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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "PL 325-1"
COURSE NAME: "Human Trafficking and Contemporary Slavery"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Spring Semester 2012
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Scarpa Silvia
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
MW 11:30-12:45
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
Prerequisite: Junior Standing
OFFICE HOURS:
By appointment
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
While slavery and the slave trade were abolished long ago, new and more subtle forms of slavery-like practices are alarmingly on the rise in many parts of the world and they seem to be more widespread today than slavery has been in any other period of human history. This course aims at analyzing contemporary forms of slavery and trafficking in human beings as complex phenomena requiring an interdisciplinary approach and it is designed to foster students’ critical examination on the political, economic and social factors that lie behind these practices providing an enhanced understanding of the various issues related to them.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
Starting with a brief overview on slavery and a comparison between slavery of the past centuries and the contemporary subtle forms of slavery-like practices, this course will analyze various forms of exploitation, focusing in particular on chattel slavery, religious slavery, servitude, the bonded labour/debt bondage practice, forced prostitution and sexual slavery, early and forced marriages, the exploitation of child soldiers and forced labour. A definition for every form of exploitation will be given to clearly emphasize differences and overlaps existing among them. The course will subsequently deal with trafficking in human beings, assessing its spreading in the world, emphasizing the lack of data, commenting on the available estimates and analyzing its causes and consequences and the most common forms of exploitation related to it, including sexual and labour exploitation, the involvement of children in armed conflicts, illegal adoptions and trafficking in human organs. The lack of an internationally agreed definition of human trafficking until the adoption in 2000 of the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children will be discussed and the differences between this phenomenon and the smuggling of migrants will be studied. Specific attention will be dedicated to understanding what can be done to fight against the spreading of these contemporary forms of slavery and of human trafficking.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Upon completion of the course, students will be able to define the various contemporary slavery-like practices and processes, being aware of their spreading in the world, of their main causes and consequences, of the international action aimed at abolishing them and of short and long-term strategies that need to be adopted to eradicate them. They also will be able to assess the major successes and failures in establishing a framework in which these phenomena could be eradicated and they will have conducted research on a specific issue of their interest and have written a term paper on it.
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TEXTBOOK:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments | Format | Local Bookstore | Online Purchase |
| Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy | Kevin Bales | University of California Press | 978520243842 | | | | | |
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments |
| Trafficking in Human Beings: Modern Slavery | Silvia Scarpa | Oxford University Press | 9780199541904 | | |
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| Mid-Term Exam | Essay questions. | 25% |
| Research Paper | 2,500 words minimum. | 30% |
| Final exam | Essay questions. | 35% |
| Attendance & Class Participation | Attendance is compulsory and students shall participate to class discussions. | 10% |
-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
Assessment Guidelines for assigning main letter grades: A, B, C,D, and F.
A: Work of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensiveknowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
B: This is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.
There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
C: This is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
D: This level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.
Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
F: This work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Attendance is compulsory! Students shall read assigned materials before coming to class and shall participate to class discussions.
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic
dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred.
In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment,
may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of
academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student
who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from
the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation
to the President, who will make the final decision.
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STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap.
Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning
of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
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SCHEDULE
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WEEK
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TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED
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READING ASSIGNMENTS
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Week 1 (January 16 and 18)
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What is contemporary slavery? What is human trafficking?
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Quirk, Ch. 1 – p. 17-33; Scarpa, Ch. 1 – p. 3-8.
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Week 2 (January 23 and 25)
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Is slavery of the past different from the one of today?
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Bales, Ch. 1; Quirk, Ch. 2 - 3.
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Week 3 (January 30; February 1 and 3 –make-up)
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Vestiges of past slavery: chattel slavery and religious slavery.
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Bales, Ch. 3; Black, p. 1-26.
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Week 4 (February 6 and 8)
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Forced labor and child labor.
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ILO Handbook, p. 8-16; Lieten; Hindman.
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Week 5 (February 13 and 15)
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Debt bondage.
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Bales, Ch. 4, 5 and 6.
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Week 6 (February 20 and 22)
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Mid-term week.
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Week 7 (February 27 and 29)
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The commercial sexual exploitation of children and child sex tourism.
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Bales, Ch. 2 and Ecpat Report.
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Week 8 (March 5, 7 and 9 – make-up)
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Trafficking in persons: lack of data, estimates, causes & consequences and distribution in the world.
DEADLINE FOR THE SUBMISSION OF PAPERS.
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Scarpa, Ch. 1 – p. 8-21.
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Week 9 (March 12 and 14)
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The forms of exploitation related to human trafficking.
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US Dept. of States’ TIP Report 2010, p. 7-12; Scarpa, Ch. 1 – p. 22-40.
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Week 10 (March 19 and 21)
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Spring Vacation
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- Week 11 (March 26 and 28)
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Trafficking in human organs.
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Pearson, Scheper-Hughes.
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- Week 12 (April 2 and 4)
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Smuggling in migrants: definition. Trafficking in persons v. the smuggling of migrants.
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Bhabha and Zard; Gallagher.
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- Week 13 (April 11)
April 9: holiday, make-up day February 3.
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Trafficking in persons in the wider context of international migrations.
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Anti-Slavery International Report on Migration-Trafficking Nexus, p. 1-15; Dauvergne, Ch. 2.
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Week 14 (April 16 and 18)
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What can be done to fight against contemporary slavery and human trafficking?
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Bales, Ch. 7; US Dept. of State's TIP Report 2011, p. 15-45.
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- Week 15 (April 23)
April 25: holiday, make-up day March 9.
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Con’t and Final summary.
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Week 16 (April 28 – May 4)
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Final examinations
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Full List of Reading Materials (specific chapters and pages to be studied are indicated in the schedule):
Anti-Slavery International, The Migration-Trafficking Nexus (Anti-Slavery International, 2003).
Bales K., Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy (University of California Press, 2004).
Bhabha J. and Zard M., “Smuggled or Trafficked?” 25 Forced Migration Review (May 2006) p. 6-8.
Black M., Women in Ritual Slavery (Anti-Slavery International, 2007).
Dauvergne C., Making People Illegal, Cambridge University Press, 2008.
ECPAT, Combating Child Sex Tourism (ECPAT, 2008).
Pearson, Coercion in the Kidney Trade? (GTZ, 2004).
Quirk J., Unfinished Business: A Comparative Study on Historical and Contemporary Slavery (UNESCO, 2008).
Gallagher A., “Trafficking, Smuggling and Human Rights: Tricks and Treaties” 25 Forced Migration Review (May 2006) p. 25-28.
Hindman H. D., "Worst Forms of Child Labor" in The World of Child Labor: An Historical and Regional Survey (M.E. Sharpe, 2009).
Lieten J. K., “Toward an Integrative Theory of Child Labor” in The World of Child Labor: An Historical and Regional Survey (M.E. Sharpe, 2009).
Scarpa, Trafficking in Persons: Modern Slavery (Oxford University Press, 2006).
Scheper-Hughes N., “Keeping an Eye on the Global Traffic in Human Organs” 361 The Lancet (2003) p. 1645-48.
US Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report (US Dept. of State, 2010).
US Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report (US Dept. of State, 2011).
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