Refugees & Migrants: From Ellis Island to Budapest Train Station (3 cr)
Mirjam Zadoff
JSTU-J 304 Social & Historical Topics in Jewish Studies #12821;
HIST-W 300 Issues in World History #12567;
INTL-I 300 Topics in International Studies #13405;
HON-H 304 Interdepartmental Colloquiua #9802
MW 9:30-10:45
CASE S&H; Themester course; May be repeated with a different topic for a maximum of 9 credit hours; credit given for only one of J304, HIST-W 300, INTL-I 300, or HON-H 304 (with this topic)
The global refugee crisis hits all time high with 65.3 million forcibly displaced people worldwide. This doesn’t include migrants, who are on the move due to economic hardship, hunger and global warming. We will trace the realities and images of refugees, undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers as essential ‘Others’ over the course of the late 19th century up until today. Our starting point are the millions of Irish, Jewish, Italian and other immigrants arriving at Ellis Island. From there we will venture on to the refugee crisis of WW I, the Holocaust, the mass displacement of WWII, and the introduction of national and international Human Rights legislations. We will finally arrive at the present global refugee crisis, and will discuss the closing of borders and the identification of refugees with terrorism. Throughout the course we’ll discuss legislations, national and communal relief organization, and the everyday life experiences of migrants, their journeys and arrivals at their destinations.
