Home Sweet Home -

elective courses

Completed course in methodology of social research.

Classroom

The aim of the seminar is to present analyzes of social and

psychological aspects of the phenomenon of return migration.

During our seminar, we will pay attention to the fact that many

postmodernist-oriented scholars - sociologists and anthropologists

- anticipate, and even currently see, the decline in the meaning of

the relationship between the identity of a modern man and a

specific territory. Scholars such as Arjun Appadurai (2005),

Anthony Giddens (2001), or Zygmunt Bauman (1992; 1995)

predicted that modern man would build his identity based on

situational factors, changing life circumstances, resulting from

individual decisions, ignoring relatively an element of territorial

ties, which is of little importance in the conditions of widespread

migration. But the analysis of returning "home" is to allow for a

deeper understanding of an issue important for contemporary

social sciences - the meaning and value of a place for the

construction of individual and group self-definition. Theoretical

inspiration will be the famous essay by Alfred Schuetz: "The

homecomer".

As part of the concept of return migrations, the precise

definition of "return" is not easy, because many migrants, deciding

to go abroad "on trial", make the durability of their stay outside

the country dependent on many factors, e.g. finding a satisfactory

job or salary. They treat their "return" in a similar way, leaving

themselves the option of leaving again if the situation in their

homeland does not meet their expectations. Contemporary

migrations are referred to as "fluid" because - especially in Europe

- within the EU - formalities related to arrival, stay and work in

another Member State do not constitute a significant barrier for

EU citizens. The costs and risks associated with the migration

process are limited, thus migrants have more freedom in making

decisions both about leaving and choosing the destination country,

as well as about returning. Given that return migrations have

different intentions, course and duration, we can distinguish

occasional, seasonal, temporary and permanent returns.

Due to the "fluency" of the movement process, during

which a migrant can change countries of residence or circulate

between the country of origin and residence, a temporary stay in

the homeland after a stay abroad may be a permanent return, as

well as one of the phases in a multi-stage process. According to the

definition adopted by the OECD, a person can be considered a

return migrant when he returns to his country of origin with the

intention of staying there for at least one year. Although easily

considered subjective, such a definition is nevertheless necessary

for measuring and estimating return migrations.

During our classes, we also want to draw attention to the

role of social remittances, i.e. ideas, practices, ways of

identification that flow from the host country to the country of

origin of migrants. They can affect family relationships, change

gender roles, class and religious identification. They can also have

a fundamental impact on society's participation in public life in the

political, economic, social and religious spheres. They play a key

role in understanding the impact of migration on the lives of those

who have not decided to emigrate. This term belongs to the

broader concept of "migration culture", which means changes in

the value system and cultural changes in communities with a long

history of migration and large outflow of population.

K_W06 Has in-depth knowledge about cultural diversity and its

transformations, cultural identity, and intercultural interaction and

communication

K_W15 Approaches the choice of a particular theoretical

perspective in a reflective and critical way

K_U02 Can critically select information and materials for academic

work, using various sources in Polish and a foreign language as well

as modern technologies

K_U04 Can use theoretical categories and research methods in the

description and analysis of social and cultural changes in modern

societies, as well as their consequences

K_U08 Knows how to interpret the role of culture in the life of the

individual and society

K_U09 Can relate an academic text to the problems of social life

and its empirical studies

Preparation of two presentations (short - 10 minutes, but

problematic and introductory to the discussion) related to the

topic being studied