Courses Summaries

 1st (Fall) Semester

 International Protection of Human Rights

Aim of the course is to discuss the sources of international law of human rights. Historical continuity and recent normative developments are at stake pertaining to international treaties, international jurisprudence, national practices, activities and initiatives undertaken by international organizations and the political context in which human rights are formed, deformed and reformed. Through the course the students will comprehend how protection of human rights became a pillar of contemporary “rule of law” and “legal culture” at international and national level. The course will discuss also case studies, per country, per international organization, per treaty or per case-law. A special look will be reserved for topicssuch as migration, forced migration, and minorities, along with a focus on a series of rights such as religious freedom, rights of child, refugee rights, freedom of speech, protection from torture. Emphasis will be put at the European Court of Human Rights and its role on the construction of a democratic Europe. Other issues will be discussed according to the current affairs.

 

Human Rights Law: A Comparative Approach

Human rights provide a floor and not a ceiling, and they are open to many   interpretations. This is a postgraduate course offering a comparative overview of human rights issues across various jurisdictions and regional human rights protection systems. Human rights law emerges from the proclamation of rights in international legal instruments; it is therein that we get a glimpse of a minimum of human rights with a focus on the beneficiaries of the obligations (individuals/groups, etc.) and a number of legal obligations for the States that ratify these legal instruments. Yet, human rights obligations are also to be found in other sources, such as custom. Human rights are widely discussed nowadays; there is an open dialogue between states, international organisations and the civil society. Yet, human rights violations are still reported across all geographic regions of this world. The challenge for all of us remains in cultivating a human rights culture through human rights education, in order to eliminate human rights violations. Some of the topics covered under the course include: death penalty, the right to life and the right to assisting suicide, abortion, and LGBT rights.

 

 The Anthropology of Migration

The aim of this course is to introduce students to the anthropological perspective in the interdisciplinary fields of migration, transnationalism, globalization, and citizenship. It focuses on the reconceptualization of the different categories of ‘otherness’ (racial, religious and gender aspects) in light of anthropological theory and methodology. The discipline of anthropology uses a holistic and emic approach in analyzing the social dynamics of the migratory process, while centering on participant observation, the hallmark of anthropology, and the construction of subjectivities as the key actors on the move. The course uses the anthropological theory, perspective, and methodology to culturally explore certain experiences of migrants. Under the general concept of mobility, it focuses on voluntary and non-voluntary movements of people and detects political, economic, and overall social aspects that they have taken in recent decades. It focuses on forms of migration as they are shaped in the modern globalized environment and analyzes their gender, racial, religious, and work aspects. The course will be taught through the discussion of ethnographic case studies.

 

Migration and World History

The course gives an overall examination of the world history from the angle of migration studies examining different population flows and their connections to economics, politics and culture, Upon the completion of the course, the students will have a grasp of the different factors that motivated migrations in different parts of the world, their interlinks and their impact.

 

The Economics of Migration

The academic objectives of this course are: the understanding the theory and mechanisms of migration; the understanding the relationship of globalization and European integration with immigration; the understanding the economic and non-economic impacts of immigration for the countries involved; the critical approach to the evaluation of the effectiveness of the immigration policy implemented so far in Europe at the national and European level; the creation of a stock of knowledge that will allow the investigation of the prospects of the European labor market and employment in an environment of intensified immigration.

 

2nd (Spring) Semester

International Development and the Global South

The course aims to explore the concept of economic development, the relation between economic development and poverty reduction, the development policies in theory and practice and their application in the developing countries, the development assistance offered by international organisations, and the role of multinational enterprises along globalisation in international development.

 

EU Migration, Asylum and Refugee Policies

The course focuses on consecutive Europeanization attempts of migration and asylum policies (i.e. from Maastricht to Lisbon). Thus, it critically examines the effectiveness and efficiency of major steps towards coordinating migration and asylum policies across member states, such as the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), the Dublin Convention of 1990 and the shift from intergovernmentalism towards some sort of supranational regulation (Dublin II), as well as the Tampere Programme and the “Area of Freedom, Security and Justice”. Additionally, the course concentrates on the problems/failures of CEAS, fundamentally related to uneven burden sharing among member states, and the inadequacies in the protection of human rights that led to Dublin III, namely to the creation of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO). With respect to the so-called external dimension, the course examines the system of Integrated Border Management and the role of Frontex, Eurodac and Eurosur as a way to control illegal migration, as well as, subsequently, the “migration-security” nexus and “migration-development” nexus. In relation to the legal issues, the course includes the analysis of the legal provisions of EU migration and asylum policy with emphasis on the interpretation of EU Regulations and Directives especially by the Court of Justice of the EU, the European Court of Human Rights and the Greek courts. Finally, the course critically examines the gap between policy design and policy implementation related to crucial aspects of domestic governance structures, such as aspects of Quality of Government in countries of EU periphery, primarily of southern Europe, in a comparative perspective.

