Courses
The International M.A. in Migration Studies is a one-year (3 semester) graduate program taught in English.
Students in the M.A. in Migration Studies program study two days a week, on Mondays and Thursdays.
The schedule of classes for 2022-2023, an overview of academic requirements and credit hours can be found in the course catalogue. Registration for courses is done via the program coordinator - there is no bidding for courses in this M.A. program.
Watch here the recording from one of our online Open days to hear about the structure of the program and its components.
Below you can read more about each course offered by the M.A. in Migration Studies Program.
You can learn more about our lecturers on our faculty page.
Please note that course offerings are updated each year, and are subject to change.
Lecturer: Dr. Natali Levy
The social phenomenon of people moving to other regions than the one in which they were born, i.e. immigration, is rooted in human pre-history. It is fueled by many diverse factors - economic, political, familial, environmental as well ideological and has a major effect not only on the prospective migrant but on the sending and receiving countries as well. Today international immigration is a major global phenomenon affecting scores of individual lives, communities and societies and lies at the heart of ongoing public debates in several countries. In parallel it has received considerable scholarly attention focusing on its numerous and fascinating dimensions. This course aims to offer students the opportunity to learn and critically analyze the main theoretical perspectives on international migration looking into several of its sub-fields. We will dwell on the drivers and types of international migration; the issues of economic, social and linguistic incorporation; public opinion and perceptions of threat towards immigrants; migration of asylum seekers and the issue of humanitarianism; the case of female migration; and last discuss the matter of return migration. Through this examination during the course we will be able to better understand and address these interesting social questions: Why do people migrate? How are they received and perceived in their new societies? Under what circumstances do they return to their country of origin? And what major challenges are embedded in this social phenomenon, today and in the future? The course will combine lectures, movies and class discussions.
Lecturer: Dr. Udi Sommer
The purpose of this course is to provide students with useful tools for engaging in empirical research in the social sciences and to help students understand literature that uses a range of research methods. Students will learn how to think about theoretical problems in terms of empirical models ? theory, hypothesis testing, data collection, presentation of research, and reading and writing research papers.
This course should prepare students to:
1. Identify and evaluate scholarship on conflict resolution and mediation.
2. Design an individual research project, matching theory with the appropriate research methodology.
3. Obtain and evaluate information relevant to the execution of a research project.
4. Present findings from a research project.
Lecturer: Dr. Avinoam Cohen
This course provides an introduction to current policy trends in a comparative perspective. It includes two main modules. At first, we will look into the "classic" modes of immigration policy that focus on the regulation of entry, status, naturalization, integration and exclusion. We will study particular policy measures and ask how policies are negotiated and designed within and in support of different migration regimes. In the second module we will account for the increasing reach of migration policy beyond its traditional domains. From the labor market, through criminal law, trade and financial regulation, to regulation of cultural conduct, multiple spheres of human activity have become sites for immigration policymaking. Looking at immigration policies in these variety of domains, we will study the interplay between restrictive and expansive approaches to migration that are often coextensive.
In applying this layered perspective of immigration policy to particular cases, the course offers tools for examining immigration policies in context; to evaluate policy effects; and to assess the role of planned interventions in making and unmaking migration patterns. Finally, the focus on policy lends an important viewpoint on the institutions, structures and agents involved in the policing of borders and persons. To study contemporary efforts to control or manage migration is, ultimately, to study the current conditions of a global order and its basic sovereign territorial units that define international migration.
Lecturer: Dr. Yuval Livnat
The course will cover key aspects of the international legal regimes pertaining to refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as a brief review of both the evolution and contemporary situation of these categories of persons globally. It will also be approached from a broader human rights perspective, highlighting where possible, examples of complex or challenging situations both in policy and practice, and from an ethical perspective.
Lecturer: Dr. Anna Prashizky
There is currently a burgeoning interest in sociology, anthropology and politics around questions of ethnicity, identity politics and minority rights. This course will provide a sociological perspective centered on questions of ethnicity and inter-group relations. It examines theoretical and empirical issues related to ethnicity in the context of global immigration. The central issues of the course are: what is the difference between race and ethnicity; what is ethnic identity; the generational change of ethnicity and the children of contemporary immigrants; hybrid identity and the popular culture and rituals of immigrants; inter-ethnic encounters within the family; social capital and ethnicity; passing as non-ethnic; therapy with ethnic minorities. The course will deal with the different types of ethnicity: such as reactive, strong and symbolic ethnicity of the immigrants around the world. The special emphasis will be laid on the examples of ethnic relations and different immigrant groups in Israel.
