300634 The public and political uses of expert knowledge in migration (S) (WiSe 2019/2020)

In the past years a renewed attention to social science’s direct engagement with the world outside of the ivory tower has emerged, especially considering the social sciences on migration. In times of alternative facts and right-wing populism, the need for evidence-based policy is stressed by various organizations and indeed science has a plentiful store of research knowledge on the causes and consequences of migration for nation states, on the politics of migration etc. and at the core stands the following question: Wouldn’t it be better if all this knowledge could be used for a better world? Could science instruct a better migration policy and a better-informed public?
In this course we seek to understand the uses of scientific knowledge in policymaking and in the public sphere. The aim of the course is to understand the social embeddedness of scientific knowledge on migration in public institutions. The development of a lucid understanding of the relationship between public institutions, that strive for scientific informed political dispositions and the scientific knowledge on migration are all the more urgent in the 21st century where migration is becoming one of the central political conflicts for nation-states.
The syllabus will follow in time.

Bibliography

Boswell, Christina, 2009. The Political Uses of Expert Knowledge: Immigration Policy and Social Research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.