300650 Anthropology of Risk and Migration (MA: Soziologie der globalen Welt) (S) (SoSe 2026)

Wars, climate disasters, ecological destruction, economic crisis, indebtedness, poverty and structural unemployment – our world today seems full of risks. In many places, people increasingly have to migrate merely to survive them. And yet, migration itself has become a major risk. It is all too common that migrants lose their lives or face violence, deportation and imprisonment in search of shelter.

This seminar explores the relationship between risk and migration with a view to exposing the political implications of risk production and distribution through spatial mobility. Beginning with discussion of some key concepts in the first one or two sessions, we will read anthropological texts addressing this relationship in diverse empirical contexts of transnational and rural-urban migration.

The study credits for this class will be gained via actual inputs in class discussion for at least 70% of the sessions. We will document these discussions with poster summaries of the readings by groups. If you are interested in writing a term paper, please speak to the professor in class.

Teilnahmevoraussetzungen, notwendige Vorkenntnisse

No prior knowledge is required, except for the willingness to read texts closely and contribute to class discussion in meaningful ways.