Migration and Development
SOC 321K (46355)
MAS 374 (35922)
Prerequisite: Upper division standing
The University of Texas at Austin
Spring 2010
Class Meeting: TuTh: 3:30-5:00 PM
Classroom: GEA 105 (first meeting only)
RLM 7.112 (rest of semester)
Professor Nestor Rodriguez
BUR 580, (nrodriguez@prc.utexas.edu), (512) 471-1122
Office hours: TuTh, 2:30-3:30-11:30 PM, and by appointment. I check my email regularly and
reply to student queries within reasonable time periods.
TA: (To be announced)
I. Course Rationale
Presently about 200 million migrants live in countries in which they were not born. This is the
greatest level of international migration ever witnessed, in addition to massive patterns of
internal migration as well. A special focus of the course is the question of to what extent does
international migration promote economic development in the countries where migrants
originate, given that migrants annually remit billions of dollars to their home countries. Other
forms of social and cultural remittances can also promote social development in the sense that
these remittances create social change in sending communities. A special concern of the course
are gender differences that may exist in the relationships between migration and development.
The course will also consider the special case of China in which Chinese participation in the
global economy had effected rapid economic development stimulating rural to urban migration
of over 100 million peasant workers
II. Course Aims and Objectives
Aims
This course is designed to help students develop an understanding of the relationship between
migration and development. In the course, students learn to use sociological approaches to better
understand the nature of migration and the possible effects this social process has on
development. This includes an understanding of how migration affects development at macro
and micro social levels.
Specific Learning Objectives
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
Gain background information on migration and development across different societal settings
and historical eras.

Develop an awareness of the significance of international migration for the development of
U.S. society.

Review and analyze reports concerning contextual conditions of migration and development.

Review concepts and theories useful for understanding relationships between migration and
development.

Gain an ability to analyze the dynamics of migration and development from a sociological
perspective.
III. Format and Procedures
The course is designed with the expectation that it will follow a mixed format of lectures and
class discussions. A key expectation is that students will come to class prepared to discuss
thematic issues covered in the class, or at least come to class with a curious and critical
predisposition to become intellectually engaged in the class. All students are expect to contribute
to class discussion, with a high regard for an open academic dialogue, which values respect for
the ideas, opinions, and views of others. Class attendance is expected and counts towards the
grade.
During the course students will be asked to give formal and informal anonymous feedback
regarding the teaching techniques and progress of the course. The purpose of the student
feedback is to help create an effective learning experience.
IV. Assumptions
My assumptions about the relationship between migration and development is that it a) follows
an historical course, b) flows from the interaction between human agency and social structures,
and c) has a profound significance within the context of social reproduction.
V. Course Requirements
1. Class attendance and participation policy
To get the most out of this class you should attend all classes and arrive on time. Also, you
should review previous lecture notes and bring questions to class about points you did not
clearly understand—including points from the assigned readings. Please be attentive in class
(turn off phones). You are greatly encouraged to participate in class discussion, and please do
so in a manner that respects the rights of others to also participate. If you have a problem
hearing the lectures and discussion, or viewing class presentations, please let me know
immediately. Class participation counts for 10% of the final grade.
Religious Holidays
UT Austin policy requires that you notify course instructors at least 14 days in advance if you
plan to be absent due to a religious holiday. You will be given an opportunity to make up
activities (exams, assignments, etc.) that you miss because of your absence due to a religious
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holiday. You will be given a reasonable time to make up an exam or assignment after your
absence.
2. Course Readings/Materials
a) Required reading materials (plus others indicated in weekly schedule):
Castles, Stephens and Raúl Delgado Wise (eds.). 2008. Migration and Development:
Perspectives from the South. Geneva: International Organization for Migration (IOM). FREE
(on-line)
http://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/site/myjahiasite/shared/shared/mainsite/published_docs/books/
MD%20Perspectives%20from%20the%20South.pdf
Social Science Research Council (SSRC). 2008. Seminar on Migration and Development:
Reflecting on Thirty Years of Policy on China. New York, NY. FREE (on-line)
http://www.ssrc.org/workspace/images/crm/new_publication_3/{4a20bf6b-0556-de11-afac001cc477ec70}.pdf
United Nations. 2006. International Migration and Development: Report of the Secretary
General. FREE (on-line)
http://www.un.org/esa/population/migration/hld/Text/Report%20of%20the%20SG(June%2006)_
English.pdf
b) Websites to review:
Inter-American Development Bank: http://www.iadb.org/
Migration and Development http://www.migrationdevelopment.org
Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/
Population Reference Bureau: http://www.prb.org/
Office of Immigration Statistics: http://www.dhs.gov/ximgtn/statistics/
Migration Policy Institute (MPI): http://www.migrationpolicy.org/
Pew Hispanic Center: http://pewhispanic.org/
3. Exams
a) The course contains three regular exams and a “replacement” final exam. Regular exams will
consist of multiple-choice items and an essay question, and the final exam will consist of essay
questions. The final exam can be taken to replace the grade of a regular exam. All exams have to
be taken on the dates specified; the only exception to this rule are cases involving a truly
pressing situation (medical) or involving authorization by UT Austin. In such exceptional cases,
makeup exams for the first two regular exams have to be taken within a week after the originally
designated dates in the sociology room for make-ups. In the rare possibility that a student needs
to take a makeup for the third exam, arrangements with have to be made with me. Makeup
exams will consist of essay questions. Students who miss a scheduled exam must alert me
beforehand and consult with me regarding the makeup. There is no procedure for making up the
final exam outside of cases that are of a true exceptional and unusual personal pressing situation.
