SYA 4930 International Migration Spring 2019 Instructor Raffaele Vacca, Ph.D. Office Turlington Hall 3344 Email r.vacca@ufl.edu Phone (352) 294-2817 Office hours Wednesday 3-5pm and by appointment Class Time Thursday 1:55 3:50pm (Periods 7-8) (Online: T Period 7) Classroom Turlington Hall 2306 Course description From the journeys of Central American asylum seekers to the US, to the integration of African communities in Southern Europe, the settlement of Chinese entrepreneurs in Africa, or the exodus of Venezuelans into Colombia, international migration has been one of the most salient and consequential phenomena of the past few years for societies, politics, and economies around the world. This course offers an introduction to major research findings and debates in migration studies from sociology and other social and health sciences, including anthropology, political science, and public health. We will study and discuss migration and immigrant incorporation on the basis of facts, data, and empirical research. While most of the course will focus on migration to North America and Europe, we will review the impacts of migration on both receiving and sending countries around the world. The course is divided into four thematic sections (see the Course schedule): (1) immigrants movement; (2) immigrants settlement and incorporation; (3) social networks, transnationalism, and health; (4) state control, citizenship, and security. Every week we will have a two-hour face-to-face session for lectures, in-person discussions, and student presentations (Thursday); and an online session to view additional materials and discuss the previous week s topics in the Canvas discussion board (Tuesday). Requirements, assignments, grading In this course you can earn a maximum of 1000 points, distributed as follows: 1
Points % Syllabus quiz 10 1 Attendance 90 9 Class participation 90 9 Pop quizzes 100 10 Migration profile 100 10 Canvas activities 150 15 Midterm exam 230 23 Final exam 230 23 Total 1000 100 Grading scale Points A 940 A- 900 939 B+ 870 899 B 840 869 B- 800 839 C+ 770 799 C 740 769 C- 700 739 D+ 670 699 D 640 669 D- 610 639 E < 610 Description of requirements and assignments (Whenever the assignment description refers to a due date, you can find that date in the Course schedule or on Canvas.) Syllabus quiz (10 pts). This is an open-book quiz to evaluate your knowledge of this syllabus. Once you start the quiz you must finish it within 20 minutes. You must submit your answers by 11:55pm on the due date (this is before the first face-to-face class). Attendance (90 pts). You will earn 7 points for each face-to-face class you attend: to earn all 90 attendance points you need to come to at least 13 out of our 14 face-to-face classes. Attending all 14 face-to-face classes will give you an attendance score above 100%. When calculating your attendance score I make no distinction between excused or unexcused absences. However, after the first absence, every additional unexcused absence will result in a final grade reduction of one half-letter grade. So if you only miss 2
one class, there is no need to email me to excuse your absence. But if you miss two or more classes, you should provide me with a valid reason and appropriate documentation for all your absences to avoid grade reduction. More information on the University of Florida attendance policies can be found at this web page. o Written question or comment on readings. Every week you should come to class with one question or comment on the week s reading materials written on a piece of paper. This should be one or two sentences together with your first and last name (see the Readings section). I will collect your written question/comment in each class. I ll use this to track your attendance, so make sure your first and last name is clearly written on the paper I collect. Class participation (90 pts). You are expected to participate in class discussions, ask questions, and share your thoughts about our weekly readings. Most classes will involve some discussion about the week s topics. We will often start the discussion from your written questions or comments on the week s readings (see bullet point above). I will evaluate your class participation based on (1) whether you bring annotated copies of the readings to class, (2) the quality of the written question or comment I collect from you in class, and (3) the frequency and quality of your contributions to class discussions. Pop quizzes (100 pts). Over the course of the semester, there will be 6 short pop quizzes on Canvas to test your knowledge of the reading materials. Your lowest quiz score will be dropped, so only 5 quizzes will count toward your final grade. You can earn up to 100 quiz points: 5 quizzes times 20 points