Logo

Migration and Diasporas in East Asia

Code: 101529
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
East Asian Studies OP 4

Contact lecturer

Name :
Blai Guarné Cabello
Email :
blai.guarne@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Uh Jeen Lee
Irene Masdeu Torruella
Celia González Díaz

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

To take this subject, students should ideally have obtained the programme's first-year, second-year and third-year credits. Students must be able to read and understand academic texts in English. 

Objectives

The aim of this course is to enable students to understand East Asia’s international migration flows, focusing especially on those related to China, Japan and Korea. The course looks at the concepts of transnationalism, diaspora, and the new mobilities paradigm from a theoretical perspective. It covers the history of the different diasporas and their places of origin and destinations, the evolution of migration policies, and the social, o political and economic organisation and cultural development of migrant communities. Finally, it aims to equip students for critical reflection on East Asian diasporas and their presence in our society.

Learning outcomes

  1. Using the specific terminology of political sciences, economy and sociology.
  2. Using different tools for specific purposes in the fields of political sciences, economy and sociology.
  3. Assessing the obtained results in the search information process in order to update the knowledge about political sciences, economy and sociology.
  4. Comparing and critically assessing the different social environments in the field of East Asia.
  5. Knowing and comprehending the phenomenon of the internal and international migration in the societies of East Asia.
  6. Developing critical thinking and reasoning and communicating them effectively both in your own and other languages.
  7. Developing self-learning strategies.
  8. Respecting the diversity and plurality of ideas, people and situations.
  9. Producing innovative and competitive proposals in research and professional activity.
  10. Students must be flexible and capable of adapting to new circumstances.
  11. Working in teams in an international, multilingual and multicultural context.
  12. Working in interdisciplinary and intercultural groups.
  13. Solving problems of intercultural communication.
  14. Solving conflict situations.
  15. Ensuring the quality of one's own work.
  16. Designing and managing projects.
  17. Following the characteristic code of ethics of the professional practice.
  18. Know and understand the characteristics of society and social processes in East Asia.

Contents

Theoretical and conceptual introduction

- Diaspora, transnationalism and the paradigm of new mobilities


Parte I. Migration and the Chinese diaspora

- The Chinese diaspora: a historical approach

- Chinese migration in Europe: family migration and new mobilities

- Return migration, transnational networks, and migration culture

- Descendants of migrants: ethnicity and identities from an intergenerational perspective


Parte II. Migration and the Japanese diaspora

- The Japanese diaspora: a historical approach

- The nikkei experience in the world: specific cases of the Japanese diaspora in America

- The nikkei experience in a multicultural Japan: cases of return migration

- The new Japanese migration: the case of the Japanese community in Catalonia


Parte III. Migration and Korean diaspora

- The Korean diaspora: a historical approach

- The Korean government's planned migration programs during the 1960s and 1970s

- The experience of descendants in South Korea: the Korean diaspora in the CIS, China and the USA

- The new Korean migration: the case of the Korean community of Catalonia

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Written essay and study 35 1.4 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18
Presentations 15 0.6 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
Lectures and papers discussion 50 2 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18

The course consists of both lecture-based and practical sessions. As the course is jointly taught, the instructors will provide detailed information regarding assessment procedures on the first day of class. The course will follow a proseminar format, whereby the topics covered in the lecture sessions will be discussed during the practical sessions. These discussions may be complemented by presentations of academic articles, student-led presentations, the screening and discussion of documentaries, and other related activities. Active participation in the discussion of the assigned readings and other course materials will be taken into consideration. The use of the course's virtual campus / Moodle is essential, as it provides access to the materials required to follow the course successfully and meet its learning objectives, as well as to all relevant information necessary for its development.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Written essay (Japan) 35% 17.5 0.7 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 18
Group assignment and presentation in class 30% 15 0.6 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18
Written essay (China) 35% 17.5 0.7 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 18

Assessment

Assessment is continuous. Students must provide evidence of their progress by completing various tasks and tests. Tasks and tests deadlines will be indicated in the course schedule on the first day of class. The information on assessment activities and their weighting is a guide. The subject's lecturer will provide full information when teaching begins.

Review

When publishing final marks prior to recording them on students' transcripts, the lecturer will provide written notification of a date and time for reviewing assessment activities. Students must arrange reviews in agreement with the lecturer.

Missed/failed assessment activities

Students may retake assessment activities they have failed or compensate for any they have missed, provided that those they have actually performed account for a minimum of 66.6% (two thirds) of the subject's final mark and that they have a weighted average mark of at least 3.5. The lecturer will inform students of the procedure involved, in writing, when publishing final marks prior to recording them on transcripts. The lecturer may set one assignment per failed or missed assessment activity or a single assignment to cover a number of such activities. Under no circumstances may an assessment activity worth 100% of the final mark be retaken or compensated for.

Classification as "not assessable"

In the event of the assessment activities a student has performed accounting for just 25% or less of the subject's final mark, their work will be classified as "not assessable" on their transcript.

