Citizenship: Inside and Out (LAW261H1F)

The term “citizenship” has many facets. Citizenship can denote a status, a package of rights (and, to a lesser extent, responsibilities), or a set of practices and performances. Domestic law creates and differentiates citizens and non-citizens through citizenship law, immigration law, constitutional law and other fields of national law. International law recognizes the right of each state to determine who are its nationals yet also constrains the state and regulates the rights and duties that attach to nationality. This seminar will explore theoretical and comparative perspectives on the acquisition, enjoyment and loss of legal citizenship. It will also examine law’s role in honing citizenship’s sociological and political facets. Topics include birthright citizenship, naturalization, ‘citizenship for sale,’ dual citizenship, denationalization, the rights of citizens, resident non-citizens and citizen non-residents, supranational (EU) citizenship, and statelessness. 

LEARNING OUTCOMES 

Students will:

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of citizenship as a legal status and its intersection with immigration, constitutional, and international law. 
  
• Engage with theoretical and comparative approaches to the acquisition, enjoyment, and loss of citizenship while assessing how law shapes and is shaped by sociological and political practices of belonging. 
  
• Build the ability to synthesize scholarly literature, case studies, and legal texts to construct informed, nuanced arguments on the role of law in defining and regulating citizenship