each. The quizzes will cover substantive topics studied in class, and will only include multiplechoice questions about materials and topics from one particular week. These will be short, timed, closed-book quizzes. To take the quiz you will need to read and study the materials from the week the quiz refers to, before starting the quiz: there will not be enough time to look up answers in your notes or books while taking the quiz. These are pop quizzes: there may be quizzes two or three weeks in a row, one every other week, or we may have two or three consecutive weeks with no quiz. Every time I open a quiz, I will let you know shortly before, in class and via Canvas messages. Quizzes will stay open for a few hours on Canvas, typically after our face-to-face class on Thursday. There will be a due date and time: you must submit the quiz before the due time; if you are still taking the quiz when the due time passes, you will not be allowed to submit the quiz. If you have never taken a Canvas quiz, you should view the Canvas quiz video tutorial here. If you experience any technical problem with your quiz, you must contact the UF Computing Help Desk immediately at (352) 392-4357. Once you have done so, you must email me with the details of your problem and your HelpDesk ticket number (r.vacca@ufl.edu, please include SYA 4930 in your email subject). Migration profile (100 pts). In one of our last few face-to-face sessions, you and a partner will give a 10-minute presentation in class on a migration profile. This may focus on a particular migration origin country (e.g., migration from India to the rest of the world), an immigrant ethnic minority (e.g., Roma immigrants in Europe), or a migration destination country or region (e.g., migration to Brazil or to California); it may refer to migration in the present or in a specific time in modern history (e.g., Italian migration to the US in the early XX th century). You should present data, statistics and research findings on the case you chose; discuss such topics as causes and patterns of 3
migration, immigrant settlement, immigrants participation in the labor market, immigrants families and social networks, health issues, etc.; and cite at least 4 sources you consulted. You will work on this with a partner, and distribute both your research work and presentation time equally with him or her. Each pair s final presentation must consist in a slideshow to be presented in about 10 minutes. More details about presentation dates and partners will be shared on Canvas. Canvas activities (150 pts). These are 15 activities, with 10 points each: o Introduce Yourself Post (10 pts x 1 activity). This is a post about yourself, your background, and your interest in this course. It must be submitted as a Canvas discussion post. See the corresponding discussion prompt for more details. This must be submitted by 2:45pm on its due date. o Canvas discussions (10 pts x 14 activities). These discussions will take place on Tuesday in our Canvas discussion board. They will focus on the topics treated the previous Thursday, including previous week s reading materials and migration-related news (newspaper articles or videos that I ll share on Canvas). To complete your weekly participation in the Canvas discussion, you must submit your posts and responses in the discussion board by 2:45pm on Tuesday. More details will be provided in the Canvas discussion prompt. Discussions will typically open on Tuesday morning and close at 2:45pm the same day. Midterm and final exams (230 pts each). The midterm and final exams will be taken in class via Canvas. The two exams will include questions with multiple-choice responses, short text answers, and essay answers. You will need to take your own laptop to class and make sure it is connected to the UF wifi network. You will be allowed to consult one piece of paper of notes (single-sided) during the exam. The midterm exam will cover all topics, readings, lectures, and discussions up to and including Week 7. The final exam will be similar but cover Weeks 8 to 14. Readings We will use the following textbooks: Required. (CHM) Castles, Stephen, Hein de Haas, and Mark J. Miller. 2013. The Age of Migration, Fifth Edition: International Population Movements in the Modern World. 5 edition. New York: The Guilford Press. Recommended. (KIF) Kivisto, Peter and Thomas Faist. 2010. Beyond a Border: The Causes and Consequences of Contemporary Immigration. Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press. If you decide not to purchase or rent the recommended book (Kivisto and Faist 2010, KIF), email me for other options to access its chapters (r.vacca@ufl.edu, please include SYA 4930 in your email subject). We will also read articles from academic journals, newspapers and other online sources (see details in Course schedule). These are mostly available online for free, but typically you will need to connect to the UF wifi network to download them: web links are provided in this syllabus or on Canvas. Anything that you cannot access online for free (possibly through the UF wifi network) will be made available on Canvas in the Modules section. 4