Misconduct in assessment activities

Any irregularity committed during an assessment (academic fraud, plagiarism, or misuse of AI, unless expressly authorized in the course syllabus) that could lead to a significant change in the grade will result in a grade of 0 for that assessment. If multiple irregularities occur during assessments for the same course, the final grade for that course will be 0. Furthermore, disciplinary proceedings may be initiated against any individual who commits any of these irregularities.

In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies may or may not be permitted depending on the activity. The permitted and prohibited uses in each case will be detailed in the course introduction. Students must clearly identify which parts were generated using AI technologies, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools influenced the process and the final result of the activity. A lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in graded assignments will be considered a breach of academic integrity and may result in a partial or total penalty on the assignment grade, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.

Single assessment

This subject may be assessed under the single assessment system in accordance with the terms established in the academic regulations of the UAB and the assessment criteria of the Faculty of Translation and Interpreting.

Students must make an online request within the period established by the Faculty and send a copy to the teacher responsible for the subject, for the record.

Single assessment will be carried out in person on one day during week 16 or 17 of the semester. The Academic Management Office will publish the exact date and time on the Faculty website.

On the day of the single assessment, teaching staff will ask the student for identification, which should be presented as a valid identification document with a recent photograph (student card, DNI/NIE or passport).

Single assessment activities

Single assessment will include a minimum of three assessment activities of different typology, as stated in the evaluation guidelines.

Grade revision and resit procedures for the subject are the same as those for continual assessment. See the section above in this study guide.

Bibliography

Theoretical and conceptual introduction

Brah, A. (2011 [1997]) Cartografías de la diáspora: Identidades en cuestión. Madrid: Traficantes de Sueños

Cresswell, T. 2010. "Towards a Politics of Mobility." EPD: Society and Space 28: 17-32.

Salazar, N.B. 2011. "The Power of Imagination in Transnational Mobilities." Identities 18 (6) (December): 576-598.

I. Chinese migration and diaspora

Beltrán Antolín, J. (ed.) (2004) La presencia china en el mundo/La presencia xinesa al món. Barcelona: UOC

Beltrán Antolín, J. y A. Sáiz López (2015) "A contracorriente. Trabajadores y empresarios chinos en España ante la crisiseconómica (2007-2013)". Migraciones, nº 37: 125-147

Benton, G. and A. Gomez, A. (2014) "Belonging to the Nation: Generational Change, Identity and the Chinese Diaspora." Ethnic and Racial Studies 37 (7) (March 28): 1157-1171.

Goodkind, D. 2019. The Chinese Diaspora: Historical Legacies and Contemporary Trends. Washington, DC: United States Census Bureau.

Künnemann, V. and R. Mayer (eds.) (2011) Chinatowns in a Transnational World. Myths and Realities of an Urban Phenomenon. New York, London: Routledge.

Liu, Y. and S. Wang (eds.) (2020). Chinese Immigrants in Europe: Image, Identity and Social Participation. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

Miles, S.B. (2020). Chinese Diasporas. A Social History of Global Migration. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.

Thunø, M. and M. Li (2020). “Introduction: New Dynamics of Chinese Migration to Europe.” International Migration 58 (3): 5–21.

II. Korean migration and diaspora

Lee, U. (2021) Hábitos y prácticas culturales de la comunidad coreana de Cataluña, Barcelona: Facultat de Geografia i Història, Universitat de Barcelona.

Min, P. (2011) “The Immigration of Koreans to the United States: A Review of 45 Year (1965-2009) Trends”, Development and Society, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp.195- 224.

Yoon, I. (2012) "Migration and the Korean Diaspora: A Comparative Description of Five Cases", Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Vol. 38, No. 3, pp.413-435.

III. Japanese migration and diaspora

Adachi, N. (ed.) (2006) Japanese diasporas: unsung pasts, conflicting presents, and uncertain futures. London; New York: Routledge.

Befu, H. and S. Guichard-Auguis (eds.) (2001) Globalizing Japan: ethnography of the Japanese presence in Asia, Europe and America. London: Routledge.

Daniels, R. et al. (eds.) (1991) Japanese Americans, from relocation to redress. Seattle: University of Washington Press.

Goodman, R. et al. (eds.) (2003) Global Japan: the experience of Japan's new immigrant and overseas communities. New York: Routledge.

Graburn, N.H.H. et al. (eds.) (2008) Multiculturalism in the new Japan: crossing the boundaries within. New York: Berghahn Books.

Guarné, B. and P. Hansen (eds.) (2018) Escaping Japan: reflections on estrangement and exile in the twenty-first century. London & New York: Routledge.

Masterson, D. (2004) The Japanese in Latin America. Urbana: University of Illinois Press.

Murphy-Shigematsu, S. (2012) When half is whole: multiethnic Asian American identities. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press.

Software

No specific software will be used.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan/Spanish first semester morning-mixed