Students have to take all exams on the dates and times specified. Exams cannot be taken earlier
or later than the dates and times specified.
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All dates specified in this syllabus for exams (and lecture topics by week) are subject to change
given unforeseen events.
4. Use of Blackboard
I plan to use Blackboard to make announcements, distribute information, communicate with
students, and post grades. Students are encouraged to use Blackboard to communicate and share
comments and information. Please check your Blackboard site regularly to look for
communications from me or from other students in the class. Support for using Blackboard can
be obtained from the ITS Help Desk at 475-9400, Monday through Friday, from 8am to 6pm.
VI. Grading
a) Three regular exams (40 multiple-choice items and an essay question):
100 points per exam x 3 regular exams = 300 points
b) Attendance: 30 points
c) Possible extra credit: A total of 18 possible points (1.5 points per lecture week) for writing and
turning in a paragraph reacting to the reading of the week. The paragraph must be printed with
1-1.25 inch margins and contain 10 or more complete lines that make a meaningful statement or
raise a question regarding a reading assignment. Extra points are added only to the numerator of
the final grade quotian, and not to the denominator. Extra credit paragraphs must be submitted in
class on the week due, and not sent electronically. Since the extra points are voluntary, there are
no makeups for them.
c) Final course grades will be determined based on the percent of total points made out of a
grand total of 330 points: 296-330 = A, 263-295 = B, 230-262 = C, 197-229 = D, below 197 =
F.
Note: I am authorized by the University to discuss grades only with students. To discuss a
student’s grades with someone else (a parent), I need to have written permission beforehand
from the student.
VII. Academic Integrity
University of Texas Honor Code
The core values at the University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership,
individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the University is expected to uphold
these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community.
All students in the course are expected to abide by the University of Texas Honor Code.
Students are encouraged to study together, but they must do their own work on the research
report assignments and on the exams. Students suspected of copying research reports from the
work of someone else or of committing plagiarism, or cheating on exams, will be reported to the
Dean’s Office and other administrators of the University.
VIII. Other University Notices and Policies
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Use of E-Mail for Official Correspondence to Students
Email is recognized as an official mode of university correspondence; therefore, you are
responsible for reading your email for university and course-related information and
announcements. You are responsible to keep the university informed about changes to your email address. You should check your e-mail regularly and frequently—I recommend daily, but at
minimum twice a week—to stay current with university-related communications, some of which
may be time-critical. You can find UT Austin’s policies and instructions for updating your email address at http://www.utexas.edu/its/policies/emailnotify.php.th
Documented Disability Statement
If you require special accommodations, you must obtain a letter that documents your disability
from the Services for Students with Disabilities area of the Division of Diversity and Community
Engagement (471-6259 voice or 471-4641 TTY for users who are deaf or hard of hearing).
Present the letter to me at the beginning of the semester so we can discuss the accommodations
you need. No later than five business days before an exam, you should remind me of any testing
accommodations you will need. For more information, visit http://www.utexas.edu/
diversity/ddce/ssd/.
Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL)
If you are worried about someone who is acting differently, you may use the Behavior Concerns
Advice Line to discuss by phone your concerns about another individual’s behavior. This
service is provided through a partnership among the Office of the Dean of Students, the
Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC), the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and
The University of Texas Police Department (UTPD). Call 512-232-5050 or visit
http://www.utexas.edu/safety/bcal.
