Course Objective:
The course aims to understand various forms of forced migration and trafficking in persons in South and Southeast Asia including refugee flows, internal displacement, disaster related migration, labor trafficking, sex slavery and other forms of involuntary servitude. It will examine both disaster-related, public health related and political forms of forced migration (including statelessness), as well as human trafficking, including why women tend to be particularly vulnerable to involuntary sex trafficking, and why men are often overlooked as trafficked persons. We will discuss the international legal provisions related to forced migration including Global Compact on Refugees (2018). We will also address methodological possibilities and challenges for researchers aiming to work on forced migrations and/or forced displacements.
Learning Outcomes:
The student on completion of this course would be able to:
- Explain the different forms of forced migration including refugees, IDPs, Stateless and Human Trafficking.
- Identify international policies on forced migration including the Global Compact on Refugees and SDG’s pertaining to forced migrants.
- Formulate a basic research plan that addresses challenges in conducting research on forced migration and human trafficking.
Pre-requisite: none
Course Outline:
I. Introduction: Forced Migration in South and Southeast Asia
1. Overview and Typologies of Forced Migration.
2. Gender Dimensions of Forced Migrations.
II. International Policies on Forced migrants and human mobility:
1. Asylum Seekers, Refugees and IDPs
2. Development-induced displacement and resettlement (DIDR),
3. Environmental Degradation and Displacements.
4. Stateless People
5. Human Trafficking, Smuggling and Irregular Migration.
III. Case Studies
1. Forced Migration in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.
2. Rohingya Refugees and the issue of Gender
IV. Research on Forced Migration
1. Methodological Issues in Research on Forced Migration
2. Ethics and Research on Forced Migrants.
3. Feminist Methodologies in Forced Migration.
Laboratory sessions: None
Texts:
1. Banerjee, Paula, What Is Feminist About Studying Women’s Forced Migration, in Nasreen Chowdhury and Paula Banerjee eds. Gender, Identity and Migration in India, Palgrave Macmillan, New Delhi, 2022, pp. 43-52, https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-16-5598-2_3 .
2. Banerjee, Paula, Forced Migration in South Asia, Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh (eds) et. Al., The Oxford Handbook of Refugee and Forced migration Studies, Oxford, OUP, 2014, pp. 613-625, https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199652433.013.0030
3. Chimni, B.S., The Birth of a Discipline: From Refugee to Forced Migration Studies: Journal of Refugee Studies Vol. 22, No. 1, 2009
4. Forced Migration Review, People Trafficking: Upholding Rights and Understanding Vulnerabilities, FMR 25, May 2006.
5. Guhathakurta, Meghna, Understanding Violence, Strategising Protection, Journal of Social Science, 2017, Vol. 45, No. 6, Special Focus: Spaces of Violence in South Asian Democracies (2017), pp. 639-665
References:
1. Banerjee, Paula and Samaddar, Ranabir, Why Critical Forced Migration Studies Has to be Post Colonial in Nature, in Alice Bloch and Giorgia Dona eds., Forced Migration: Current Issues and Debates, Routledge, London, 2018.
2. Banerjee, Paula, “Trafficking and Statelessness of Women in South Asia,” Refugee Watch (Kolkata, 2006).
3. Dang Nguyen Anh and Supang Chatavanich, Uprooting People for their own good? Human displacement, Resettlement and Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, Hanoi: Social Sciences Publishing House, 2004
4. Gawher Nayeem Wahra, Women Refugees in Bangladesh, Focus on Gender, February 1994, Vol. 2, No. 1, Women and Emergencies (Feb. 1994), pp. 45-49.
5. Harrell-Bond, Barbara and Voutira Eftihia. In Search of ‘Invisible’ Actors: Barriers to Access in Refugee Research: Journal of Refugee Studies, Vol. 20, No. 2, 2007.
6. Martin, Susan, UNHCR Policy on Refugee Women, 1990, UNHCR, https://www.unhcr.org/media/unhcr-policy-refugee-women-1990https://www.unhcr.org/media/unhcr-policy-refugee-women-1990
Documents:
Global Compact on Refugees, United Nations, New York, 2018, https://globalcompactrefugees.org/sites/default/files/2019-12/Global%20compact%20on%20refugees%20EN.pdf
UN Human Rights, Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, 1954, https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-relating-status-stateless-persons
UNHCR, Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, 1951, https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-relating-status-refugees
UNODC, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, United Nations, 2000.
Journals:
Forced Migration Review (Oxford)
Journal of Human Trafficking
Journal of Refugee Studies (Oxford)
Refugee Watch (CRG)
Teaching and Learning Methods:
Lectures (with power point slides) and student discussions. An online course review session will be conducted prior to the final exam.
Time Distribution and Study Load:
15 hours of lecture plus. Students are expected to spend at least 6 hours of self-study including required readings.
Evaluation scheme:
- One term paper 60%.
- Final exam 40% (close book).
In the exams, an “A” would be awarded if a student can contextualize the knowledge learned in class and incorporate required readings in their essay or exam analysis. A “B” would be awarded if a student shows an overall understanding of all topics, a “C” would be awarded if a student meets below average expectation in terms of analysis, and a “D” would be awarded if a student does not meet basic expectations in analyzing or understanding the issues presented in the course.
Instructor: Prof. Paula Banerjee
- Faculty: Prof. Paula Banerjee.
- Faculty: Dr. Joyee S Chatterjee