Introductory description

This module will take an interdisciplinary approach to exploring aspects of the refugee phenomenon. Students will be introduced to the key global and regional legal frameworks that govern access to protection. From that starting point, we will then critically examine questions of defining who is or is not a refugee, how and if refugee movements should be controlled, and indeed if refugee law itself is a barrier to effective refugee protection. As part of this investigation, we will be considering the history of refugee movements and their relation to the nation-state, and the legacies of colonialism.

We will be applying these broader questions to specific case studies of Israel/Palestine, the European Union’s asylum and border policies, India’s role in providing asylum in the absence of refugee law, climate refugees, and the widespread use of camps and detention centres to house people seeking asylum. Having looked at how refugees are defined and managed from above, we will conclude the module by examining how social movements, often led by refugees themselves, have challenged existing frameworks and asserted their rights.

Along the way, we will be returning to certain key questions: what distinguishes a refugee from a migrant? Can such a clear distinction be made? Who decides on access to asylum, and on what basis? Should answers to these questions be sought mainly within legal, ethical or political frameworks?

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

Introduction to international refugee law, including the major global and regional refugee treaties, along with aspects of international human rights law

Defining the refugee: a history. From the Huguenots to post-World War II. How the refugee became a legal construct.

The right to have rights: refugees and the nation-state. Case study of Israel/Palestine.

Refugee protection without refugee law? Case study of India within the wider South Asian context.

Rectifying a protection gap: Case study of climate refugees, and the reframing of rights and duties on a global collective basis.

The European Union and refugees: neo-colonialism and the gated community. A critical look at the EU's approach to asylum and external borders.

Encampment and detention. Logics and practices of management of the refugee, by states, UN agencies, and NGOs.

Social movements and grassroots asylum. How refugees and their allies have challenged negative stereotypes and effectively asserted their rights, with a focus on the US Sanctuary Movement and the French Sans Papiers.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Understand current debates on forced migration and be able to analyse critically the theory, ethics and law of forced displacement in a global context;
• Understand aspects of refugee history and the contemporary refugee phenomenon in the context of the nation-state and the legacies of colonialism;
• Be able to compare and contrast approaches in the developing and developed world from a contextual perspective, with special reference to South Asia, Israel/Palestine and Europe.
• Demonstrate the ability to work independently and in groups
• Demonstrate an ability to assimilate and communicate complex material
• Demonstrate an ability to present an argument orally
• Demonstrate high quality research and writing skills
• Oral presentation

Indicative reading list

Generic Reading lists can be found in Talis

Specific reading list for the module can be found on

Subject specific skills

• Demonstrate high quality research and writing skills
• Oral presentation

Transferable skills

• Demonstrate the ability to work independently and in
  groups
• Demonstrate an ability to assimilate and communicate complex material
• Demonstrate an ability to present an argument orally