Anthropology 693W - S- Worlds of Migration

This seminar takes an expansive view of migration, beginning with readings from archaeology, physical anthropology and antiquity, all of which show that humans have always traveled great distances, for resources, because of climate disturbances, and for reasons that are yet to be understood. Indeed, migration has been a consistent feature and "producer" of human existence. Taking human migration as the norm rather than the exception, we will examine when, how and why `nativism? and reactionary discourses of ethnic and racialized citizenship began imagining a different view of migration to the one we find in the records of human history. Readings on contemporary migration will focus on India, South Africa, Greece, Australia and the US, all of which have had intense debates on questions of nation, sexuality, race and labor in recent years. Theoretically, we will rely on critiques of migration that emphasize temporality, political economy and postcoloniality, especially with respect to understanding borders and how they are surveilled and enforced. Our readings and discussions will expand the terrain of what counts as `migration?, why certain forms of human movement across great distances are not thought of as `migration? at all, and why legal and policy debates around the world tend to focus on cross-border migration, often at the expense of equally important discussions of domestic, `circular? and seasonal migrations that people everywhere undertake as a means of survival.