ATS3891 Representing migration in Europe: Crisis, creativity and culture

The United Nations estimates that in 2020, there were around 281 million international migrants in the world - or 3.6 per cent of the global population. Australia, for instance, is a nation defined by migration: as of 2016, 28 per cent of the population was born overseas and celebrated for their contribution to the nation’s prosperity. Nonetheless, the globally mobile include those who are forced to migrate as a result of war or persecution – the refugee, displaced person and asylum seeker – and whose status is often described in less positive terms by politicians and across culture and media, often represented as threat and in terms of crisis for ‘host’ countries. This unit explores the importance of the involvement of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers (MRAS) in the production of culture, emphasised in debates about the nature of creative industries in defining citizenship and rights of participation in meaning.

This unit focusses on interdisciplinary approaches for researching and identifying issues in migration and in formulating solutions focussed on culture and creativity. Students will gain new knowledge, skills of investigation and evaluation essential for active citizenship, future employment and social innovation. 

Focussed on the European context, but with a global perspective, the unit will explore the policies, production and people defining migration and its representation. We will engage with case studies from across cultural sectors  including the fine arts to music and media forms like the press, social media and gaming - drawing on input from guest presenters including MRAS creatives, policy makers and cultural intermediaries involved in trans-national projects for, about and by migrants.