Bachelor 2020/2021

Research Seminar "Dimensions of Social Inequality: Migration and Ethnicity"

Type: Elective course (Sociology and Social Informatics)

Area of studies: Sociology

Delivered by: Department of Sociology

Where: Saint-Petersburg School of Social Sciences

When: 3 year, 1-4 module

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of all HSE University campuses

Instructors: Daniil A. Alexandrov, Ksenia Tenisheva

Language: English

ECTS credits: 4

Contact hours: 42

Course Syllabus

Abstract

In this seminar we will discuss the trends in migration in Russia. We will study the main sending countries; learn the history of particular migration flows, the peculiarities of different groups of migrants coming to Russia. Then we will study the main theories explaining the reasons for migration, its mechanisms and consequences. To understand what kind of inequalities cause migration, and in which spheres migrants face inequalities and discrimination, we will discuss some Russian cases.

Learning Objectives

• will apply the theories we learned and the knowledge of the background to describe the main mechanisms driving these particular cases of migration.

Expected Learning Outcomes

• Know main theories explaining migration on micro and macro level
• know main concepts related to migration, ethnicity, inequality
• know classical and contemporary examples of the empirical studies of migration and ethnicity
• know basic information about main sending countries of Russian immigrants
• know features of the main ethnical groups present in Russia
• be able to analyze theoretical sources, juxtaposition different approaches to the analysis of migration
• be able to analyze publicly accessible or individually collected empirical data in the field of migration studies
• be able to conduct empirical studies and present its results in the form of oral presentation with visual material

Course Contents

• Introduction in migration studies
  What is migration. Types and scale of migration worldwide. Main directions (South-North, East-West). Main reasons and consequences of migration. Migration as a part of our everyday lives.
• Migration vs ethnicity
  Migration as transition. International migration. Intranational migration. Ethnicity. Understanding ethnicity from community perspective. Migration of ethnic majority vs migration of ethnic minority.
• Theories and histories of (international) migration
  Economic perspectives on migration. Psychological acculturation: perspectives, principles, processes, and prospects. European migration history. Migration history in the Americas. Asian migration in the longue durée. Charting refugee and migration routes in Africa. Migration in Post-Soviet space. Main theoretical approaches.
• Intersecting inequalities in the lives of migrants
  The changing configuration of migration and race. New directions in gender and immigration research. Immigrants and residential segregation. Migrants and indigenous nationalism. Migration and health. Migration and education. Migration and occupational inequalities.
• Migrants and social reproduction
  Immigrant language acquisition. Connecting family and migration. Immigrant intermarriage. Prospects for the children of immigrants in the twenty-first century
• Migrants and the state
  The political sociology of international migration: borders, boundaries, rights, and politics. Regulation, recruitment, and control of immigration. Undocumented (or unauthorized) immigration. Micro- and macro-explanations of naturalization. Emigration and the sending state. Immigration and the welfare state in Western societies: ethnic heterogeneity, redistribution and the role of institutions.
• Maintaining links across borders
  The historical, cultural, social, and political backgrounds of ethno-national diasporas. Transnationalism. Return migration
• Methods for studying international migration
  Census analysis. Surveys and ethnosurveys. Ethnographic methods and immigration research. Interviews. Comparative methodologies in the study of migration. Action research with immigrants: working with vulnerable immigrant communities. Approaches to counting migrants: sending vs receiving countries.

Assessment Elements

• Activities in class
• Home tasks
  Presentation in class

Interim Assessment

• Interim assessment (4 module)
  0.4 * Activities in class + 0.6 * Home tasks

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

• Alba, R. D., & Foner, N. (2015). Strangers No More : Immigration and the Challenges of Integration in North America and Western Europe. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=933248
• White, M. J. (2016). International Handbook of Migration and Population Distribution. Dordrecht: Springer. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1109918

Recommended Additional Bibliography

• Gold, S. J., & Nawyn, S. J. (2012). Routledge International Handbook of Migration Studies. New York: Routledge. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=517450
• Rial, C. S. M., & Vailati, A. (2016). Migration of Rich Immigrants : Gender, Ethnicity and Class. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edsebk&AN=1163949