Emergency Evacuation Policy
Occupants of buildings on the UT Austin campus are required to evacuate and assemble outside
when a fire alarm is activated or an announcement is made. Please be aware of the following
policies regarding evacuation:
 Familiarize yourself with all exit doors of the classroom and the building. Remember that
the nearest exit door may not be the one you used when you entered the building.
 If you require assistance to evacuate, inform me in writing during the first week of class.
 In the event of an evacuation, follow my instructions or those of class instructors.
 Do not re-enter a building unless you are given instructions by the Austin Fire
Department, the UT Austin Police Department, or the Fire Prevention Services office.
VIII. Tentative Course Schedule
This syllabus represents the initial design of the course. Changes concerning specific substantive
content and dates may have to be made to increase the class learning opportunity. Any such
changes that are made will be communicated clearly and are a normal part of the management of
a course.
We
Date
Topic
Readings
Jan 19/21
What is development? Why is
migration important (or not) for
Castles & Wise (eds.), chap. 1
ek
1
6
2
Jan 26/28
development?
YouTube: Part 1. Migration for Development
Knowledge Fair
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsY0vZqNsQ8
Overview of migration patterns
“The Good the Bad, the Promising: Migration in
the 21st Century.
http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2006/english/chapter_1/
index.html
Migrants and the Global Financial Crisis
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/migrants
_financial_crisis.pdf
Global City Migration Map (Migration Policy
Institute).
http://www.migrationinformation.org/datahub/gcm
m.cfm?print=yes#map1
3
Feb 2/4
4
Feb 9/11
Conceptual review of migration
and development
Migrant remittances
Castles & Wise (eds.), chap. 2
Castles & Wise (eds.), chap. 3
MPI, “Global Remittance Guide”
http://www.migrationinformation.org/DataHub/re
mittances.cfm
YouTube: “Beyond Remittances”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxUUsT8pSUk
5
6
7
Feb 16/18
Feb 23/24
Mar 2/4
Exam week; exam 1 on 18th
“Transnationalism” and
globalization—vehicles for
development?
Review of country data sources
Castles & Wise (eds.), chap. 4
Glick-Schiller et al. (1995), “From Immigrant to
Transmigrant: Theorizing Transnational
Migration,” Anthropological Quarterly, Vol. 68,
No. 2. (Access PCL/JSTOR)
Valentine M. Moghadam, 1999, “Gender and
Globalization: Female Labor and Women’s
Mobilization,” Journal of World-Systems
Research, Vol. 5, No. 2, Summer.
Access via http://jwsr.ucr.edu or via PCL.
electronic journals.
U.S. Census Bureau: International Data Base
(country populations, growth rates, pyramids)
UN Development Program (Annual reports and
videos)
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http://hdr.undp.org/en/mediacentre/videos/?bcpid=
43260047001&bclid=43205289001&bctid=43291
719001
Population Reference Bureau (download 2009
World Population Data Sheet)
http://www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2009/
2009wpds.aspx
8
Mar 9/11
Women and gender differentials Richard Fry, 2006, “Gender and Migration,” at
in migration and development
Pew Hispanic Center:
http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/64.pdf
U.S. Agency for International Development,
“Women, Men and Development” (2006)
http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PDACJ748.pdf
9
10
Mar 16/18
Mar 23/25
Spring break
Research methods/units of
analysis in migration and
development research
11
Mar 30/Apr
1
Apr 6/8
Exam week; exam 2 on April 1
12
13
Apr 13/15
14
Apr 20/22
15
Apr 27/29
World system theory
(development in the core and
periphery)
India: Skilled Migration and
Development
Mexico-United States
Migration System and
Development
Migration and development in
China
N. Rodriguez and Jacqueline Hagan, 2004,
“Fractured Families and Communities: Effects of
Immigration Reform in Texas, Mexico, and El
Salvador, Latino Studies, Vo. 2, Number 3,
December. Access through PCL on-line journals.
Modern History Sourcebook Summary of
Immanuel Wallerstein World Systems Theory
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/wallerstein.ht
ml
Alberto Martinelli, 2005, “From World System to
World Society,” Journal of World Systems
Research, Vol. 11, No. 2, December.
Access via http://jwsr.ucr.edu or via PCL.
Castles & Wise (eds.), chap. 5
Castles & Wise (eds.) chap. 6
YouTube: China’s New Year Mass Migration
Social Science Research Council Report, 2008
meeting on migration and development in China
http://www.ssrc.org/workspace/images/crm/new_p
ublication_3/{4a20bf6b-0556-de11-afac001cc477ec70}.pdf
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16
May 4/6
May 18
(Tuesday),
9:00-12:00
Exam week; exam 3 on the 6th
Replacement Final