In this all-level program, students will study where and why so many states are building border walls and militarizing borders to keep migrants and refugees out of their countries. There are over sixty wall-building projects around the world, such as those between the United States and Mexico; India and Bangladesh; Spain and Morocco; Greece and Turkey; Hungary and Serbia; and elsewhere. Borders are also more militarized and deadly than ever before, and many countries are extending their border controls far beyond their nearest neighbors. In an age when global capitalism is allegedly borderless and global problems such as climate change don’t obey borders, why are so many states hardening their borders, and even extending them around the world to create what many are calling an “Empire of Borders”? We will study different theories about why border walls and border hardening are happening today by reading books and articles from different perspectives within border studies scholarship. We will apply these theories to case studies and develop our own theses in papers, presentations, and group activities. The program will also study how climate change will increasingly drive global migration, and how many states are responding by militarizing their borders rather than developing new global pathways to facilitate climate migration. Students will learn how to write and present undergraduate level thesis-driven essays, writing several longer papers, in addition to research projects and in-class activities.
Anticipated Credit Equivalencies:
4 - International Politics
4 - Border Studies
4 - Refugee and Migration Studies
4 - Immigration and Asylum Policy
Registration
Academic Details
Government, Public Policy, Law, Immigration, International Politics