Informations du cours

Dynamics of return migration across the life course

When addressing migration-related issues, policymakers and scholars have traditionally focused on immigration, while return migration has received comparatively little attention. Yet return migration represents a significant component of international mobility and has important social, demographic, economic, and political implications for both destination and origin countries.

In Switzerland, international migration is characterized by the continuous renewal of the foreign population. Although a substantial share of immigrants settles permanently, a significant number of individuals of all ages also leave the country.

This seminar examines the complexities of return migration, with a particular focus on Switzerland as both a country of immigration and emigration. Moving beyond an economic perspective that underpins much of the existing literature, the course adopts a life-course perspective to better capture the diversity of migratory trajectories and return experiences.

The seminar explores the concept of return migration, its temporal and spatial dimensions, and its social, demographic, and economic impacts on both destination and origin countries. It also provides students with the opportunity to develop an understanding of the varied experiences of return among first- and second-generation migrants, highlighting the heterogeneity of return processes and outcomes.

The seminar will address the following themes: Different types of return migration; Politics and policies of return; Return imaginaries and projects; Return intentions and decision-making processes; Temporalities of return migration; Transnationalism and return nexus; Gendered dimensions of return migration; Materialities of return.

Return migration will be examined by combining academic literature discussions with empirical qualitative data analysis and screening and debating a documentary.