Approaches and Perspectives in MENA Studies (411-0-2)

Instructors

Ipek Yosmaoglu
847/491-3154
Harris Hall Room 214

Meeting Info

Harris Hall room 101: Mon 2:00PM - 5:00PM

Overview of class

Migration

Migration occupies central stage in foundation myths of religions and nations, and people have indeed been on the move since homo sapiens left Africa. Mobility, however, is not the default state of human communities and all else being equal, people tend to favor staying put. In fact, many migrants do not have much agency over the decision why or where to move. Even labor or economic migrants, who presumably move voluntarily, do so as a last resort and with little control over where they end up. This course is about involuntary or forced migration. With WWI as the starting point when population movements were instrumentalized as a vehicle for state making, we will explore the limits on mobility even as people had started to move in unprecedented numbers in the late nineteenth century. We will conclude with an overview and critique of the international refugee regime that emerged after WWII. Most of the readings will be history-focused and focus on the MENA region but students in different disciplines are encouraged to register.