ANTH 445: Senior Seminar
General/Liberal Education Category: WI-Writing Intensive
Fall 2008

Migration and Human Adaptation
Minnesota State University Moorhead
Dr. Bruce Roberts
Department of Anthropology and Earth Science
Office: KH 213; Telephone: 477-2043
Fall 2008 Office hours:
Monday and Wednesday 11:00AM-2:30PM
Tuesday and Thursday 10:30 - 11:30AM; 1:30-2:30PM
E mail: robertsb@mnstate.edu; Class web site http://web.mnstate.edu/robertsb/445

Humans have been moving since first leaving Africa perhaps 2 million years ago. Nevertheless, the rate and scale of migration today is unparalleled in human history. In this course we will consider why people move, why they go where they go as well as the consequences of these movements. Our emphasis will be on contemporary migration in today’s world. We’ll examine migration as an adaptive strategy that people use in adjusting to changing conditions in their environment. Movement entails adjustment and numerous aspects of peoples’ lives change as a result: lifestyles, livelihoods, habitation modes, foodstuffs, clothing and dress, education, family life, etc. Collectively these traits constitute what anthropologists call culture. Some movement is voluntary but much of it is not. We’ll look at both voluntary and involuntary movement and consider how they differentially affect the people involved: women and men, children and adults, migrants and hosts. Case studies based upon ethnographic research – the hallmark of cultural anthropology – will be utilized.  

To reiterate, we’ll attempt to objectively understand the causes and consequences of human migration rather than perfunctorily viewing it as a problem per se. This will not be a course about “illegal immigration” nor will I permit it to be used as a forum for promoting anti-immigration rhetoric or prose.

What is a Seminar?

A seminar is a small class that entails a considerable amount of reading and has a group discussion rather than lecture format. ANTH 445/Senior Seminar is the capstone course for the anthropology program. It should help you to better understand and synthesize a great deal of the material you’ve learned in your undergraduate career. A seminar is designed to stimulate critical and analytical thinking as well as thoughtful discussion. As it is one of our writing intensive courses in the new Dragon Core curriculum it requires a considerable amount of writing. That writing is to be based on the assigned readings as well as the research paper. The small class format is designed to facilitate group discussions that should form the bulk of our time. 

Texts

Cohen, Jeffrey H.
2004    The Culture of Migration in Southern Mexico. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-70592-0

George, Mariam Sheba
2005    When Women Come First: Gender and Class in Transnational Migration. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 9780520243194

Rain, David
1999    Eaters of the Dry Season: Circular Labor Migration in the West African Sahel. Boulder, Colorado Perseus Books. ISBN 978081338729.

Trager, Lillian ed.
2005    Migration and Economy: Global and Local Dynamics. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press, Society for Economic Anthropology Monographs; Volume 22. ISBN 9780759107755

Evaluation

Attendance/discussion: As adults, attendance is at your discretion. However, you should know that active participation in class discussions will constitute a critical but intangible component of your final grade. I will keep track of who’s been naughty and who’s been nice and in the end that could mean the difference between an A and a B or a B and a C… I think you get the idea.

Critical book reviews: For each of the three ethnographies you’ll write a brief (~5 page) critical review. The first will be due on September 29th, the second will be due on October 29th and the third will be due on December 8th. Each of these will comprise 5% of your final grade, 15% total. If you’re unsure how this should be done visit the web page for the University of Wisconsin Writing Center or the University of Alberta Libraries

Research paper: All students will research and write a paper on some issue within the larger context of migration. Each student will select a topic from the following list for further study (others may be selected but must be approved in advance). You will collect information on this topic using scholarly sources.  Toward that end we will probably take a “safari” to meet with one of the reference librarians to go over that exciting subject. You are strongly encouraged, once you have selected your topic, to immediately commence the literature search. An outline and preliminary bibliography will be due October 15th. Failure to submit these items will result in a 20% penalty off the final paper grade. An oral presentation delivered in class will summarize the project. Failure to present your oral summary will also result in a 20% penalty off the final paper grade. Length does not always connote quality but I’d say probably it should somewhere in the neighborhood of 15-20 pages. This paper will constitute 25% of your final grade. 

Possible Topics to Pursue

• Rural to urban migration – a phenomenon that has been ongoing for thousands of years but today is taking place at unparalleled rates. Why?
• Remittances – money that gets sent back home by migrants. How much gets sent back home and to whom? What impact do remittances have on host and home countries?    
• Involuntary or forced migration – what are the different circumstances of refugees, internally displaced peoples (IDPs), and oustees? Are there patterns to the ways people move in this type of migration?
• Diasporas – large-scale historic movements of peoples. Examples and impacts.
• Transnationalism – what is meant by this term? Why is it so significant in today’s world? What challenges does it present to a field like anthropology, which has traditionally been based upon the study of relatively well bounded locales?
• Gender and migration – how does the migration process differentially affect women and men? Are there different motivations for men and women to move?
• Internal voluntary migration – what kinds of circumstances encourage the internal movement of peoples? What are some examples?
• Return migration – the phenomenon that occurs when people go back to their country of origin. What are some of the reasons for this and what are some of the issues that confront these returnees?
• International Relief Agencies and Governments – what are their roles in the migration process, especially with regard to refugees/internally displaced peoples?  
• Retirement migration – people who decide to move overseas after retirement. Why do they do this? How do they adapt to their new places of residence? How are they received by locals in their destination countries?

 Online Bibliographies

These may help get you started. They are not intended to be exhaustive so do not rely solely upon them!

Anthropology of Migration – Research Resources, A Selected List. Compiled by John Dillard, Social Sciences Librarian, University of Texas, Austin. 

Bibliography of Return Migration European University Institute. Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Study.

Exams: There will be three exams all worth 100 points. All will be comprised of a combination of objective questions (e.g., multiple choice, true-false) and comprehensive essays. Each exam will constitute 20% of your final grade, 60% total.

Extra credit: I do not believe in it and will not offer it.

Students with disabilities who believe they may need an accommodation in this class are encouraged to contact Greg Toutges, Coordinator of Disability Services at 477-5959 (voice) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY), CMU 114 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Summary

Schedule of Topics, Reading Assignments, Due Dates, Exam Dates