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Immigrant Life in the U.S. brings together scholars from across the disciplines to examine diverse examples of immigration to the paradigmatic 'nation of immigrants'. The volume covers a wide range of time periods, ethnic and national groups, and places of immigration. Contemporary Chinese children brought to the U.S. through adoption, Mexican laborers hired to work in the mid-west in the 1930s, Indian computer programmers hired to work in California, and more, are examined in a series of chapters that show the great diversity of issues facing immigrants in the past and in the present. This book emphasizes the complex tapestry that is the everyday experience of life as an immigrant and turns a critical eye on the place of globalization in the everyday life of immigrants. The contrasts it draws between past and present demonstrate the continued salience of national and ethnic identities while also describing how migrants can live almost simultaneously in two countries. This book will be of essential interest to advanced students and researchers of Sociology, History, Ethnic Studies and American Studies.
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Immigrant Life in the U.S. Immigrant Life in the U.S. brings together scholars from across the disciplines to examine diverse examples of immigration to the paradigmatic ‘nation of immigrants.’ The volume covers a wide range of time periods, ethnic and national groups, and places of immigration. Contemporary Chinese children brought to the U.S. through adoption, Mexican laborers hired to work in the mid-west in the 1930s, Indian computer programmers hired to work in California, and more, are examined in a series of chapters that show the great diversity of issues facing immigrants in the past and in the present. Divided into three sections, the book explores issues of nationality and citizenship, youth in the context of family and school, and work and economic issues. In the first section, the focus is on how migrants negotiate their nationality and sense of belonging in conjunction with ‘natives’ and larger national forces. In the second section, contributions deal with the special situation of migrant youth, examining the ways in which their family, school, and cultural contexts shape their developing identities. The third section looks at the all-important issue of work and the process by which immigrant status complicates employment, labor, economic relations, and immigrants’ experience of themselves as people. This book emphasizes the complex tapestry that is the everyday experience of life as an immigrant and turns a critical eye on the place of globalization in the day-to-day life of immigrants. The contrasts it draws between past and present demonstrate the continued salience of national and ethnic identities while also describing how migrants can live almost simultaneously in two countries. This book will be of essential interest to advanced students and researchers of sociology, history, ethnic studies, and American studies. Donna R. Gabaccia is the Mellon Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research focuses on gender and international migration, immigrant life in the United States, and Italian migration worldwide. Recent books include Immigration and American Diversity (2002), Italy’s Many Diasporas (2000), and We Are What We Eat: Ethnic Food and the Making of Americans (1998). Colin Wayne Leach is Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. His research examines the phenomenology and politics of status distinctions made in the U.S., Western Europe, and Australia. He is co-editor of The Social Life of Emotions (2004). Routledge advances in sociology This series aims to present cutting-edge developments and debates within the field of sociology. It will provide a broad range of case studies and the latest theoretical perspectives, whi