The African diaspora in the U.S. and Canada at the dawn of the 21st century by 
Brown Tide Rising : metaphors of Latinos in contemporary American public discourse by
This is a highly significant contribution to scholarship in several fields--e. g. sociology, sociolinguistics, cultural studies, political studies, ethnic studies. . . . The combination of lucid and rational theory, rich data set, and carefully reasoned analysis results in an unusually powerful book.
Conversations across our America talking about immigration and the Latinoization of the United States by 
A Different Mirror: a history of multicultural America by
Upon its first publication, A Different Mirror was hailed by critics and academics everywhere as a dramatic new retelling of our nation's past. Beginning with the colonization of the New World, it recounted the history of America in the voice of the non-Anglo peoples of the United States--Native Americans, African Americans, Jews, Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, and others--groups who helped create this country's rich mosaic culture. Now, Ronald Takaki has revised his landmark work and made it even more relevant and important. Among the new additions to the book are: --The role of black soldiers in preserving the Union --The history of Chinese Americans from 1900-1941 --An investigation into the hot-button issue of "illegal" immigrants from Mexico --A look at the sudden visibility of Muslim refugees from Afghanistan. This new edition of A Different Mirror is a remarkable achievement that grapples with the raw truth of American history and examines the ultimate question of what it means to be an American.
Emigrants and Exiles: Ireland and the Irish exodus to North America by
The first "translantic" history of the Irish, Emigrants and Exiles promises to become a landmark in our understanding of this important emigration movement. From the early 1600s to the early 1900s, no fewer than seven million people emigrated from Ireland to north America. This vast flow amounted to much more than mere numbers: it at once reflected and compelled enormous social changes on both sides of the Atlantic. Emigrants and Exiles chronicles the momentous causes of the Irish emigration and its far-reaching impact--on the people themselves, on the land they left behind, and on the new one they came to. Drawing on enormous original research, Kerby Miller focuses on the thought and behavior of the "ordinary" Irish emigrants, Catholic and Protestant, as revealed in their personal letters, diaries, journals and memoirs as well as in their songs, poems, and folklore. He finds that while many were eager newcomers to "the land of promise," many more saw themselves as involuntary "exiles" who had been forced to leave Ireland by cruel fate or British oppression. The exile mentality, Miller shows, was deeply rooted in Irish history, culture, and personality, and it profoundly affected the traumatic course of modern Irish history even as it shaped the Irish-American experience in very particular ways. The impressive scope of Miller's work embraces all the successive waves of Irish emigration, and he fills the book with rich human detail. About the Author:Kerby A. Miller is Associate Professor of History at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
The Good Immigrants: how the yellow peril became the model minority by
Conventionally, US immigration history has been understood through the lens of restriction and those who have been barred from getting in. In contrast, The Good Immigrants considers immigration from the perspective of Chinese elites--intellectuals, businessmen, and students--who gained entrance because of immigration exemptions. Exploring a century of Chinese migrations, Madeline Hsu looks at how the model minority characteristics of many Asian Americans resulted from US policies that screened for those with the highest credentials in the most employable fields, enhancing American economic competitiveness. The earliest US immigration restrictions targeted Chinese people but exempted students as well as individuals who might extend America's influence in China. Western-educated Chinese such as Madame Chiang Kai-shek became symbols of the US impact on China, even as they patriotically advocated for China's modernization. World War II and the rise of communism transformed Chinese students abroad into refugees, and the Cold War magnified the importance of their talent and training. As a result, Congress legislated piecemeal legal measures to enable Chinese of good standing with professional skills to become citizens. Pressures mounted to reform American discriminatory immigration laws, culminating with the 1965 Immigration Act. Filled with narratives featuring such renowned Chinese immigrants as I. M. Pei, The Good Immigrants examines the shifts in immigration laws and perceptions of cultural traits that enabled Asians to remain in the United States as exemplary, productive Americans.
Immigration and Race: New Challenges for American Democracy by
A selection of insights about conflicts and competition, vital to those who formulate immigration policies. The insights are derived from the work of authors such as Frank D. Bean, Thomas E. Cavanagh, John A. Garcia, Peter H. Schuck, Wendy Zimmerman, and more.
A New Language, a New World: Italian Immigrants in the United States, 1890-1945 by
An examination of Italian immigrants and their children in the early twentieth century, A New Language, A New World is the first full-length historical case study of one immigrant group's experience with language in America. Incorporating the interdisciplinary literature on language within a historical framework, Nancy C. Carnevale illustrates the complexity of the topic of language in American immigrant life. By looking at language from the perspectives of both immigrants and the dominant culture as well as their interaction, this book reveals the role of language in the formation of ethnic identity and the often coercive context within which immigrants must negotiate this process. _x000B__x000B_Carnevale provides the context for understanding the linguistic history of Italian Americans by presenting a brief overview of the politics of language in Italy, with its racialized split between North and South, multiple dialects, and class divisions. Exploring a range of issues faced by Italians once they reached the United States, Carnevale considers the immigrant perspective on translation in both a literal linguistic sense and a figurative translation of self-identity. Italian Americans found a familiar voice in the popular entertainer Farfariello, whose comic songs incorporating the Italo-American idiom expressed problems of immigrant life as problems of communication--often between the sexes--suggesting the centrality of language in the immigrant imagination. And with the rise of fascism in the Italian homeland, the Italian language took on even more conflicted meanings in America as Italian Americans were regarded with suspicion and scrutiny.
Occupied America: a history of Chicanos by
View our feature on Allen Steele's Coyote Horizon. The colonial world of Coyote has become the last, best hope of humankind. But Hawk Thompson has learned something about the aliens who also call Coyote home-and his knowledge will change human history.