You should always annotate your text while you read, and bring a written question or comment on the readings to class (see the Requirements section, paragraph on Attendance). To prepare for quizzes and exams, you should read each text at least twice and review your notes on the readings. If you experience difficulties focusing on your readings, you may try the following strategies: setting reading times and breaks with specific durations, and using a timer to keep track of them; reading out loud, or repeating out loud the main points of the text in your own words after reading each page or section; writing down a few bullet points with the main concepts or arguments in the text after reading each page or section; turning off smartphones and laptops (or keeping them offline or in airplane mode) and leaving them in another room. Course policies How to contact me Email is the best way to reach me. Please always include SYA 4930 in your email subject. I will do my best to reply within 24-48 hours. Responses may be slower over weekends and, due to higher student email traffic, before assignment due dates or exam dates. Discussion etiquette International migration can be a controversial topic and elicit strong opinions. You are encouraged to express your views in class discussions, but you are also expected to listen to others. You should contribute to the discussion, not dominate it. Please keep an open mind and assume good faith in others. Disrespectful, derogatory, or racist language, aggressive attitudes, or personal attacks will not be tolerated. If you adopt such language or conduct, I will ask you to leave, deduct points from your final grade, and/or report the incident to UF Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution. Phones and laptops No cell phones, tablets or laptops are allowed in class. We have limited time to spend in face-to-face interactions, and using cell phones or laptops may distract other students and yourself during that time. Use of laptops in class will only be allowed in specific circumstances such as the midterm and final exams (I will let you know in class or via Canvas). Makeup assignments If you have to miss a class assignment, such as a quiz or a Canvas discussion, in exceptional circumstances and for a valid reason (e.g., death in the family or documented illness), you may be allowed to make up the missed assignment. You will have to (1) email me before or immediately after the missed assignment (within 2 hours from the assignment deadline), and (2) provide appropriate documentation (e.g., doctor s note). Makeup assignments will be scheduled at my discretion. Missing pop quizzes. Only the best five out of six quizzes will count toward your final grade: therefore if you miss only one pop quiz you won t need to provide any documentation. However, if you miss more than one quiz, in order to make up any quiz you will need to provide documentation for all the quizzes you missed. 5
Honor Code and plagiarism It is each student s responsibility to be familiar with the University of Florida Student Honor Code. This specifies a number of behaviors that are in violation of the code, and possible sanctions. In particular, see sections 3.A (Cheating) and 3.E (Plagiarism): A Student must not represent as the Student s own work all or any portion of the work of another. Students should also report any condition that facilitates academic misconduct to the instructor or to Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution. Food in class Small snacks and drinks are allowed in class, but please be mindful not to distract others with food smells and noises. For a chart of the top 10 olfactory offending foods in class, see here. Here is more advice to make others not hate you while you re eating in class. Students with disabilities Students with disabilities requesting accommodations should first register with the Disability Resource Center by providing appropriate documentation. Once registered, students will receive an accommodation letter which must be presented to the instructor when requesting accommodation. Students with disabilities should follow this procedure as early as possible in the semester. Course evaluation You are expected to provide feedback on the quality of instruction in this course by completing online evaluations. Evaluations are typically open during the last two or three weeks of the semester (specific times will be posted later in the semester). Summary results of these assessments are available to students at evaluations.ufl.edu/results. 6