Lecturer: Prof. Adriana Kemp
Teaching Assistant: Nora Meissner
Civil society is a multi-dimensional and debated concept with a long history in the social sciences. Defined as a sphere of voluntary social action, a form of self-expression and a field of struggle, the concept of civil society relates in several ways with migration related phenomena. This course addresses different core issues topical for the understanding of the relationship between civil society and migration, such as human rights and migrants' rights advocacy; education and forms of migrant incorporation; civil society, development and new forms of governance; community-building and local actors. The specific topics dealt with will depend on the research internships the students will undertake. The course lasts for a full academic year.
We will approach the different issues from both a practical and theoretical perspective, going back and forth between the "books" to the "field". With that aim, the seminar is divided into classes, practical meetings and fieldwork. In the classes, we will introduce different research projects developed in collaboration with different civil society organizations, discuss central theoretical concepts and ideas relevant to each topic, introduce methodology and methods pertinent and relevant to the projects. In the practical meetings, we will support the students in each project at different stages. Students will have to submit short progress reports and a final paper.
Course Objectives
- Connecting theoretical debates on the relationship between civil society and migration with locally grounded knowledge and insights from fieldwork.
- Acquire essential knowledge of different areas in the field of migration from the perspective of civil society organizations and networks.
- Develop critical thinking on the different approaches, philosophies of change and intervention tools guiding civil society organizations and networks in the field of migration.
- Acquire close acquaintance with the civil society landscape in Israel regarding issues of migration and gain first hand understanding of the context where they operate as well as of controversies and dilemmas.
- Preparation for students' future work in the field.
Lecturer: Dr. Anastasia Gorodzeisky
The seminar focuses on the theoretical models and empirical research of public attitudes toward immigration and immigrants. During the seminar, the students will be introduced to recent national and cross-national comparative studies on the topics and will get to know relevant data sources. The students will carry out their own empirical research. Students are expected to be familiar with quantitative research methods and to perform basic data analysis with one of the following statistical software: SPSS, STATA, or EXCEL.
Lecturer: Dr. Ina Kubbe
More than a million migrants and refugees crossed into Europe since 2015. Yet, this was not the first wave of migration and Europe’s governments and citizens are still looking for ways how to face and meet the challenges and opportunities involved. The main purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of the politics of migration in contemporary Europe. From a comparative perspective, we will have a look at Europe’s actors, the role of institutions, policies, policy-making, public opinion and certain issues and debates over migration in different countries. The course seeks to answer the following major questions: (1) what are the causes, effects and challenges of migration in European countries and (2) how do policy makers respond to these effects?
Lecturer: Dr. Ina Kubbe
Gender Equality - as a fundamental human right - and the empowerment of women and girls is one of the UN Sustainable Goals and the basic foundation for sustainable development, peaceful societies and a prosperous world. Still, we are far away from reaching these goals.
Our course focuses on the role of gender in the public as well as private sector and examines the challenges and opportunities of women and girls (as well as men) in all areas of life and levels with a specific focus on gender and conflict resolution as well as migration. We will discuss theories and approaches related to gender (in)equality and analyse the societal debates around them from a range of different theoretical and empirical perspectives.
The course is divided into three parts. The first section focuses on definition (e.g. gender, sex, intersectionality, empowerment, gender mainstreaming), theories, approaches and available empirical data. The second part of the course has a closer look at the strong link between gender and conflict and the role women can play in particular in peace negotiations and agreements. In the final section, we identify and assess the gender-migration nexus, while considering migrant rights and the inclusion and integration of all genders into a society.
In general, this course uses a lecture and discussion format and is characterized by an interactive and research-based learning approach enabling students to gain broad as well as in-depth and detailed application and transfer knowledge. This is also attained by teaching students how to learn and work in a scientific, applied way. The course has a strong focus on the analysis of case studies from around the globe.
Lecturer: Dr. Yossi Harpaz
Citizenship has at least three meanings: the legal status of belonging in a state; an expected practice (being a ?good citizen?); and an identity. By studying citizenship, we can gain insight on a range of key phenomena, including immigration, globalization, politics and national identity. The seminar will guide students as they carry out independent research projects on a topic that pertains to citizenship. Students are not bound to a specific methodology, and the project may focus on Israel or on another county. The first part of the course will be dedicated to lectures and class presentations, and in the latter part of the semester students will engage in independent research. The final grade will be based on class attendance and participation, class presentations and a seminar paper of 15-20 pages. The course will be taught in English.
Lecturer: Dr. Couty Sabah
