Migration in the Middle East

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

The countries of the Middle East and North Africa have long been significant points origin, transit, and destination in the global movement of people, making migration one of the single most important factors shaping the region’s politics, economies, societies and culture. In this course students will critically debate the ways in which migration has fundamentally transformed the MENA region using not only traditional academic studies, films, and literature, but also by stepping outside the classroom to conduct and reflect on their own “fieldwork” in Qatar. The course will be divided into three sections. Section I provides the analytic background needed for studying the causes and consequences of migration in the Middle East, beginning with an introduction to theories of migration and a brief overview of population mobility figures and patterns in the region. In section II, students will explore in depth some of the most significant migrations in contemporary history: the break-up of the Ottoman empire; colonial migrations and the creation of new nation-states; Palestinian displacement; North African migration to and from Europe; labour migration in the Gulf; refugee crises as the result of wars in Iraq and Syria; and the impact of COVID-19 on the region’s migration patterns. Section III focuses on the politics of diaspora communities, including the diaspora’s role during the Arab Spring, transnational identity and belonging, the everyday spatial segregation and discrimination that affects migrants, and migration during the World Cup 2022.