HPCH 342 Fall 2013 Migration and Health (2 Credits)

Transcription

1 Class time and location: Monday 5:30 7:10 PM; 332 Van Dyck HPCH 342 Fall 2013 Migration and Health (2 Credits) Sawsan Abdulrahim, PhD Van Dyck 302; Ext Office hours by appointment 1 Faculty of Health Sciences American University of Beirut Course Description: This course provides an overview of key theoretical frameworks on voluntary and forced migration, with an emphasis on understanding the political, social, and economic factors that influence the health trajectories of migrants. Whereas the course addresses migration as a global phenomenon, it focuses on two main populations/contexts: Arab immigrants in the United States (US) and refugees and migrant workers in the Arab region. The course includes readings that incorporate gender and race as critical constructs/mediators in the relationship between migration and health. Learning Outcomes: Upon completing this course, students should be able to: 1. Describe social, economic, and political factors that contribute to the migration of individuals and groups 2. Discuss the main theoretical frameworks from sociology and other disciplines that have been employed in studying migration and health 3. Apply these theoretical frameworks to examining the health of Arab immigrants in the US and refugees and labor migrants in the Arab region through empirical studies 4. Articulate the importance of incorporating gender and race in meaningful explorations of the health of migrants 5. Discuss the political and policy contexts in the US and Arab region that impinge on the rights and health of migrants and refugees Readings: Selected articles posted on moodle Each student will read one book from the list below (open to other suggestions): 1. Abdelhady, D (2011). The Lebanese Diaspora: The Arab Immigrant Experience in Montreal, New York, and Paris. New York University Press. 2. Alfaro-Velcamp, T (2007). So Far from Allah, So Close to Mexico. University of Texas Press.* 3. Alsultany, E (2012). Arabs and Muslims in the Media. Race and Representation after 9/11. New York University Press.

2 4. Chalcraft, J (2009). The Invisible Cage: Syrian Migrant Workers in Lebanon. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. 5. Gamburd, MR (2000). The Kitchen Spoon s Handle: Transnationalism and Sri Lanka s Migrant Housemaids. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. 6. Gardner, A (2010). City of Strangers: Gulf Migration and the Indian Community in Bahrain. ILR Press.* 7. George, SM (2005). When Women Come First: Gender and Class in Transnational Migration. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 8. Gualtieri, S (2009). Between Arab and White: Race and Ethnicity in the Early Syrian American Diaspora. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 9. Khater, A (2001). Inventing Home: Emigration, Gender, and the Middle Class in Lebanon, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. 10. Naber, N (2012). Arab America: Gender, Cultural Politics and Activism. New York University Press. Course Requirements/Evaluation Criteria: Class Participation: 20% Reading *before* class will prepare all of us to participate in a stimulating and a productive exchange of ideas. Please come to class prepared to discuss specific questions from and/or critiques of the readings, and to listen actively and respectfully to your classmates. In most class sessions, one student will take responsibility for facilitating the discussion for half an hour. The student is encouraged to discuss any questions or activities they prepare with the instructor of the course prior to the facilitation session. The questions/activities ought to be designed to stimulate student participation and a thought-provoking discussion in class. Immigration Story: (35%) You are requested to submit two drafts of *your* immigration story. The first draft (due early in the semester and accounts for 10% of your grade) is expected to be descriptive but should include a little bit of research. The second draft (due towards the end of the semester and accounts for 25% of your grade) ought to integrate an analysis of gender, race, ethnicity, as well as incorporate concepts/frameworks addressed in readings and class discussions throughout the semester. Midterm Paper: 25% Critical literature review: Write a 4-5 page critical literature review paper in which you synthesize a reasonable amount of scholarly articles that have been written on (or related to) a construct or theoretical framework addressed in the course. Use a minimum of 10 references and select any one of the green highlighted concepts in the course summary table. Book Review (20% including a 15-minute presentation) Please read the how to write a book review handout and the two sample book reviews posted on moodle. Your review will be graded based on the following criteria: your demonstration of an understanding of the issues raised in the book; your ability to relate the ideas in the book to concepts in migration (including issues covered in readings and classroom discussions); your ability to thoughtfully critique the book s main arguments. 2

3 Finally, your review will also be evaluated based on writing quality clarity of ideas, prose, and grammar. Ethical Guidelines: The conduct of a master s level student in this course and in the Faculty of Health Sciences in general should be consistent with that of a professional person. This means exhibiting courtesy, honesty, and respect toward faculty, guest speakers, administrative staff, and classmates. As well, students should expect faculty to treat them fairly and respectfully and to support and guide them in the process of learning. Student academic misconduct includes but is not limited to falsification, cheating, or plagiarism. Please note that in this course, in which the majority of the grade is based on written assignments, there is zero tolerance for plagiarism. As a graduate student, you are expected to turn in assignments that reflect your own effort and intellectual work and not merely copy and paste the work of others without acknowledgement. 3

