Summary
Contents
Studies is an important, interdisciplinary thread which runs through contemporary debates on globalization, citizenship, community studies, political geography and identity. It has always represented a significant component of ethnic, multicultural and racial studies but the last few years have seen a steady increase in separate / autonomous courses and modules as students, lecturers and researchers engage with the field. This proposal looks to pull together the central themes of the field; its approach is logical and the three main themes the authors identify are a useful hook upon which to hang the text. International relevance and marketability is obviously important; the inclusion of a US and a UK author with such sympathetic expertise will help to maximise the appeal of the project. The authors are aware of the need to balance the needs of different markets and their willingness to develop the proposal in response to the reviewers' comments is encouraging.
Undocumented (Illegal) Migration
Undocumented (Illegal) Migration
Definition: Migration that is not officially sanctioned by the state in the destination country; it results from clandestine entry or (more commonly) from overstaying one's visa and/or engaging in activities (e.g. employment) not authorized by one's visa.
The common-sense understanding of ‘illegal immigration’ available in most instances of public discourse (e.g. politicians’ speeches) on the topic is lamentably inadequate. In a ‘lay’ perspective, those who enter a country without authorization are in essence criminals, and the government has a responsibility to ‘do something’ to address the threat they pose. That threat is taken to be dire in some quarters: among other evils, illegal immigration allegedly damages national security, undermines national identity, and embodies the state's loss of control over its ...
