Undergraduate Module Descriptor

SSI2006: Immigration in Western Societies

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.

Six lectures provide a general discussion of major theoretical and empirical issues in the study of immigrants/ethnic minorities. We will discuss immigration in a comparative perspective, but the main focus will be on the UK.

- Brief history of immigration in the 20 th century. 'Push' and 'pull' factors affecting immigration.

- Ethnic minorities in the labour market. Discrimination.

- The second generation of immigrants in the educational system and labour market. ‘Segmented assimilation’. - Immigrants and ethnic minorities in the political system.

- Public attitudes to immigrants and immigration.

- Immigration policy.

- Computer lab sessions introduce students to survey data analysis with R, covering the following topics:

- Measurement and data sets. Variables and observations. Measurement scales.

- Distributions. Mean, median, variance. Frequency tables.

- Data visualisation.

- Contingency tables.

- Statistical inference.

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
27.5122.50

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

CategoryHours of study timeDescription
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities16.56 lectures of 1.5 hours 5 group debates x 1.5 hour each
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities1111 x 1 hour computer lab seminars
Guided independent study3311 x 3 hour course readings and assignments for seminars and lab sessions
Guided independent study89.5Independent reading and research for essays; writing essays

Online Resources

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