4 Course Summary: Date Topic Readings Sept 9 Introductions The Great Migrations Gabbert (2002) Movie: The Immigrant Sept 16 Why do people emigrate? Social and economic theories Massey (1990) Silvey (2004) *** First draft of immigration story due *** Sept 23 Gender and migration Mahler & Pessar (2006) De Regt (2010) Sept 30 Assimilation, acculturation, and health Berry (1997) Hunt et al (2006) Atiyyah (1996) Oct 7 Critiques of assimilation theory Ethnic enclaves and ethnic niches 4 Portes (1997) Osypuk et al (2009) Movie: TBA* Oct 14 *** No class *** *** Visit to Dawra on Sunday Oct 13 *** Oct 21 The immigrant health paradox Acevedo-Garcia & Bates (2008) Read et al (2005) Abdulrahim & Baker (2009) Oct 28 Transnational migration Kivisto (2001) Nagel & Staeheli (2004) Margold (1995)* Beyene (2005)* Nov 4 *** No class *** Movie: Amreeka *** Hijra holiday and APHA *** Nov 11 The sociology of forced migration Malkki (1995) or Castles (2003) Sayigh (1998) or Salih (2013 Nov 18 The refugee humanitarian relief industry *** Midterm paper due *** No readings! Guest speakers from Oxfam, International Organization of Migration, and World Vision Nov 25 Racialization and migrant health Pierre (2004) Viruell-Fuentes et al (2012) Abdulrahim et al (2012) Ticku, A (2009)* Dec 2 Dec 9 Tuesday Dec 17 The second generation/children of migrants Segmented assimilation Labor migration to the Arab Gulf Region Impact on women and families *** Second draft of immigration story due *** *** Book review presentations *** Portes et al (2009) Ajrouch (2004) Movie: Axis of Evil Massey et al (1998) Gardner (2011) Percot (2006)

5 Reading List: The Great Migration Gabbert, AR (2002). El Paso, a sight for sore eyes: Medical and legal aspects of Syrian immigration, The Historian 65(1): Why do people emigrate? Massey, DS (1990). The social and economic origins of immigration. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 510: Silvey, R (2004). Transnational domestication: State power and Indonesian migrant women in Saudi Arabia. Political Geography, 23(3): Gender and migration Mahler & Pessar. Gender matters: Ethnographers bring gender from the periphery toward the core of migration studies. International Migration Review, 40(1): De Regt, M (2010). Ways to come, ways to leave: gender, mobility, and il/legality among Ethiopian domestic workers in Yemen. Gender & Society, 24(2): Assimilation, acculturation, and health Berry, JW (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology, 46(1): Hunt, LM, Schneider, S, Comer, B (2004). Should acculturation be a variable in health research? A critical review of research on US Hispanics. Social Science & Medicine, 59: Atiyyah, HS (1996). Expatriate acculturation in Arab Gulf countries. Journal of Management Development, 15(5): Critiques of assimilation theory Portes, A (1997). Immigration theory for a new century: Some problems and opportunities. International Migration Review, 31(4): Osypuck, TL, Diez Roux, AV, Hadley, C, Kandula, NR (2009). Are ethnic enclaves healthy places to live? The multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis. Social Science & Medicine, 69(1): The immigrant health paradox Acevedo-Garcia, D & Bates, LM (2008). Latino health paradoxes: Empirical evidence, explanations, future research, and implications. Read, JG, et al (2005). Arab immigrants: a new case for ethnicity and health? Social Science & Medicine, 61(1): Abdulrahim, S & Baker, W (2009). Differences in self-rated health by immigrant status and language preference among Arab Americans in the Detroit Metropolitan Area. Social Science & Medicine, 68: Transnational migration Kivisto, P (2001). Theorizing transnational immigration: a critical review of current efforts. Ethnic & Racial Studies, 24(4):

6 Nagel, CR & Staeheli, LA (2004). Citizenship, identity, and transnational migration: Arab immigrants in the United States. Space and Polity, 8(1): *Margold, JA (1995). Transnational migration: Filipino workers in the Middle East. In Aihwa Ong and Michael G. Peletz (Eds.), Bewitching Women, Pious Men: Gender and Body Politics in Southeast Asia. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. *Beyene, J (2005). Women, migration, and housing: A case study of three households of Ethiopian and Eritrean female migrant workers in Beirut and Naba a. The sociology of forced migration Castles, S. (2003). Towards a sociology of forced migration and social transformation. Sociology, 37(1): Mallki, L. (1995). Refugees and exile: From refugee studies to the natural order of things. Annual Reviews of Anthropology, 24: Sayigh, R. (1998). Gender, sexuality and class in national narrations: Palestinian camp women tell their lives. Frontiers, a Journal of Women s Studies, 19(2): Salih, R. (2013). From bare lives to political agents: Palestinian refugees as avant-garde. Refugee Survey Quarterly, 32(2): Racialization and migrant health Pierre, J (2004). Black immigrants in the United States and the cultural narratives of ethnicity. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power, 11: Viruell-Fuentes, E. A., Miranda, P. Y., Abdulrahim, S. (2012). More than Culture: Structural Racism, Intersectionality Theory, and Immigrant Health. Social Science & Medicine, 75(12): Abdulrahim, S., James, S. A., Yamout, R., Baker, W. (2012). Discrimination and Psychological Distress: Does Whiteness Matter for Arab Americans? Social Science & Medicine, 75(12): *Ticku, A (2009). Dubai dreams: exploring national constructions of citizen and migrant other in the UAE. In VP Fynn (Ed), Documenting the Undocumented: Redefining Refugee Status. Boca Raton, FL: University Publishers. The second generation/children of migrants Portes, A (2009). Segmented assimilation on the ground: The new second generation in early adulthood. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 28(6): Ajrouch, K (2004). Gender, race, and symbolic boundaries: Contested spaces of identity among Arab American Adolescents. Sociological Perspectives, 47(4): Labor migration in the Arab Gulf region Massey, DS, et al (1998). Worlds in Motion: Understanding International Migration at the End of the Millennium. Oxford: Oxford University Press. *Gardner (2001). Gulf migration and the family. Journal of Arabian Studies, 1(1):3-25. Percot (2006). Indian nurses in the Gulf: Two generations of female migration. South Asia Research, 26(1):