RESEARCH AND ORIENTATION WORKSHOP ON FORCED MIGRATION
Winter Course on Forced Migration, 2004
Assignments
MODULE A
Forced Migration,racism,immigration, and xenophobia
Module A
Connect the four key words in the title of the course – forced migration, racism, immigration, and xenophobia – and write a note on how the syllabus and the reading material of the course integrate these into an orientation course on forced migration.
Show how racism at times is linked to nationalism, majoritarianism, and discriminations of various kinds thereby producing forced displacement of people – both within the borders of the country and across the borders.
Discuss the right to return and argue in that context whether partition refugees should be considered as a distinct category.
Review Notes- Module A
Write a review article on the basis of your reading of Paula Banerjee’s “Aliens In A Colonial World” and R. Samaddar’s “A Nation’s Two Subjects” how the notion of race plays an important part in determining who is a citizen and who is a non-citizen.
OR
Write a short review note on how violence and dispute are important features of the formation of nation state. Refer to the two essays from Refugee Watch.
1Displacing the People the Nation Marches Ahead in Sri Lanka
2. Mohajirs : The Refugees By Choice.
MODULE B
Gendered nature of forced migration, vulnerability, and justice
Term Paper
Module B
Do you think that the international refugee law has adequate and wide-ranging provisions for women as a distinct group of refugees?
Write a detailed note on the experiences of any of the following women refugee populations in South Asia – Afghan refugee women in Pakistan, Chin refugee women in India, Sri Lankan refugee or internally displaced women, Rohingiya women in Bangladesh, or Bhutanese refugee women in Nepal.
Argue why listening to women’s experiences and chronicling them is particularly important in understanding the “refugee situation” and forging appropriate responses.
Review Notes- Module B
Point out how single women (unaccompanied girl child or widow or unmarried single women) feature in selected refugee literature sent to you and comment whether they form a distinct category of victims.
OR
Write a short note/article building on Teresa Hayton’s writing in Refugee Review “No Borders: The Case Against Immigration Control” that reflects on the experiences of trans-border migrant victims (how women as victims of forced displacement negotiate borders).
MODULE C
International, regional, and the national regimes of protection, sovereignty, and the principle of responsibility
Term Paper – Module C
How have recent global economic and political trends and changes impacted on international refugee law?
Analyse the way international refugee law defines “fear” and “vulnerability”.
Compare and contrast International Humanitarian Laws and the South Asian Human Rights Laws and comment how it reflects on situation of refugees in South Asia.
Review Note- Module C
Review Sarbani Sen’s “Role of UNHCR in India” and J.M. Castro-Magluff’s “The Inadequacies of International Regime for the Protection of Refugees” and comment on the role of UNHCR in South Asia. Mention its achievements and limitations.
OR
Review Ranabir Samaddar’s editorial article in Refugees and the State, B.S. Chimni’s two articles published in the Journal of Refugee Studies (“The Geopolitics of Refugee Studies” & “Globalization, Humanitarianism and the Refugee Protection”) and Tapan Bose and Rita Manchanda’s article “The Changing Nature of Refugee Crisis” and comment on the changing nature of refugee situation in South Asia.
MODULE D
Resource politics, environmental degradation, and forced migration
Term Paper- Module D
The resettlement question is in the last instance an issue of access and management of resources – comment.
The question of land lie at the heart of the Bhutanese refugee crisis – discuss.
Does the presence of large numbers of women in any given refugee population in South Asia indicate their lack of control over resources? Comment
Review Note- Module D
On the basis of your reading of Meghna Guhathakurta’s article “Globalization, Class and Gender Relations : The Shrimp Industry In South-western Bangladesh” and the Report on the Workshop on Engendering R & R show how refusing women or divesting them of control over and access to resources have led to large-scale displacement of women.
OR
On reading Sabyasachi Basu Raychoudhury’s essay “Uprooted Twice : Refugees from the Chittagong Hill Tracts”, Sanjay Borbora’s paper “Ethnic Politics and Land Use : Genesis of Conflicts in India’s North-East” and Ranabir Samaddar’s chapter “Agrarian Impasse and the Making of an Immigrant Niche” comment on the impact of land question on refugees and refugee politics.
(For Terms Papers) http://www.mcrg.ac.in/tmd04.htm
(For Review Assignments) http://www.mcrg.ac.in/tmd04.htm
MODULE E
Internal displacement – causes, linkages, and responses
Term Paper- Module E
Show how the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement base themselves on some of the essential elements of international human rights and international humanitarian laws.
Given the inherently difficult relation between the two principles of sovereignty and responsibility, comment on applicability of the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement in South Asia.
Comment on the situation of the women IDPs in Sri Lanka.
Review Note – Module E
Write a review of the relevant chapters of Exodus Within Borders/David A. Korn
OR
Write a review note on Internally Displaced Persons of Afghanistan.
MODULE F
Ethics of care and justice
Term Paper- Module F
1.Discuss the relationship between ethics and power in the context of vulnerable groups.
2.Discuss the European citizenship question in the context of immigration.
3.Write critically on Multiculturalism and ethics of tolerance.
Review Note- Module F
Review relevant sections (on this module) from B.S. Chimni’s International Refugee Law: A Reader and Ranabir Samaddar’s article on “Power, Fear, Ethics” in Refugee Watch, critically discuss “fear” as a factor in the displacement of vulnerable groups.
OR
On reading Catherine Wihtol de Wenden’s two articles published in Refugee Watch (“Post-Amsterdam Migration Policy and European Citizenship” & How Can One Be Muslim in France?”) and keeping the controversy over “veiling” in France in mind comment on how one can be a Muslim in Europe?
(Item 3 to be also used as reference for Modules D & E)