Students will be introduced to key theoretical concepts including an overview of the historical accounts of human mobility, the basic principles of humanitarian law and its interplay with human and migrant rights, along with existing migration, asylum and integration policies, which target to enable resilient societies and set a positive example of best practices.

Emphasis will be drawn to the contemporary discourse on medical anthropology, and to debates such as cultural diversity, pandemic, social representations, interculturalism, body and gender, medical knowledge and health practices. The psychosocial dimensions of forced relocation and migration will be also scrutinized, focusing on the frequently experienced refugee trauma, especially by victims of torture, of inhumane and ill treatment, and by survivals of genocidal atrocities.

The course also offers a comprehensive discourse analysis of international migration, covering a multitude of genres, as social and political acts are interlaced, examining the contingencies of individual and collective action. Furthermore, students will explore fundamental techniques and methological tools applying to demographic, statistical and epidemiological research, and will be introduced to crime and counter crime in forced migration in an international context, accentuating the ambiguous connection between ethnic minority groups, power of the state and crime.

Course Objectives:

Being an indispensible part of boarder societal, economical, environmental and political global changes, migration is inherently a complex and multidimensional process, profoundly intertwined with social transformation and change. This post-graduate course will contribute to create a solid base of the legal and humanitarian aspects of forced migration, emphasizing on both theoretical and practical critical issues, promoting advocacy of human rights and the essence of understanding between migrant and receiving communities.