Course schedule When multiple readings are indicated for a week, they should be read in the order in which they are listed here. All readings are required, except when indicated as optional. Part I: Movement Week 1 Introduction to the course and syllabus 1/8: Canvas activity - Introduce Yourself post (by 2:45pm) - Syllabus quiz (by 11:55pm) 1/10: The age of migration - CHM 1 Week 2 Why people migrate: Theories of migration 1/15: Canvas discussion 1/17: Theories of migration - CHM 2 - Optional: Massey, Douglas S., Joaquin Arango, Graeme Hugo, Ali Kouaouci, Adela Pellegrino, and J. Edward Taylor. 1993. Theories of International Migration: A Review and Appraisal. Population and Development Review 19(3):431 66. Part II: Settlement and incorporation Week 3 How migration transforms societies 1/22: Canvas discussion 1/24: How migration transforms sending and receiving societies - CHM 3 Week 4 The incorporation of immigrants into receiving societies 1/29: Canvas discussion 1/31: Incorporation, ethnic minorities, and receiving societies - CHM 12 (pp. 264 287, up to Minorities and citizenship ) 7
Week 5 Incorporation, ethnic diversity, and social cohesion 2/5: Canvas discussion 2/7: Ethnic minorities, linguistic and cultural rights, and social cohesion - CHM 12 (pp. 287-295) - Portes, A., & Vickstrom, E. (2011). Diversity, Social Capital, and Cohesion. Annual Review of Sociology, 37(1), 461 479. Week 6 Immigrant incorporation: recent research 2/12: Canvas discussion 2/14: Attitudes toward immigrants and economic incorporation - Van Tubergen, Frank, Ineke Maas, and Henk Flap. 2004. The Economic Incorporation of Immigrants in 18 Western Societies: Origin, Destination, and Community Effects. American Sociological Review 69(5):704 27. - Optional: Fussell, Elizabeth. 2014. Warmth of the Welcome: Attitudes Toward Immigrants and Immigration Policy in the United States Annual Review of Sociology 40:479-498. Part III: Social networks, transnationalism, and health Week 7 Migration and social networks 2/19: Canvas discussion 2/21: Migrant social networks and social capital - Poros, Maritsa. 2011. Migrant Social Networks: Vehicles for Migration, Integration, and Development. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. (Available here.) - Portes, Alejandro. 1998. Social Capital: Its Origins and Applications in Modern Sociology. Annual Review of Sociology 24:1 24. - Hagan, Jacqueline Maria. 1998. Social Networks, Gender, and Immigrant Incorporation: Resources and Constraints. American Sociological Review 63(1):55. Week 8 Immigrant transnationalism (Spring Break) 2/26: Canvas discussion 2/28: Transnationalism and the persistence of homeland ties - KIF 5 - Midterm exam 8
Week 9 Migration and health 3/12: Canvas discussion 3/14: Immigration as a social determinant of health - Castañeda, Heide, Seth M. Holmes, Daniel S. Madrigal, Maria-Elena DeTrinidad Young, Naomi Beyeler, and James Quesada. 2015. Immigration as a Social Determinant of Health. Annual Review of Public Health 36(1):375 92. - Viruell-Fuentes, Edna A., Patricia Y. Miranda, and Sawsan Abdulrahim. 2012. More than Culture: Structural Racism, Intersectionality Theory, and Immigrant Health. Social Science & Medicine 75(12):2099 2106. Part IV: State control, citizenship, and security Week 10 The state and immigration control 3/19: Canvas discussion 3/21: The quest for governmental control - CHM 10 Week 11 Migration and citizenship 3/26: Canvas discussion 3/28: Citizenship, dual citizenship, and immigrant incorporation - KIF 8 Week 12 Unauthorized migration 4/2: Canvas discussion 4/4: Immigrants legal status and incorporation - Van Hook, J., Bean, F., & Passel, J. (2005). Unauthorized migrants living in the United States: A mid-decade portrait. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. (Available here.) - Schachter, Ariela. 2016. From Different to Similar : An Experimental Approach to Understanding Assimilation. American Sociological Review 0003122416659248. Week 13 Immigration and crime 4/9: Canvas discussion 9
4/11: Immigration, crime trends, and illegal immigrants - Ousey, Graham C. and Charis E. Kubrin. 2018. Immigration and Crime: Assessing a Contentious Issue. Annual Review of Criminology 1(1):63 84. - Flores, R. D., & Schachter, A. (2018). Who are the Illegals? The Social Construction of Illegality in the United States. American Sociological Review, 0003122418794635. Week 14 Migration, global security, and climate change 4/16: Canvas discussion 4/18: Securization, terrorism, and climate change - CHM 9 Week 15 Final discussion and exam 4/23: Canvas discussion 5/2: Final exam 10