Undergraduate Module Descriptor

POL3088: Forced Migration, Refugees and International Relations

This module descriptor refers to the 2019/0 academic year.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover some or all of the following topics:

The international refugee regime: emergence and evolution

Refugee status determination: interviews

Refugees and International Relations

The international refugee regime: the role of UNHCR

The international refugee regime: international cooperation problems

International refugee law

The EU dimension: the Common European Asylum System

Durable solutions (1): repatriation

Durable Solutions (2): resettlement and local integration

Biopolitics and refugees

Impact of new technologies of information and communication (NTIC)

The Palestinian refugees and UNRWA

Peacebuilding, state-building, transitional justice and reparations

Internally displaced persons (IDPs)

Environmental displacement

Gender and forced migration

The Syrian refugee crisis in the Middle East

The local dimension of refugee hosting

Protracted refugee situations and historical injustices

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching ActivitiesGuided independent studyPlacement / study abroad
44256

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity1414 hours of lectures (20 x 30 minutes lectures & 2 x 2 hours guest lectures)
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity3030 hours of seminars (20 x 90 minutes seminars) including discussion of set readings, small and large group discussions, individual student presentations, role-playing exercises and audio-visual documentaries
Guided Independent Study156Preparing for and completing coursework
Guided Independent Study100Reading for seminars

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).

UNHCR (1997) The State of the World’s Refugees: A Humanitarian Agenda (Oxford University Press). Available online at: http://www.unhcr.org/4a4c72719.html

UNHCR (2000) The State of the World’s Refugees: Fifty Years of Humanitarian Action (Oxford University Press). Available online at: http://www.unhcr.org/4a4c754a9.html

UNHCR (2005) Refugee Status Determination: Identifying Who is a Refugee (UNHCR). Available online at: http://www.unhcr.org/43144dc52.html

UNHCR (2010) Handbook for the Protection of Internally Displaced Persons (UNHCR). Available online at: http://www.unhcr.org/4c2355229.pdf