The current moment is rife with stories of raids, expulsions, rejections and a general demonization of vulnerable migrants. What does it all mean? What is a refugee, an asylum seeker, an undocumented migrant, and what rights to they have, nationally and internationally? This course will provide a general overview of the complex dynamics of border crossing, writ large, for which I’ll bring to bear my current Guggenheim and Rockefeller supported research, as well as 30+ years of research on migration. We will examine a broad array of issues relating to the admission, adjudication and integration of migrants, as well as the arrest, incarceration and deportation of vulnerable migrant populations, particularly refugees and undocumented people in the United States. The legal work will be complemented by constant assessment of the narrative issues that emerge as migrants encounter officials from the host country. The student will thus acquire a strong understanding of border crossing in regards to such issues as self-representation, storytelling, intercultural communication, translation, narrative analysis, and the challenges of representing ourselves in language, with reference to legal work, and literary examples that range from Homer’s The Odyssey to Toni Morrison’s Paradise.

COURSE FORMAT
This is an interactive online seminar course that meets weekly over 6 weeks. Live online sessions will use the zoom platform. Weekly reading or other forms of materials may be assigned. Weekly sessions will be recorded and available for registered participants to access throughout the course.
There are no papers or grades. This course does not offer any credits or certificates. This course is intended for learning for the love of learning.


COURSE MATERIALS
Clamouring for Legal Protection - What the Great Books Teach Us About People Fleeing from Persecution
Registrants will receive access to the course website and the zoom links about two weeks before the course starts.

COURSE CANCELLATION POLICY
Registrants can cancel and receive a full refund up to May 19. After May 19, there will be no refunds issued.
Yale Alumni College courses are subject to schedule changes as well as cancellations. If Yale Alumni College must cancel any course prior to its start due to low enrollment, you will be notified of this by the cancellation date. Upon cancellation of a course, registrants may transfer their registration to another available course or have the registration fee fully refunded.

In the event of a disruption to the original course schedule, including but not limited to; Professor absence, hazardous weather conditions, or local travel restrictions, Yale Alumni College will do its best to reschedule the missed class for the week immediately following the original end date at the same course time and day.