When I speak to Jewish audiences about the contemporary politics of immigration, I often lean on the historical parallels between contemporary migrations and Jewish experience of diaspora, in which Jews have so often been the strangers.
Continue reading "What I'm Reading: The Yiddish Policemen's Union and Comparative Migrations" »
Are Americans ever emigrants or immigrants? As part of my dissertation project, I have been reading about Americans who have opted to leave their home country and make their home abroad.
For me, summer reading means escape, largely through fiction that is as unrelated as possible to my scholarly work. Imagine my surprise then when I opened two new novels pulled randomly from the shelves of the Minneapolis Public Library. Both featured main characters who were very much "on the move."
By Andy Urban, PhD candidate in History at the University of Minnesota. IHRC Affiliated Faculty
Although the media coverage leading up to this year’s St. Patrick’s Day has highlighted how Catholic leaders have tried to make sure that the holiday’s festive nature and secular activities do not interfere with start of the more somber occasion of Holy Week, those interested in immigration history might think about the significance of ethnic holidays in relationship to the larger story of migration and assimilation.
Continue reading "St. Patrick's Day and Irish Immigration" »
By Erika Lee, Associate Professor of History and Asian American Studies at University of Minnesota, IHRC Affiliate,
We understand migration as a global phenomenon; people are on the move in
every part of the world and have been for centuries. We think less about how
the global migration of people also informs global debates and policies
about migration. This week's news gives us an opportunity to look at a few
common issues from around the world and to consider how they are connected
to each other.
Continue reading "Global Discourses, Politics, and Policies of Immigration" »