121-277 The Mobile World: Geographies of Migration and Tourism

Note

Available in odd-numbered years, alternating with 121-207/307 Landscapes of Power: New Cultural Geographies

Availability

Credit Points

Coordinator

Prerequisites

25 points of first year Geography or Sociology or Politics; or by arrangement with the subject coordinator.

Contact

Subject Description

Human mobility is an increasingly important part of the contemporary social condition as is evident in a range of spatial formations. This subject examines a number of examples of mobility: refugee movements, temporary worker migration, permanent resettlement/migration, diasporic communities, and tourism. Each of these forms of mobility raises important issues to do with a cluster of theoretical themes: the social construction of difference in and through place, migration and the nature of citizenship, the 'demise' of the nation-state, globalisation, mobility and leisure industries, migration and labour markets, as well as identity and sense of place. Students who complete this subject should: understand the range of circumstances which might produce mobility in the contemporary world; learn the different forms mobility takes (refugees, migration, tourism); comprehend the implications of movement for citizenship rights; understand the relationship between migration and labour markets; relate mobility to different scales: global, local and national; understand economic restructuring and the rise of mobility (e.g. tourism); be aware of the link between mobility and processes of globalisation; comprehend the complex relationship between mobility, identity and place; relate human mobility to specific issues of race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality.

Assessment

A 1.5 hour final examination; written work up to 3500 words. Proportions to be advised at the beginning of semester.