Who counts as a refugee?

The words 'refugee' and 'asylum seeker' have a wide variety of connotations in Britain, many of them negative. This free course, Who counts as a refugee?, explores how changing social policy and terminology help to shape, and are shaped by, the experiences of people seeking asylum in the UK.

Syllabus

Introduction
Learning outcomes
1 The aspects and meanings of citizenship
1 The aspects and meanings of citizenship
2 Personal lives
2 Personal lives
3 Social policy and citizenship
3 Social policy and citizenship
4 Refugees, asylum seekers and citizenship
4 Refugees, asylum seekers and citizenship
4.1 The context and significance of the historical moments under consideration
4.2 Feminist perspectives: who counts as a refugee?
5 Citizenship, identity and belonging
5 Citizenship, identity and belonging
5.1 Post-structuralist perspectives: the production of social meaning
5.2 National identity and diasporic citizenship
5.3 Legal status and belonging
5.3. 1 What would you include in such a test?
6 Citizenship and access to welfare
6 Citizenship and access to welfare
6.1 ‘Maybe you can look, but you cannot touch’: asylum and restricting access to welfare
6.2 ‘No-choice’ dispersal
6.3 Shopping with ‘vouchers’
7 Citizenship as ‘participation in social life’
7 Citizenship as ‘participation in social life’
8 Knowledge and evidence
8 Knowledge and evidence
8.1 How is ‘knowledge’ about refugees and asylum seekers produced and reproduced?
8.1.1 What kind of evidence has been used in this course?
8.1.2Why do you think the Home Secretary did not draw on this research when interpreting the asylum statistics presented in the February 2003 press release?
9 Conclusion
9 Conclusion
10 Further resources
10 Further resources
References
Acknowledgements