| CODE | GRS3007 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Migrating Bodies | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Gender and Sexualities | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will analyse how gender, race, nationality, sexuality, dis/ability, religion and age impact migration trends, patterns, policies and migrants’ lived experiences. This study-unit will begin with a historical and theoretical grounding in the literature on gender and migration to highlight how both fields share similar critique of practices and of systems of power leading to social injustice. Taking an intersectional approach, we will examine how migration occurs on a voluntary and involuntary basis, within and across borders, and underline the social power dynamics at play, resulting in inequality between states, communities and individuals and unequal access to resources – be they material, immaterial, cultural or political. Analysing case-studies of different communities of migrants, from immigrants and expatriates to asylum-seekers and refugees to marriage migrants (while also questioning this taxonomy of migrants), this unit will explore migration and its connections with the concepts of citizenship, transnationalism, cosmopolitanism and integration. It will also help students reflect on the links between migration and broader phenomenon such as globalization, climate change and gender-based violence. This study-unit will also address how gender relationships, motherhood, masculinities and sexuality are (re)defined and/or affected in the context of migration. This study-unit will finally consider grassroots movements’ efforts to represent and defend migrants’ rights, exploring the pertinence of coalition-building, using examples in the Maltese and European contexts. The methodology will be transdisciplinary, using various media such as fiction/non-fiction books, press articles, movies, artwork and research papers to support the various concepts’ exploration and class discussions. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit aims to: - provide students with an advanced understanding of how the social constructs of gender, sexuality, race, nationality, body-ability are interlinked with migration; - demonstrate how normative ideas about gender, sexuality, race and disability affect im/migration policies, practices and lived experiences; - hone students’ critical thinking skills about the structural inequalities and power relations in migration politics, ideologies and discourses using an intersectional lens; - critically reflect and assess migration policies and discourses and their link with the gendering of institutions and practices; - connect gender-related migrations with other contemporary economic and social issues of in/equality. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: describe the transdisciplinary similarities and differences in the research fields of gender and migration; - adopt an intersectional approach in their analysis of gender and migration concepts, theories and policies; - explain and illustrate how both sending and receiving nations are shaped by migration and its intersections with gender; - take a critical position in contemporary debates related to migration; - contextualize real-life cases of contemporary migration, on the national, European and global levels; - acquire and use analytical tools related to the impacts of dominant notions of gender and sexuality on migrants’ lived experiences in their personal and/or professional life. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - apply an intersectional methodology in their research and inquiry; - formulate effective questions to guide their research and inquiry; - augment their proficiency in critical thinking, research and analytical skills; - engage in a critical analysis of their own practices and that of institutions or social organizations using knowledge and conceptual tools covered during the study-unit; - relate academic knowledge and understanding to everyday situations related to the topics covered in the study-unit; - carry out independent research assignments related to the issues covered during the course. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Davis K. (2008). Intersectionality as buzzword: A sociology of science perspective on what makes a successful feminist theory. Feminist Theory, 9(1),67-85. - Donata, K.M., Gabaccia, D., Holdaway, J., Manalansan, M. and Pessar, P.R. (2006). A glass half full? Gender in migration studies. International Migration Review, 40(1), 3-26. - Gatt, S., Hazibar, K., Sauermann, V., Prglau, M and Ralser, M. (2016). Migration from a gender-critical, postcolonial and interdisciplinary perspective. Austrian Journal of Sociology, 41(3), 1-12. DOI 10.1007/s11614-016-0236-4 (open access) - Georgiou, M. (2012) Introduction: gender, migration and the media. Ethnic and racial studies, 35 (5). 791-799. - Halfacree, K.H. (2003). Untying migration completely: de-gendering or radical transformation? Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 30(2), 397-413. - Mahler, S.J. and Pessar, P.R. (2006). ‘Gender matters: ethnographers bring gender from the periphery toward the core of migration studies’. International Migration Review, 40(1): 27-63. - T.D Truong, D. Gasper, J. Handmaker, S.I. Bergh (2014) Migration, Gender and social justice. Perspectives on Human Insecurity. SpringerLink.com – Part I – Introduction (full book in open Access) Supplementary Readings: - Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. Americanah. New York: Anchor Books. 2013. - Baldacchino, R., Cutajar, J., Murphy, B. & Naudi, M. (2016). ‘Gender and Sexuality: Mapping Histories and Departures’. In Briguglio, M. & Brown, M. (Eds.). Sociology of the Maltese Islands. Malta: Agenda. - Dyck, I. (2018). Migrant mothers, home and emotional capital – hidden citizenship practices, Ethnic and Racial Studies, 41(1), 98-113. DOI: 10.1080/01419870.2017.1288917 - Gilmartin, M. and Migge, B. (2016). Migrant mothers and the geographies of belonging. Gender, place and culture, 23(2), 147-161. - Gottfried, H., & Chun, J. (2018). Care Work in Transition: Transnational Circuits of Gender, Migration, and Care. Critical Sociology, 44(7-8), 997-1012. - Kofman, Eleanor. 1999. “Female ‘Birds of Passage’ a Decade Later: Gender and Immigration in the European Union.” International Migration Review 33: 269-299 - Morokvasic, Mirjana. 1984. “Birds of passage are also women.” International Migration Review 18 (4): 886-907. - Paul, A. (2015). Negotiating Migration, Performing Gender. Social Forces, 94(1), 271-293. (open access) - R. Lister (2008) Citizenship: Feminist Perspectives. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press Ltd. - Yuval-Davis, N. (2010). Theorizing identity: beyond the ‘us’ and ‘them’ dichotomy. Patterns of Prejudice, 44(3), 261–280. https://doi.org/10.1080/0031322X.2010.489736 |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Seminar | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Glorianne Borg Axisa Josephine Ann Cutajar Marta Migliorati Maria Pisani Ibtisam Sadegh Patricia Vella de Fremeaux |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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