Migration has become a central and contentious issue in European policymaking. As states attempt to regulate mobility, urgent ethical questions arise. What are the moral limits of state control over borders in the face of global inequality and displacement? What forms of mistreatment affect migrants before, during, and after their journeys across borders? And, how should we understand the ethical dimensions of migration across generations, particularly regarding the rights and responsibilities that extend across familial and temporal lines?
Throughout the semester, we will compare competing positions on the stringency of immigration control and the obligations of states towards migrants. Engaging with the works of Joseph Carens, David Miller, Philip Cole, and Lea Ypi, we will consider differing answers to questions concerning the moral status of borders, the legitimacy of exclusion, and the role of ânationalâ culture and identity. Do states have special obligations to their own citizens that justify immigration restrictions, or are such policies incompatible with the liberal principles of freedom and equality? We will also reflect on the moral force of migrants´ claims to receiving societies, especially against the background of global inequality and other structural factors that urge people to migrate.
Finally, we will turn to the theme of intergenerationality in migration ethics. Assessing recent research on migration, the family, and the interactions between generations in sending and receiving societies, we will discuss how intergenerational effects complicate the evaluation of migration policies over time, considering especially questions of pluralism, integration, and social movement.
The seminar will include a workshop towards the end of the semester (date and details will be announced).
Credit points: Students can get graded or ungraded credit points. For the latter they can take an oral exam or write a term paper.
- Kursleiter/in: Marco Antonio Toche Zevallos
- Kursleiter/in: Martina Tomczak