150087 VU Migration in East Asia (2020W)

The aim of this course is to introduce students to key methodological and theoretical debates that underpin migration research. This course familiarizes students with some of the main debates in the study of

- Citizenship;
- Border crossing, cross-border and transnational livelihoods, identities, and practices;
- Different types of migration such as immigration, emigration, transit and remigration, but also labour, marriage, studying, defecting etc.;
- Borders and identities, the question of ‘illegal’ migrants, human trafficking and refugees;
- The role of (digital) infrastructures in migration processes;
- Spatial aspects of migration processes.

Migration research is inherently interdisciplinary. Accordingly, we will engage with research approaches from anthropology, sociology, legal studies, political sciences, and political geography. We will research different case studies and migration trends in the China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North and South Korea, Japan, and Singapore.

Due to the COVID-19 situation, the course takes place online. All compulsory activities will be held over moodle in a mix of synchronous and asynchronous methods. I provide weekly activities either in the form of a webinar (synchronous), video content or other online methods that students work on the content at home (asynchronous). The details will be introduced in the first session of the course. Attending the first session online is mandatory. In order to succeed in this class, you should be online available during the regular class hour.

In accordance with the Curriculum of East Asian Economy and Society (EcoS), on successful completion of this seminar, students will have:

• Shown their ability to understand key concepts of social sciences such as sovereignty, borders, and citizenship;
• Demonstrated their knowledge of different theories of border and migration studies and be able to apply them to concrete cases;
• Demonstrated knowledge on current development contemporary East Asian migration politics including respective ruling bodies, power structures, institutions, infrastructures etc.;
• Successfully conducted a case study, applying and refining academic, writing and research skills acquired before;
• Critically assessed the strength and weaknesses of various theoretical and empirical approaches;
• Improved their skills to analyse and interpret political data and evaluate the quality, validity and usefulness of political science research findings;
• Shown a critical attitude towards political science literature and established points of view;
• Demonstrated intellectual integrity and the ability to be self-critical.

This is a text based course. That means that everyone is expected to attend the online class having completed the required readings, ready to participate. During the first part, a common set of research criteria will be built from these texts. Students are strongly encouraged to research and read additional academic literature, a list for further readings is included in the syllabus. For the second part, students will prepare presentations applying the research criteria to selected case studies. The semester end with a simulation exercise negotiating the question of global citizenship. A conclusive session will summarise key findings.