The Other Face of America: chronicles of the immigrants shaping our future by
Immigrants in America are at the heart of what makes this country the most prosperous and visionary in the world. The optimism that goes along with this sentiment was at its peak until recently, when tragedy struck at the World Trade Center. Once again, the foreign-born in America have become objects of suspicion, and instead of adopting laws that would extend our borders to them our country has suddenly swung its gates shut. But do we really know who makes up the bulk of immigrants in America? Jorge Ramos does. Writing from his own heartfelt perspective as an immigrant, forge Ramos, one of the world's most popular Spanish-language television news broadcasters, listens to and explores stories of dozens of immigrants who decided to change their lives and risk everything -- families, jobs history, and their own culture -- in order to pursue a better, freer, and opportunity-filled future as citizens of the United Starts. By telling the personal stories of the immigrants' journey to America and their subsequent effects on American culture, Ramos advances the notion that immigrants have created a country within a country. and ultimately are the soul of America's continued good fortune. With the clear tone of a seasoned journalist; Ramos brings to life the tales of individuals from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, among other countries, and explains why they first immigrated (war, poverty, exile, and so on), what their dreams are, how they deal with racism, and what they believe the future hill hold for them and for their children. Not since the early twentieth century has immigration been such a transformative force in America. Immigrants from Europe who flooded into the United States helped shape what many refer to as the "American" century and ultimately transformed the world. America's second wave of immigration is now a reality, and like the previous one this wave will again transform American society, and the world forever. From the recent Vieques controversy to the interesting notion that Spanglish has become a uniquely American phenomenon to the blossoming creativity of Latino communities in places -here ten years ago there were none, Ramos shows that there is a new face in America, one whose colors and countries of origin are as diverse as the country it has adopted as home.
Remaking the American Mainstream: assimilation and contemporary immigration by
In this age of multicultural democracy, the idea of assimilation--that the social distance separating immigrants and their children from the mainstream of American society closes over time--seems outdated and, in some forms, even offensive. But as Richard Alba and Victor Nee show in the first systematic treatment of assimilation since the mid-1960s, it continues to shape the immigrant experience, even though the geography of immigration has shifted from Europe to Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Institutional changes, from civil rights legislation to immigration law, have provided a more favorable environment for nonwhite immigrants and their children than in the past. Assimilation is still driven, in claim, by the decisions of immigrants and the second generation to improve their social and material circumstances in America. But they also show that immigrants, historically and today, have profoundly changed our mainstream society and culture in the process of becoming Americans. Surveying a variety of domains--language, socioeconomic attachments, residential patterns, and intermarriage--they demonstrate the continuing importance of assimilation in American life. And they predict that it will blur the boundaries among the major, racially defined populations, as nonwhites and Hispanics are increasingly incorporated into the mainstream.
Transferring to America: Jewish interpretations of American dreams by
This book uses recent psychoanalytic theory to analyze the work of three contemporary scholars--Harold Bloom, Stanley Cavell, and Sacvan Bercovitch--while viewing their work as expressing Jewish immigrant desires for integration into American culture.
Twenty-First Century Gateways: immigrant incorporation in suburban America by
While federal action on immigration faces an uncertain future, states, cities and suburban municipalities craft their own responses to immigration. Twenty-First-Century Gateways, focuses on the fastest-growing immigrant populations in metropolitan areas with previously low levels of immigration--places such as Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dallas-Fort Worth, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, and Washington, D.C. These places are typical of the newest, largest immigrant gateways to America, characterized by post-WWII growth, recent burgeoning immigrant populations, and predominantly suburban settlement. More immigrants, both legal and undocumented, arrived in the United States during the 1990s than in any other decade on record. That growth has continued more slowly since the Great Recession; nonetheless the U.S. immigrant population has doubled since 1990. Many immigrants continued to move into traditional urban centers such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, but burgeoning numbers were attracted by the economic and housing opportunities of fast-growing metropolitan areas and their largely suburban settings. The pace of change in this new geography of immigration has presented many local areas with challenges--social, fiscal, and political. Edited by Audrey Singer, Susan W. Hardwick, and Caroline B. Brettell, Twenty-First-Century Gateways provides in-depth, comparative analysis of immigration trends and local policy responses in America's newest gateways. The case examples by a group of leading multidisciplinary immigration scholars explore the challenges of integrating newcomers in the specific gateways, as well as their impact on suburban infrastructure such as housing, transportation, schools, health care, economic development, and public safety. The changes and trends dissected in this book present a critically important understanding of the reshaping of the United States today and the future impact of immigration, vital as the nation and metropolitan areas face changes to immigration policy.
Understanding Immigration and Refugee Policy by
Immigration, particularly asylum, has become a major political issue in Britain and Europe and its impact on welfare, employment and 'social cohesion' highly contested. While asylum policy has become more punitive, dependence on immigrant labour has been increasingly acknowledged by governments which attempt to 'manage' migration to secure the benefits without the presumed costs. The book provides an essential background to understanding these debates. Based on documentary sources and primary research, it focuses mainly on Britain within an international and European context. The first part examines different theoretical approaches to understanding migratory flows and strategies. It explores forced and voluntary migration, the gender dimension in migration decisions and transnational links maintained by migrants. Part two focuses on continuities and change in migration policy and how boundaries have shifted to exclude and include different groups. It explores links between immigration policy, welfare and social exclusion, and migrants' experiences in negotiating and challenging these policies. The book concludes by questioning whether immigration controls can be justified on either ethical or practical grounds.The book will be a key text for students and researchers of migration and ethnicity, and of social policy and welfare. It will be of interest to professionals working with migrants and refugees and to all those concerned with migrant rights.