Refugee, Migration and Citizenship Law: A Comparative Perspective
Course Information
- Course Number
- L6333
- Curriculum Level
- Upperclass
- Areas of Study
- Human Rights, International and Comparative Law, Law, Humanities, and the Social Sciences
- Type
- Lecture
Section 001 Information
Instructor
Seyla Benhabib
Senior Research Scholar
Section Description
Instructor: Seyla Benhabib
Method of Evaluation: Final Exam and 2 Reading Responses
Course Description: The movement of peoples across transnational borders - be it to seek asylum, employment or for other purposes, has emerged as a major issue of our times. The displaced population of the world is at its highest level since WWII with 114 million people registered with the UNHCR. Laws regulating transnational migrations, refugee status and access to citizenship have become the focus of significant comparative scholarship. This course will analyze laws of migration, refugee and asylum in comparative perspective, drawing from cases, conventions, and statutes from USA, Canada, the European Union, as well as Latin America. We will pay special attention to climate-change related refugees and recent legislation.
The course intends to give students a historical perspective into the evolution of legal doctrine and practices in this domain as well as informing them about ethical and political dimensions of distinctions such as citizen/migrant/resident/ asylum seeker.
- School Year & Semester
- Fall 2024
- Location
- WJWH 417
- Schedule
-
Class meets on
- Tuesday
- Thursday
- Points
- 3
- Method of Evaluation
- Paper and Exam
- J.D Writing Credit?
- Minor (upon consultation)
- Major (only upon consultation)
- LLM Writing Project
- Upon consultation
Learning Outcomes
- Primary
-
- At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in a specific body of law, including major policy concerns
- At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in doctrinal analysis, including close reading of cases and precedents, and application to facts
- At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in values-based considerations in law-making
- At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in the historical development of law and legal institutions
- At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in use of other disciplines in the analysis of legal problems and institutions, e.g., philosophy; economics,other social sciences; and cultural studies
- At the end of the course, students will have acquired understanding of and/or facility in comparative law analysis of legal institutions and refugee law and doctrine.
Course Limitations
- Instructor Pre-requisites
- None
- Instructor Co-Requisites
- None
- Requires Permission
- No
- Recommended Courses
- Some background in normative legal or political theory is desirable.
- Other Limitations
- This is an advanced course and would most benefit L2 and L3 students who have some background in human rights law and are interested in comparative law and political and legal theory.