HI-227 Migration: A Global History (Spring 2026)

When the course is completed, the student should

Knowledge:

• have a basic overview of different forms of mobility through time
• be able to distinguish between and make sense of several migratory groups and cases
• be able to grasp central concepts within the historiography on migration, such as forced/free migrations, gender and migration, and questions of assimilation and integration
• know a starting point of framing history not through the nation-state but through larger geographical areas, for example the Atlantic or the Pacific oceans
• understand how to locate movements of people across lands, waters, and borders within larger global contexts while understanding current migrations within a longer history

Skills:

• have a skill set that entail historical-critical thinking, tools for developing an argument, and reading strategies for academic texts

Competence:

• be able to understand and apply the basics for contributing to the scholarly debate by means of discussions and paper writing. In the case of the latter, they will apply the most relevant skills of completing an academic paper that entails an argument, use of literature, correct citations and a bibliography

The class Migration: A global history charts a long history of migration as a global phenomenon. At the center of attention are mobile people as they cross borders, settle in different places, and interact with native populations. The long-term perspective of aims to show how the mobility of people in world history has been a constant. The students are encouraged to think about how people and societies shape and have been shaped by migration. We will ask: In what social, political, cultural, and economic contexts did people move? In chronological order, we will discuss - among other topics - the forced migration of enslaved people from Africa to the Americas that started in the 1500s, settler colonialism, labor migrations such as the "coolie trade" from Asia and other forms of (forced) migratory contract labor in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

We will conclude the course with the current situation of refugees crossing the Mediterranean. In addition to the Mediterranean Sea, other seas and oceans serve as places of connection and barriers for migrants, such as the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.

Based on case studies the lectures will pose questions surrounding concepts and types of migration, and thereby discuss, for example, the problematic dichotomies of forced chattel slavery on the one hand, and supposedly free migratory wage labor on the other. We will analyze gender and migration and speak about integration into host societies. Theoretical texts alongside primary sources will complement the literature that we will read. The language in the classroom will be English.

1. Final paper (total of 3500 words +/-10 percent, not counting the footnotes/in-text citations and bibliography); final paper is written individually. Counts 70 % toward final grade.

2. One two-hour individual written examination under supervision. Counts 30 % toward final grade.

Both parts must be passed. Graded assessment (A-F).