Anthropology 216MH - Special Topics in Anthropology: 'Migration and Human Rights'

Can the history of nation-states and global capitalism also be understood as a history of migration? In what ways are the experiences of refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants different from the legal categories assigned to them? Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben's conceptualizations of "state of exception" and "bare life" are frequently invoked in current scholarship on refugee and detention camps. What -- if any -- is the difference between life in concentration camps, refugee camps, and migrant detention centers? Are human rights frameworks adequate to the task of addressing protracted statelessness and migration brought about by the intersection of conflict, economic crises, and climate change? These questions will be examined through scholarship on migration, human rights, and humanitarianism.

Prereq: ANTHR-105.