408314 VU Selected Sociological Topics: Escape and Asylum

summer semester 2023 | Last update: 26.01.2023 Place course on memo list
408314
VU Selected Sociological Topics: Escape and Asylum
VU 2
5
every 2 weeks
each semester
German

Curr. 2021 § 5 (1) 15: This module serves to gain in-depth knowledge in selected subject areas of sociology. The students specialise in one or more subject(s) and acquire in-depth knowledge in them.

The topic of flight and asylum is not only currently a prominent part of socio-political discourse, a much sought-after point of reference for political action and part of media reporting, but also plays a relevant role for a contemporary sociological diagnosis of society as a whole. Despite historical changes and major dynamics in the context of flight and asylum, continuities are discernible. In particular, and despite different accentuations, processes that determine what "the refugee" is or "may be” prove to be relatively stable.

Law and legal practice play a - sometimes contradictory - role in the context of asylum. Asylum can be considered as a basic prerequisite for the effective assertion of human rights. Applying for asylum can be understood, in the sense of Hannah Arendt, as a claim to a "right to have rights"; asylum seekers thus as rights-claimants. At the same time, in the context of efforts to "manage" migration, law serves the selection and categorization of non-citizens: Within a differentiated and highly dynamic legal sphere, bureaucratic administrative procedures stratify rights and create hierarchical categories that turn humans into "refugees," "asylum seekers," "illegalized persons," and recently also increasingly into "displaced persons." This and the associated structural framework also determine the lifeworld orientations, possibilities for action and the self-positioning of refugees and (forced) migrants.

The course takes a social science perspective on the role of law and the (Austrian) legal practice. Starting from the definition of refugee, as laid down in the Geneva Refugee Convention, and from the early refugee policy of Austria, continuities and discontinuities will be critically discussed. In addition to the analysis of the legal practice, the (also sociological) meaning of (human) rights within the context of asylum will be reflected upon. The course aims at stimulating a reflexive engagement with the subject as well as with one's own positioning towards the topic.

The course incorporates several approaches, active participation is a prerequisite: joint readings and discussions of literature; analysis of documents (e.g. legal texts, if applicable interviews, self-representations of authorities, NGOs, etc.); inputs and presentations of the participants, eventually guided and prepared discussions/interviews with relevant stakeholders etc.

(a) Active participation and presence in class (presence and virtual).
(b) Readings and individual preparation of literature (memos), assignments during the semester
(c) Presentation and short written reflection on a specified topic or final paper.

To be announced in the first session.

none

see dates
Group 0
Date Time Location
Mon 2023-03-13
08.00 - 11.15 Seminarraum 1W05 (Grauer Bär) Seminarraum 1W05 (Grauer Bär) Präsenztermin
Mon 2023-03-27
08.00 - 11.15 eLecture - online eLecture - online
Mon 2023-04-24
08.00 - 11.15 Seminarraum 1W05 (Grauer Bär) Seminarraum 1W05 (Grauer Bär) Präsenztermin
Mon 2023-05-08
08.00 - 11.15 eLecture - online eLecture - online
Mon 2023-05-22
08.00 - 11.15 Seminarraum 1W05 (Grauer Bär) Seminarraum 1W05 (Grauer Bär) Präsenztermin
Tue 2023-06-06
15.00 - 18.15 eLecture - online eLecture - online
Mon 2023-06-19
08.00 - 11.15 Seminarraum 1W05 (Grauer Bär) Seminarraum 1W05 (Grauer Bär) Präsenztermin