Location: MIT

MIT Course Number: WGS.645

Thursdays 9:00AM - 12:00 PM

January 31 - May 9, 2019

This course uses theories of gender to explore sociopolitical, ethical and theological perspectives on immigration policy, with a focus on the U.S. The course begins with an overview of global developments in the feminization of migration and ethical and policy dilemmas that are specific to the current era. The rest of the class is divided into two halves. The first half takes a closer look at the contemporary gender dynamics of U.S. immigration (accounting for the intersecting effects of gender, race, sexuality, class and colonial/postcolonial power dynamics). The second half of the course focuses on ethical and theological perspectives on immigration policy, with an emphasis on feminist; and uses these perspectives to re-frame the issues at stake in immigration policy.

Faculty

The Reverend Dr. Choi, Hee An is Clinical Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Director of the Anna Howard Shaw Research Center. Her scholarship focuses on practical theology, gender and multiculturalism and postcolonial studies. Her most recent book is A Postcolonial Self: Korean Immigrant Theology and Church (2015, SUNY).

Philip Kretsedemas is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. His current research focuses on the rights of asylum seekers who have been persecuted due to family membership. His most recent book is Immigration Policy in an Age of Punishment (co-edited with David Brotherton; 2018, Columbia University Press).