 

Research Methods in Social Sciences

The course provides an extended introduction to the research process using quantitative and qualitative methods. The course covers: the problem of measurement, the Structural variables, how they are linked and measured using a structured questionnaire, how we construct Models and Path diagrams. Questionnaire design as well as attitude measurement scales are taught. The course includes a detailed introduction on Sampling and on Reliability and Validity. Using SPSS statistical software, the course teaches the use of descriptive, inferential statistics and statistical models. It also shows how results are presented, tabulated and discussed. Part of the course deals with writing scientific papers, searching for bibliography, organizing, editing and presenting material and findings.

 

Comparative issues in Gender and Cultural Diversity

The course introduces students to social anthropology, cultural diversity and religion, gender, kinship, marriage, colonialism, cosmopolitanism, local and global capital, migration and networks in the postcolonial condition. We examine theories of difference and multiculturalism, postcolonial and feminist critique, socio-cultural production and human reproduction, hegemony and resistance. Through ethnographic examples, students are introduced to issues of racism, sexism, patriarchy, hegemonic and toxic masculinities.

Moreover, gender diversity is examined in relation to cosmologies, conceptual categories,legal analytical tools, human rights, cultural rights, civil rights, identity politics, voices and advocacy, vulnerable bodies, communalism and cosmopolitics.

 

World Conflict, Forced Migration and Humanitarian Law

The course “World conflict, forced migration and humanitarian law” provides an introduction to the International Humanitarian Law and its socio-political background. Humanitarian Law is one of the oldest thematic branches of International Law – it is also known as the Law of Armed Conflict/ Law of War/ Law of Military Operations. The topics to be examined include: Introduction to International Law (statehood/ other subjects/ sources)/ Distinction between International Law of Peace and International Law of War. The evolution of the legal regime on armed conflicts/ Attempts at explaining the reasons of conflicts / “Old” and “new” forms of armed conflict/ Restrictions on the conduct of hostilities/ The General Principles of the Law of Armed Conflict: Distinction (Civilians/ Combatants and civilian/military objects) – Military necessity – Precaution – Humanism/ Armed conflicts and population flows (Refugees/ Migrants)/ Genocides through a historical and legal perspective/ The Holocaust in Greece/Prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The course also provides a comprehensive analysis of the international human rights protection regimes, in particular those related to migrants and refugees.

 

 3rd (Fall) Semester

Dissertation

During the 2nd semester, the graduate student must prepare a preliminary outline of research for the preparation of a diploma thesis, with the proposed title of the thesis and the proposed supervisor, with the consent of the latter, and submit it for approval. The postgraduate student's research outline must specify the topic to be analyzed, the methodology of his scientific approach as well as an indicative bibliography to be used. The Programme of Studies Committee appoints for each postgraduate student the supervisor of his/her thesis and sets up a three-member examination committee, including the supervisor who must be an instructor at the Master's Programme. Approval of the research proposal is based on the relevance of its topic to the postgraduate Programme, its expected research contribution and the elements of originality in the approach. The thesis is written in English during the 3rd semester of studies.

The planning of each student's graduate thesis is the responsibility of the supervisor. After the collection and processing of the sources or research data, the writing of the thesis follows. The dissertation is written according to the Guide for Writing a Diploma Thesis. The length of the thesis is defined from 15,000 to 30,000 words. Upon completion of the writing of this diploma thesis, it is evaluated as a whole by the Three-Member Examining Committee. The evaluation of the thesis includes an oral presentation/defence of the topic before the Committee.

---

Courses Outlines (Syllabus)

Find below (in attachement) the Course Outlines (Syllabus) of the Master's Programme in Human Rights and Migration Studies.