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80612-01 - Seminar: Poor but Mighty Numbers: The Distortion of Transnational Family Biographies Through Migration Statistics (3 CP)
| Semester | fall semester 2026 |
| Course frequency | Once only |
| Lecturers | Nicolas Mabillard (nicolas.mabillard@unibas.ch, Assessor) |
| Content | Statistics on families with an African heritage residing in the EU and Switzerland distort their stories. How can the social sciences address this issue? This seminar will first focus on how most statistical data produced by select European Union (EU) member states and Switzerland have framed families with a West African cultural heritage. It will highlight the cultural biases on which some of the statistical data is conceived—family and kinship structure misconceptions, assumed representations of individuality, restricted understandings of educational and economical success, gender roles, marriage and religiosity. Second, the seminar will give an overview of the qualitative anghropological and sociological studies on West African transnational families and discuss how they reveal what statistics do not. Third, the seminar will focus on how several large-scale statistical surveys have tried to frame these families’ life trajectories with varying degrees of success. Finally, it will be dedicated to proposing and discussing creative solutions to how statistics could better measure the socialization processes of families with a West African cultural heritage living in the EU and Switzerland. How can the distorted reflections that these statistics present be corrected? |
| Learning objectives | Students will either acquire – or develop their existing – critical skills on sociological statistical data conceptualization applied to families with a West African cultural heritage residing in the EU and/or Switzerland. They will develop their knowledge of how statistics have portrayed West African migration flows in the past, and how to question the assumptions they convey and implicitly reproduce using curated empirical case studies. They will develop their analytical and group work skills. |
| Language of instruction | English |
| Use of digital media | No specific media used |
| Course auditors welcome |
| Interval | Weekday | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|---|
| wöchentlich | Monday | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
Dates
| Date | Time | Room |
|---|---|---|
| Monday 14.09.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Monday 21.09.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Monday 28.09.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Monday 05.10.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Monday 12.10.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Monday 19.10.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Monday 26.10.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Monday 02.11.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Monday 09.11.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Monday 16.11.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Monday 23.11.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Monday 30.11.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Monday 07.12.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Monday 14.12.2026 | 10.15-12.00 | Rheinsprung 21, Seminarraum 00.004 |
| Modules |
Modul: Erweiterung Methodenkenntnisse BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Study of Religion) Modul: Erweiterung Methodenkenntnisse MA (Master's degree subject: Science of Religion) Module: Extension Social Sciences (Master's degree subject: Political Science – Inequality, Power, Conflict) Module: Extension Social Sciences BA (Bachelor's degree subject: Political Science) Module: Fields: Governance and Politics (Master's degree program: African Studies) Module: Methods of Social Anthropology (Bachelor's degree subject: Social Anthropology) Specialization Module Global Europe: Work, Migration and Society (Master's Studies: European Global Studies) |
| Assessment format | continuous assessment |
| Assessment details | Based on the seminar’s weekly readings and on their own complementary documentary and bibliographical research, the students will write a 10-page seminar paper – bibliography excluded – due at the end of the semester, on January 24th, 2027, at the latest. The paper will make up 60% of the seminar’s indicative final grade. Once in the semester, students will have to prepare a group summary, critique and discussion of one of the seminar’s readings which will make up 20% of the seminar’s indicative grade. Active participation in the seminar’s discussions will make up 20% of the seminar’s indicative grade. |
| Assessment registration/deregistration | Reg.: course registration; dereg.: not required |
| Repeat examination | no repeat examination |
| Scale | Pass / Fail |
| Repeated registration | no repetition |
| Responsible faculty | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, studadmin-philhist@unibas.ch |
| Offered by | Zentrum für Afrikastudien |