Critical Perspectives on Human Mobility and International Law

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Human mobility has become a central discourse within international law and governance. While the first regulative steps taken during the second half of the 20th century were hailed as a new progressive step in international regulation, the last 30 years have shown that the system remains flawed. But what if it was flawed from the very beginning? This is exactly what the students will try to explore in this course. From instances of forced emergent mobilities, such as war and internal conflict mobility, to environmental destructions making populations to construct preemptive plans for moving from their homes to labour migration, the current system has persistently failed to protect those it was originally designed to do so; the most vulnerable. This course aims to highlight the socio-legal dynamics and tensions existing at the core of the current international system of regulating human mobility. By engaging with the complexities of the existing system, its boundaries, and inherent regulatory anxieties, the students will be able to develop a critical perspective and understanding of the issue at hand.The main objective of this course is for students to comprehend the complexity of the current international regulation of human mobility and develop a critical understanding of key policy and normative issues at hand. At the end of the course, the objectives are for the students to: - be able to identify the key notions and definitions pertaining to human mobility as existing in contemporary international law - understand the current legal and policy framework governing human mobility under international law, including current developments - develop a critical perception of the dynamics and tensions of the various protective regimes - critically engage with the role of international law in coercively regulating mobile racialised bodies - assess the role of gender identity, sexual orientation, and status in shaping migrant experiences - critically engage with the interaction between climate change and human mobility under international law To achieve these learning goals, the course lectures are structured around a participatory approach where students will have to read the proposed readings before class and actively engage in discussions.