PHIL3275 · Philosophy

Ethics of Migration

Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences

The course deals with migration as a topic for philosophical and theological reflection. We will consider key concepts related to migration--e.g., citizen, migrant, human rights, nation. We will examine debates over whether limits on migration are justifiable. We will also pay special attention to rights and duties concerning refugees. The course will be take place in Mexico, first in Mexico City and then in Tijuana, just a few miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. We will use the Mexican context--including both Mexican history and present realities--as a way of making concrete the philosophical and theological discussion of migration. For millennia, Mexico has been a place of migration and settlement by different peoples. And each year, hundreds of thousands of people move in and out of Mexico for a variety of reasons. Moreover, the U.S.-Mexico border is an issue of intense debate in both the U.S. and Mexico. Thus Mexico provides an excellent context for thinking about: (1) the big picture of migration as a human phenomenon, (2) the historical forces that have shaped, and continue to shape, patterns of migration, and (3) the contemporary situation of migrants and contemporary policies toward migration. Our goal is to combine philosophical/theological reflection with cultural immersion in a mutually illuminating way. The Mexican context will help make our philosophical/theological discussions of migration more vivid, nuanced, and realistic.