Asylum/ Asile: Theory and Practice of As · French
This course improved my skills at writing in French and greatly expanded my understanding of the asylum seeking process.
American law on asylum, historical/cultural/social/economic knowledge on North-West African countries (particularly Guinea and Mauritania), writing critical essay in French, issue-spotter, history of the 'refugee' as a concept, etc.
So much. This is the best course I have taken at Columbia. From learning the full scale of the asylum process, its history, translating with attention to voice and identity, and how to work alongside clients, this course has been all-encompassing for anyone interested in French, law, and advocacy.
American asylum law, speaking with more fluidity and with legal vocabulary in French, the theoretical and philosophical foundations of asylum law and refugee status, how to work effectively with an asylum seeker to write a declaration for their application, and country conditions that give rise to persecution in Mauritania and Guinea.
Practical legal translating skills (which will be useful for my volunteer work), and also learned a lot about FGM and 21st century slavery
THis class is very special. Its really great to be able to use a columbia course, resources, time, etc to be able to help people. The class is excellent because not only do you learn about immigration theory, how the asylum system works in the US, conditions in countries with large # of asylum seekers, but you apply this work to produce important documents for people seeking asylum. Being that its in french, I learned vocabulary and themes regarding law that I probably never would have learned without this course. It definitely made me want to consider law.
I learned about how asylum law functions in the United States, the socio-political state of the Western African nations of Guinea and Mauritania, and how to combine the two skills to help francophone asylum seekers write their declaration. This class introduced me to a whole new world
This is an amazing class where you can not only improve your French skills in a very practical manner, but also (and most importantly) directly help people that have gone through the worst of humanity.
This is one of the few classes I've taken that have had a real-time, real-world impact. Having the opportunity to use French to support asylum seekers in NYC was an extremely humbling and gratifying experience. The structure of the course was extremely well-organized and the three "sections" of the course were very helpful in making sure that students were fully prepared to work with the clients. The readings and assignments were enlightening and provided me some experience with the type of assessments I may encounter in graduate/law school, which was really nice to have. Above all, though, the thing I appreciated the most in this class was the opportunity I had to bond with my client.
This class is unlike any I've taken before. If you want real-life experience working with immigration law and asylum law, using a skill you already have, please, please, take this course.