Refugees and (Forced) Migrants in Global History (WiSe 21/22)

This lecture traces the contours of processes of refuge seeking and (forced) migration with an emphasis on the time period of 1850 to the present. It weaves together local and global (forced) migration movements and processes of refuge seeking, in the process examining the agency of refugees and (forced) migrants, international and regional organizations like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU), and nation states. 

Some historic contexts on which this lecture will shed light include Chinese ‘coolies’ in Cuba, Jews in Nazi Germany, the Palestinian refugee crisis, the Partition of British India, Southern African “Freedom fighters,” the Rwandan Genocide, and the Rohingya of Myanmar.