What will I learn on this module?
This module offers a critical L6, advanced exploration of the interconnections between race, migration, and social justice in contemporary societies. Students will engage with seminal scholarship and theoretical debates that challenge conventional understandings of identity, belonging, and power at both structural and individual levels. The module learning will require students to critically analyse the historical emergence of ‘race’, changes in how ‘race’ has been conceptualized over time, and how and why it continues to underpin social hierarchies and inequalities in contemporary societies. The module interrogates the processes of racialisation - how social groups are constructed, categorised, and governed, as well as the material and symbolic consequences of these processes across different contexts. Through the lens of migration, students will examine how ideas about race and nation shape who is seen as a ‘migrant’ and how state policies, media narratives, and public discourses reinforce or contest borders and belonging. The module will apply sociological theories to real-world case studies and examples, exploring the lived realities of (im)migrants, the political and ethical implications of border regimes and citizenship, the rise of Far-Right groups in the UK and globally, anti-racism protesting and mainstream media and politics. The module encourages students to engage critically with contemporary academic, policy, and activist debates, and to reflect on their own positionality in relation to these global issues. By the end of the module, students will be able to apply complex theoretical perspectives to evaluate how individuals and communities resist and reimagine social injustice, contributing to informed and critical discussions on race, rights, and resistance in a local, national and global context.
How will I learn on this module?
Learning on this module will be interactive, student-centred, and critically engaged. Students will explore both sociological theories of race, racialisation, and migration, and their application to real-world policies, practices, and lived experiences. The module combines conceptual learning with applied analysis, allowing students to connect key scholarship to current global debates that shape our everyday realities. Teaching will take place through a mix of lectures and workshops, combining whole-group discussion, small-group tasks, and interactive debates. Students will participate in hand-on analysis activities, such as examining policy papers, mainstream media, and documentary materials, and will be encouraged to bring in their own case studies around current events covered in the media and via online sources. Independent reading and preparation will be essential, with identified key literature/texts and seminal authors/theorists guiding each session, with opportunities to develop students’ own critical interests further. As part of the learning, students will complete two assessments (1) an Individual digital poster presentation on a media or policy story around race, racialisation, and/or migration of your choice (40%) and (2) a 2,500 word essay with reflexive component (60%) which will enable students to reflect critically on their own positionality and experiences in relation to the module’s core themes. These assessments are designed, in L6, to deepen students’ analytical and reflexive skills and to help link theoretical insights with social realities and public debate around race, migration rights, resistance and justice. Overall, the module offers a challenging and intellectually rich learning environment, particularly needed in current times with the race riots of 2024 and the ongoing rise of the Far-Right and anti-immigration sentiment across the West. This module learning will therefore support independent thinking, critical reflection, and the development of advanced sociological analysis for students and around the module subject area.
How will I be supported academically on this module?
You will be supported throughout the module by the following:
(1) Academic support will be provided by tutors and ML during seminars, workshops, tutorials and in the module’s Blackboard site where students will find key resources including a reading list, additional resources (short-films, websites, policy papers), a discussion forum, and guidance for assessments.
(2) Students will have access to one-to-one tutorials to discuss progress, develop assessment ideas, and seek feedback on work. All teaching staff will share their contact details and office hours, allowing students to arrange meetings or ask questions by email.
(3) Additional academic support is available through Northumbria University’s Library and Skills Plus resources, helping students to enhance your independent study, research, and writing skills beyond formal teaching sessions.
What will I be expected to read on this module?
All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)
What will I be expected to achieve?
Knowledge & Understanding:
1. You will be able to critically analyse contemporary conceptualisations of race, racialisation, and migration, and evaluate their effects at the macro (global/political), meso (institutional), and micro (individual) levels of society.
Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
2 You will be able to select and apply appropriate theoretical frameworks and analytical tools to assess and reflect on different policy and media approaches to racism and migration, and their implications for individuals, communities, and wider society.
3. You will be able to communicate complex sociological analyses of race, racialisation, and migration clearly and effectively, using appropriate academic skills and knowledge gained in this module; reified through module assessments which include the critical media or policy analysis poster and the reflexive autoethnographic assessment.
Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
4.You will develop a critical, reflective, and comparative understanding of the global and local dynamics of race, racialisation, and migration, recognising the ethical and political dimensions of these processes.
5. You will cultivate intellectual curiosity and social awareness by engaging with diverse perspectives and examining how individuals and communities contest, resist, and reimagine social injustice and inequality.
How will I be assessed?
1. Digital poster presentation on a media or policy story of your choice (40%) (MLO 1, 3, 4, 6)
2. 2,500 word essay with reflexive component (60%) (MLO 2, 4, 5, 7)
Module abstract
With the continued rise of the Far-Right, globally, anti-immigrant sentiment across the UK and Europe, and mobilisation of racialised discourse in mainstream media this is a timely module. It builds upon work previously undertaken in the degree programme/s to explore and deepen theoretical knowledge and the real-world application of race, racialisation, and migration, as well as broaching upon current sociological debates on these topics. The module will critically interrogate ‘who is a migrant’, the ways in which migration is frequently racialised, and consider the wider social implications of these questions for UK society and beyond. Students will engage with political and media debates around race and migration to better understand how sociological theories and research can be constructively applied in understanding social changes brought about by migration, and in addressing the challenges and intersecting, multi-layered inequalities created by racism. The module assessments will encourage critical engagement with cutting edge ideas, debates and theories that are central to understanding the issues through real-life examples such as, but not limited to, anti-racism protesting, Black Lives Matter (BLM), Make America Great Again (MAGA), and raising of the colours. Through the application of theory, reflexivity and independent analysis, students will further develop fundamental skills in critical thinking, media and policy analysis, and showcase a high level of verbal and written communication abilities.
