Refugee Studies at UEL | News | Resources | Themes of the Programme | Programme Structure & Content | Curriculum | Staff | Student Testimonies | Additional Information | Programme specification | Postgraduate seminar series | Refugee Research Centre | Forced Migration Student Conference 2009 | ESRC Social Research Stream | MA Refugees, Representation and Performance | MA Refugee Studies and Community Development | MA Migration and Citizenship
Introduction To Forced Migration
Considers the idea of the refugee. Examines the systemic character of forced migration in the context of globalisation and the global system.
Introduces key theories of migration. Considers patterns of forced migration within Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe, and from the "Third World" towards the West. Examines complex emergencies, crises of migration and the role of states and NGOs. Considers questions of citizenship within Europe and introduces issues of refugee welfare and settlement.
Introduces ethical questions associated with human rights, asylum and refugee law. Considers legal principles which have shaped refugee law and the international legal regime associated with asylum.
Examines the ideas of nation and nationalism and their significance for migratory movements. Introduces debates about refugees in contemporary Europe. Considers the basis for exclusion of refugees from Western states.
Research Methods
Familiarises students with the theoretical, philosophical and ethical principles which guide social research. Introduces the key approaches used by social researchers: survey, qualitative and documentary methods. Develops a critical approach to such methods and the rationales for asserting conclusions.
Considers issues which face researchers working with hidden and sometimes vulnerable groups such as refugees, including locating a sample, using interpreters, translating questions, and carrying out cross-cultural research. Develops practical skills required to implement research methods and to analyse data.
Examines the role of research in both theoretical and policy development. Provides guidelines for conducting participatory action-oriented research, needs assessments and programme evaluations. Considers issues involved in sponsored or organisational research and consultancy.
International Human Rights
Provides in-depth understanding of means by which human rights are protected in international law. Examines the origins of international legal protection of rights and the development of today’s international legal order and how it affects human rights within the state.
Looks at the philosophical and legal origins of international human rights and considers debates surrounding the universality of rights, cultural relativism and accusations of western bias and imperialism. Examines bases of key international agreements, from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to regional agreements in Africa, Latin America and Europe. Considers women’s rights and children’s rights.
This module also examines how states translate international obligations into domestic law.
International Refugee Law
Addresses refugee law in the context of institutional mechanisms for identifying and addressing human rights violations.
Examines the scope of legal protection afforded to refugees under the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951, and other regional instruments such as the Organisation of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of the Refugee Problem in Africa.
Explores the philosophical basis of refugee protection and the role of refugee law in redressing contemporary forms of human rights violations. Examines the particular problems faced by refugees in terms of gender, age or sexual orientation.
Examines the use of law in the exclusion of refugees from Western Europe.
Migration, Citizenship and Social Policy
Introduces migration theory, considering differences between voluntary and involuntary migration. Examines international migration in the 20th century, the development of international co-operation and the impact of different types of response to the reception and settlement of refugees across Europe.
Explores approaches to citizenship and their application to constitutional development in Europe and the United States. Examines theoretical and practical questions concerning refugee settlement programmes. Considers policy in the light of its impact on the social andeconomic citizenship of refugees.
Considers the needs of refugee communities as marginalised groups within the wider society. Focuses on the refugee experience in Britain and especially in East London, considering questions of legal status, employment and housing, access to education and welfare services.
Exploring Gender and Forced Migration
Examines conceptual and methodological issues relating to the integration of gender into studies of forced migration. Considers the intersection of gender, violence and displacement, and the consequences for contemporary migration flows.
Examines the differentiated needs of women and men in exile, and the consequences for refugee lives and for policy. Explores gendered aspects of the experiences of settlement and their role in reconstructing place and identity. Examines the interface of gender constructions and processes of empowerment in exile.
Develops abilities to apply ethnographically oriented research to case studies of gender and forced migration.
Current Issues in Forced Migration
Examines key debates about refugees and forced migration.
Looks in depth at debates about definition - who is a refugee? Considers changing approaches to the refugee: to "exiles" in the Classical literature; to the Huguenots of the early modern period; to "political exiles" in the 19th century; to victims of fascism in the 20th century, and to the contemporary refugee.
Considers the validity of distinctions between refugees and other categories of migrants, including "economic migrants", "development-induced" refugees, and Internally Displaced Persons.
Examines debates about human rights and the refugee. Considers changing definitions of rights, including "birthrights", "natural rights" and "universal rights". Considers refugees and rights today.
Examines contemporary discourses of the refugee: "illegality" and criminality; the refugee "threat"; refugees and terrorism; refugees and the media; racism and the refugee.
Explores the meanings of popular discourses of the refugee in the context of changing attitudes in East London.
Psycho-social Analysis of Forced Migration
Explores psychological, social and cultural changes experienced by internally displaced people, refugees in camps, forced migrants in host societies, and returnees.
Examines the use of psycho-social models in contexts of violence, repression, reconciliation and social reintegration. Looks at cultural change, cross-cultural interactions and adjustment to new contexts. Considers psycho-social needs, stressors, coping strategies and well-being of refugees in general as well as those of special groups such as children.
Discusses definition and applicability of concepts such as trauma and mental health in cross-cultural settings. Looks at psycho-social interventions with refugees in their historical, social and cultural contexts.
Cultures of Exile
Examines the ideas of exile and of diaspora, and their implications for refugees and refugee communities. Considers impacts of repression, displacement, flight and exile, especially upon women refugees. Examines migration within the "global" system and development of refugee networks. Considers the relevance of human rights discourse to refugee communities.
Considers long-term implications of repression and ill-treatment. Examines marginalisation within "host" societies and perceptions of ethnicity within and towards refugee communities. Examines the place of the refugee in the construction of European ideologies of exclusion.
Examines factors shaping refugee community life in Europe. Considers the idea of "home", the making of new communal identities and the stimulus to creative activity in the context of exile. Assesses the cultural impact of forced migration worldwide and the place of the refugee in a "globalised" world.
Dissertation
All students undertake a supervised research project in an area of their own interest. The dissertation may be developed from a proposal undertaken in the Research Methods module.
© 2009
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