Study Programmes 2016-2017
SOCI2264-1  
Undocumented Migration, social movements and public policy
Duration :
30h Th
Number of credits :
Master in sociology (120 ECTS)6
Lecturer :
Marco Martiniello
Substitute(s) :
Thomas Swerts
Language(s) of instruction :
English language
Organisation and examination :
Teaching in the second semester
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite :
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents :
Undocumented migration has become a top priority on the political agendas of many Western governments. Media frequently report on the large numbers of "illegal" immigrants that cross the border or overstay their visas without state authorization. Meanwhile, politicians on all sides of the political spectrum raise warning signs about the "flood" of "illegal aliens" and the threats it might pose to the social cohesion and welfare of Western societies. Governments have accordingly attempted to control irregular migration flows through measures like deportation, border enforcement and "one-shot" regularization. What is remarkably missing in mainstream media and politicians¿ discourses on irregular migration, is the stories of undocumented migrants. Nevertheless, over the last few decades, there has been a significant rise in forms of undocumented activism whereby migrants contest their exclusion from citizenship and voice their demands for a more inclusive migration politics.
This raises the following questions: Can states control undocumented migration? How do they decide to let some migrants in and keep others out? Which governance techniques have states designed to do so? How do these policies affect targeted migrant communities? How do migrants become ¿illegal¿? How do undocumented migrants gain a political voice? Which means do they have at their disposal to mobilize public support for their demands? And what are the challenges that undocumented migrants face in the current political climate?
This course aims to tackle these questions by providing students with the necessary analytical tools and theoretical frameworks to make sense of undocumented migration as a social phenomenon. More in particular, we will pay attention to the role that the state and social movement actors play in shaping irregular migration politics.
  • On the one hand, we will investigate the public policies whereby undocumented migrants are governed. This will include a critical examination of the historical construction of the category of the "illegal" immigrant, an evaluation of regularization programs, and an analysis of bordering and deportation practices.
  • On the other hand, we will study how social movements like the immigrant rights movement, the DREAM movement, the No Border Network, NO One Is Illegal and the sans-papiers movement contest these ways of governing. In this context, topics of investigation will include the claims-making practices of the undocumented, the forms of political expression that they develop in their host societies and the alliances they build with other civil society actors.
The course adopts an explicitly international perspective to irregular migration politics. Several case studies from Western countries (including, among others, Belgium, France, Italy, UK, Germany, US, Canada and Australia) will be presented to illustrate each topic.
Theoretically, the focus will be on interdisciplinary work from critical scholars in migration studies, social movement studies and citizenship studies.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit :
The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the conceptual tools to interpret and analyze the contemporary politics of undocumented migration.
Students will be pushed to critically question their presumptions about undocumented migrants and form an empirically grounded and informed understanding of irregular migration policies and their contestations. By the end of the class, students should be capable to research and theoretically interpret a case study of undocumented migration politics in a particular country or region.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills :
A good level of English is required.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
There might be a field trip to an undocumented-led initiative as part of the course (this will be announced later).
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
Presence for all classes is highly recommended, as class participation will count towards the final grade (see below).
Each class will be centered around a set of required readings (in English) that will be distributed beforehand electronically via My ULg by the instructor.
Powerpoint presentations will be distributed in print at the beginning of each class and electronically at the end of the semester.
For French speakers, attendance of the Migrations et luttes sociales workshop organized at the Université Saint-Louis Bruxelles is suggested (for the program, see: https://migrationsetluttessociales.wordpress.com/).
Recommended or required readings :
I will assign required readings for each class. Reflection questions will be provided before each class to guide your reading. Further suggested readings and background (news reports, data on irregular migration) may be added. All required and recommended readings will be made available electronically via MyULg. 
Assessment methods and criteria :
  • Class participation will account for 20% of the final grade. This will be calculated based on attendance and participation during classes.
  • Students will need to write two short reflection papers (topic will be announced beforehand by the instructor) throughout the semester, accounting for 30% of the final grade.
  • The research paper, which accounts for 50% of the final grade, needs to focus on a social movement and its relation to public policy around undocumented migration in a specific country or region. The topic of the paper needs to be consulted with and approved by the instructor beforehand. Final papers are presented in class during the last session of the semester.
  • Late submissions on either the reflection papers or the final paper will result in reduced marks.
Work placement(s) :
Students who are interested in participating in an undocumented-led initiative or volunteering at an immigrant community organization can request to replace the two short reflection papers (30% of the grade) by one short reflection paper on their experience (15% of the grade) and a brief (15 min) presentation of this experience in class (15% of the grade). The instructor needs to be consulted before this option can be approved.
Organizational remarks :
Classes will take place on Thursdays from 11AM until 1PM. The room will be announced later. Thank you for following the directions on My ULg.
Contacts :
  • Thomas Swerts - Thomas.Swerts@ulg.ac.be
    Maître de conferences, ULg/ Post-doctoral Research Fellow, University of Antwerp
  • Marco Martiniello - M.martiniello@ulg.ac.be
    Directeur de recherches du FRS-FNRS