Gender, Sexuality and Refugees

Institution: Carleton University (Carleton University)
Category: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Language: English

Course Description

In this course we will explore the intersections of gender, sexuality and refugee protection from a critical and sociological perspective. This means that we will consider experiences and practices of refugee protection not simply as “unfortunate” or “inevitable"", but as products of social, cultural, historical and political processes.
We will begin the course by reviewing the histories of refugee protection, particularly the development of gender-based and Sexual Orientation and Sexual Identity and Expression (SOGIE) refugee protection frameworks. We will then explore the shortcomings of these systems in protecting those who need refuge. Our class activities, discussions and guest speakers will help us understand the practical nuances of refugee protection for women and LGBTQ refugee claimants in Canada.
By the end of this course, you will gain a critical understanding of the existing refugee protection frameworks. You will learn about the major problems in the existing systems of protection and their connections with histories of colonialism, politics of imperialism, geopolitical inequalities, and racialized tensions. You will develop an intersectional sociological perspective on refugee protection and gain a theoretical as well as an intimate understanding of how gender and sexuality interact with refugee claim making. This, I hope, will give you the tools to evaluate existing systems of refugee protection and resist their many injustices
Top