HIST 121

HIST 121: Migration in the Modern World

*3 (3-0-0)

Fall 2024

Instructor: Annemarie Steidl

T TR 1230 - 1350

Location: TBD

Canada has long been an immigrant nation, starting more than four centuries ago when the first European settlers arrived on Turtle Island. Today, Canada stands out as having one of the most ethnically diverse populations on the planet. The lecture course intends to take students on a broad journey through different global migration systems from the 18th to the 21st century with a special focus on the transatlantic world of North America and Europe.

The aim of the course is to locate various forms of migration within the complex and long-term processes by which both rural and urban societies were shaped during the era of modernization until present times. The readings will be examined to identify the main historical themes, methodology and approaches taken in the reconstruction of various local, regional, and global mobility patterns and identity constructions. 

As an outcome of the course, it is expected that students will have a broad overview of the literature on global, North American, and European migration, and comment and criticize it within historical research.