Six Impossible Ideas (After Brexit)

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Six Impossible Ideas (After Brexit)

We’ve teamed up with researchers from the London School of Economics for this course consisting of 6 episodes, each one centered around a seemingly impossible idea about migration.

We’ve challenged each of our lecturers to propose an idea about migration that appears self-evident to them but is missing, misunderstood, or misinterpreted in public conversation.

All episodes are linked below. Each episode consists of:

  • Bite-sized videos (3-5 mins)
  • A smidge of introductory text
  • Resources for further thought and exploration.

Remember that quote from Lewis Carroll’s Alice and the Looking Glass?

Alice laughed. ‘One can’t believe impossible things.’ ‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.’

Are migrants city-makers or city-takers?

Episode 1/6

Suzie Hall of LSE Cities walks us through her research on ordinary streets in UK cities, which challenges commonly held perceptions of migrants as being a burden on society.

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Do migrants take away jobs?

Episode 2/6

Alan Manning of LSE Economics settles the question as to whether migrants take jobs from so-called natives, based on hard data and well-documented trends. He concludes with some policy advice.

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Do borders affect your freedom?

Episode 3/6

Chandran Kukathas of LSE Government provides an interesting link between the issue of immigration control with political freedoms enjoyed by a country’s own citizens. Ultimately, he asks, “What is the price of your control?”

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Should borders separate or connect?

Episode 4/6

Ruben Andersson of Oxford University, previously at LSE International Development, uses an ethnographic approach to dispute the need for more border security. His work examines the real connections made between and because of borders.

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Can the media make us more welcoming?

Episode 5/6

Myria Georgiou of LSE Media offers an analysis of the media’s reporting on the so-called refugee crisis throughout Europe and what these narratives have missed. She also explores differences in coverage between regions and over time.

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Integration: What works and what doesn't?

Episode 6/6

Dominik Hangartner of LSE Government summarises his new, quantitative research on the effectiveness of integration policies. Specifically, he looks at the role of public attitudes and citizenship in the integration process.

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Watch all videos on YouTube

All videos in this series are available as a playlist for your viewing pleasure on the Migration Matters YouTube channel.

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This series was produced in collaboration with LSE’s Institute of Global Affairs and its Global Migration Initiative.

This series was made possible with financial support from an LSE Knowledge Exchange Heif 5 Grant.