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 Donna R. Gabaccia, Professor of History and Director, Immigration History Research Center
Here in Minnesota, where refugees form a larger part of the foreign-born population than they do anywhere else in the U.S., it’s easy to assume that the U.S. offers refuge and a peaceful landing to most of the displaced persons of the world. Many of the refugees currently in the upper Midwest—certainly the Hmong, Somalians, and Vietnamese—fled regions that had seen both significant political violence and the engagement of U.S. military forces. So are we likely to see a large flow of refugees from Iraq in the years ahead?
By Andy Urban, PhD candidate in History at the University of Minnesota. IHRC Affiliated Faculty
As the November election approaches, immigration remains a key topic of debate. It can be a bit disconcerting how decisions and policy changes that will potentially affect millions of humans, seem to be implemented with an immediacy that belies months of inaction. There is nothing quite like the fear of losing office to get politicians to act; unfortunately, campaign politics do not always display the type of nuance that would best serve such important decisions.
By Joel Wurl, Head of Research Collections and Associate Director of the Immigration History Research Centerat the University of Minnesota
The recently completed World Baseball Classic may seem an unlikely starting point for commentary on migration, but as this Miami Herald article illustrates, it actually furnishes an interesting window on a host of complex, inter-related issues.
Continue reading "Migration, Asylum, Transnationalism ... and Baseball?" »