MIMS 603 - Immigration Policy & Politics

Unit(s): 3

This introductory course provides the foundation in policy, historical and sociological scholarship necessary for contemporary understanding of Mexican and Central American migration to the U.S. Readings and lectures consider the colonial roots and political economic legacies of both Anglo American and Spanish American citizenship formations in the U.S., as well as comparative consideration of Asian &Pacific Islanders’ migration to the U.S. Students will analyze the relationship between colonization, slavery, immigration control, industrialization and U.S. political projects in Latin America together with contemporary development politics in Mexico and Central America, and the particularly virulent xenophobic policies and politics of recent decades. Guest speakers and field trip visits with immigrant rights advocates, policy makers and service providers will emphasize the active role immigrants play in public life today as they have also done historically. Immigrants and their children are not just victims of policy but are leaders in articulating new visions for fairness and inclusion in U.S. society, as well as advocates for more just transnational economic and political relations in North and Central America.

Restriction: Level Restricted to Graduate
College of Arts and Sciences