Migration, Identity, and Home (L4108B)

15 credits, Level 6

Spring teaching

Migration has profound implications on individuals’ life course, social relations, understanding of ‘home’ and sense of belonging.

How does migration shape individuals’ aspirations and future plans?

How does it transform the life trajectories and self-understanding of privileged movers versus vulnerable ones?

What happens to those who return home, or those whose new home abroad is endangered by changing political circumstances, personal matters or anti-migrant sentiments?

How do those whose work involves permanent travelling make sense of their identities?

These are some of the questions we explore in this module, tracing the experiences of different types of movers, from travelling professionals to precarious workers, lifestyle and retirement migrants, international students and other mobile youth, European ‘free movers’, ‘onward’ migrants or ‘returnees’.

In each context, we pay particular attention to three related aspects:

• how migrants’ life trajectories unfold (for example, changes and transitions related to education, work, family status, and personal development more generally)
• how identities are reconfigured post-migration (in relation to nation, class, age, gender or legal status)
• how migrants define ‘home’ and settlement.

We bring together literature developed within the field of migration studies, youth transitions to ‘adulthood’ and social identities, and seek to uncover the varied privileges and insecurities of cross-border mobility and transnational living.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 150 hours of work. This breaks down into about 22 hours of contact time and about 128 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2025/26. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

Courses

This module is offered on the following courses:

• Criminology and Sociology BA
• History and Sociology BA
• International Relations and Sociology BA
• Philosophy and Sociology BA
• Politics and Sociology BA
• Sociology BA
• Sociology and International Development BA
• Sociology with a Language BA