This assignment is a research essay that is expected to develop an argument in response to a
question chosen by the student from the set of questions below, or from an alternate question
agreed with the module leader.
1. Discuss a current migration policy from a country of your choice from either a
Liberal/Neoliberal, Marxist, or Critical Border Studies approach. Identify how the
theory chosen may confirm or contest the assumptions and consequences of the
policy.
2. How have borders evolved since the mid-20th century? Discuss in relation to
Critical Border Studies and one other theory.
3. Are people commodified as migrants? Discuss in relation to Marxism and one
other theory.
4. How can global governance help improve the conditions of migrants? Discuss in
relation to Liberalism/Neoliberalism and one other theory.
5. Discuss a historical process of categorisation of migrants or one you have lived
through your own experience. How, if at all, does it affect international migration?
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6. Develop an argument for why the relationship between trade and migration is
best understood according to one of the module’s part 2 ‘contemporary angles’
(gender, labour, race) or to another you may find more appropriate.
7. How did the history of international migration from the early modern period to the
19th century shape the world economy that emerged at the end of the 19th
century?