minister Trudeau drew attention to the wide gulf between himself and American president Donald Trump on the issues of immigration and asylum.  Trump himself famously centered his presidential campaign on the promise of a border wall to keep illegal immigrants out.

This course will consider some of the questions that have divided western societies in recent years, including the nature of moral obligation to outsiders, the drivers of mass migration, and the meaning of national – and racial – identity.  The focus most weeks will be theoretical / normative, though empirical questions will never be far from view.  

There will be a 3-hour seminar and 1-hour tutorial each week.  Tutorials begin in week 2.  

Grading

  • Participation and reading of all assigned texts 10%
  • Midterm exam 20%
  • Argumentative Essay (Due in Week 10) 25%
  • Group Presentation 20%
  • Final exam 25%

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Miller, David (2016). Strangers in Our Midst: The Political Philosophy of Immigration. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN: 9780674088900

All other readings will be made available online or on reserve in the SFU Library.

Department Undergraduate Notes:

The Department of Political Science strictly enforces a policy on plagiarism.
For details, see http://www.sfu.ca/politics/undergraduate/program/related_links.html and click on “Plagiarism and Intellectual Dishonesty” .

Registrar Notes:

SFU’s Academic Integrity web site http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating.  Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the University community.  Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the University. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the University. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS