Refugees (SA0107)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : SPS-3-SAREF

This course aims to take an anthropological approach to the legal treatment of refugees as defined by the 1951 Refugee Convention; its main focus is therefore on asylum seekers, and legal processes involved in claiming asylum in the UK, with some reference to other European countries and the rest of the world. It deals principally, though not entirely, with refugees from South Asia. The course considers factors causing refugee flows, namely, social, political and military conflicts which create persecution and cause people to flee within and from their own countries. It examines the bureaucratic and legal hurdles which asylum seekers must surmount to become officially recognised as legitimate refugees, with particular emphasis on ethnographic study of proceedings in immigration courts. It also examines the cultural consequences of displacement. Legal definitions of Convention concepts such as race, political opinion and social group are analysed anthropologically.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : Visiting students must have prior study in Social Anthropology or closely related subject area; as a general guide we usually require students to have completed three courses at grade B or above.

? Costs : Travel to Glasgow to attend asylum appeal hearing

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Social Anthropology, (School of Social and Political Studies, Schedule J)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Not being delivered

? Contact Teaching Time : 1 hour(s) 50 minutes per week for 11 weeks

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Wednesday	11:10	13:00	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

Students attending this course will acquire understanding of the contexts leading to the rapid rise in movements of international refugees, and the cultural consequences for refugees themselves. They will become aware of the practical roles which anthropological knowledge plays in the asylum process, and the professional and ethical issues which arise. They will be in a position to take an informed, anthropological perspective on media coverage and political debates surrounding immigration, refugee, and asylum issues.