CLA: IHRC Updates

The Immigration History Research Center (IHRC) offers grants of up to $500 to assist scholars traveling to conduct research at the IHRC. The deadline for applications for 2009-2010 grants is June 1, 2009.

The IHRC is an internationally known migration studies center with expansive archives documenting immigration to the United States, from the latter 19th century to current refugee migrations. Key areas of coverage include European and Near Eastern immigrants (1880-1930) and 20th-century refugees, such as Displaced Persons after World War II and Southeast Asian, African, and current movements. The Center has exceptional collections of fraternal organization records, personal files, and immigrant and refugee assistance organization materials, as well as ethnic print collections.

Grant-in-Aid Awards are intended to help defray expenses of visiting graduate students, professors and independent scholars from the U.S. and abroad consulting the Center’s archival and library collections. Grants are available through the generosity of donors to the IHRC’s ethnic and general funds, as well as the director’s research fund. Awards are made on a competitive basis and for research in a specific IHRC collection. IHRC sources to be consulted should be indicated in the application.

Prior to submitting an application, applicants are strongly encouraged to consult the IHRC Website (http://ihrc.umn.edu/) and to contact IHRC collections staff (ihrc@umn.edu) for information about each collection and relevance to proposed work.

Although researchers are welcome to extend their stay in Minnesota for additional research at other locations, the IHRC grant requires a five-day residency at the Center. During the residency, the recipient will offer a research-in-progress talk and have opportunities to interact with members of the vibrant IHRC community at the University of Minnesota. Researchers receiving a grant-in-aid award will be required to acknowledge the IHRC and receipt of the grant in any resulting publication.

Application Deadline: June 1, 2009

Availability: Awards are available for travel to the IHRC at any time between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, for work in any collection.

Terms of Award: Individual grants of up to $500 to assist with travel and research-related expenses associated with a research residency at the IHRC of not less than one work week (5 business days). Applications requesting less than $500 will receive equal consideration.

Who May Apply? Graduate students, faculty, and independent scholars, in the U.S. or internationally, who live more than a day’s drive from the Twin Cities and who need to do research in the IHRC collections for which the grant-in-aid is sought.

Selection Criteria:
• Demonstrated connection between research needs and specific collections at the IHRC
• Language proficiency (for projects requiring sources in languages other than English)
• Preference for newer scholars (and graduate students), international scholars, and the use of the following collections: Czech/Slovak, Estonian, Finnish, Greek, Italian, Latvian, Polish, and Refugee-Related Materials

Application Materials:
• Proposal of no more than 2 pages describing the research project, the collections to be consulted, and estimated budget
• Current curriculum vitae
• Estimated dates of residency
• Names and contact information (including email) for two references

Send application materials by June 1, 2009, to Haven Hawley, Acting Director: ehh@umn.edu

or to the following postal address:
Immigration History Research Center
University of Minnesota
311 Andersen Library / 222 - 21st Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55455

The University of Minnesota is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, or sexual orientation.

Posted by Elizabeth Hawley at 5:39 PM | Permalink

The IHRC congratulates affiliate Jamal A. Adam on being selected as one of 25 participants for the "American Immigration Revisited" National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute in 2009.

Jamal Adam, a counselor and instructor at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, partnered with the IHRC in fall 2008 to prepare a "Global Diversity" day exhibition at MCTC focused on Somali immigration.

Participants were selected through a competitive process, and finalists represent a wide variety of scholarship, college teaching experience, and backgrounds. The institute, organized by the National History Center, is one of 19 summer study opportunities supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, a federal agency that each summer supports seminars and institutes at colleges and universities so that teachers can work in collaboration and study with experts in humanities disciplines. The program is also co-sponsored by the American Historical Association, the history department at American University, the Community College Humanities Association, the Immigration and Ethnic History Society, and the National Portrait Gallery.

Directed by Maureen Murphy Nutting, Professor of History at North Seattle Community College, and Alan Kraut, Professor of History at American University, the month-long program will bring together 25 two- and four-year college professors and immigration experts for four weeks at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The participants and the institute leaders will also take a three-day research trip to New York City to explore the immigrant experience of Ellis Island, Liberty Island, and the Downtown Tenement Museum.

The participants will explore four basic areas during the summer institute: American immigration part of a global phenomenon; migrations between cultures; changes in immigration law, policy, and practice; and approaches and resources for teaching immigration history. Those who complete the institute will take what they learn back to their communities, enrich their U.S. history courses and other courses that deal with immigration, and improve teaching and learning. Those who complete the institute will take what they learn back to their communities, enrich their U.S. history courses, and improve teaching and learning.

Posted by Elizabeth Hawley at 10:21 AM | Permalink

When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detain and subsequently deport undocumented workers, what happens to the children of those workers, many of whom were born in the U.S. and, by law, are U.S. citizens? A special panel at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14 titled "America’s Children and U.S. Immigration Enforcement: Is Anybody Looking Out For the Best Interests Of The Children?" discusses this important issue.

A new report, “Severing a lifeline: The Neglect of Citizen Children in America’s Immigration Enforcement Policy” takes a detailed look at the impact of immigration law and enforcement policy upon citizen children. The study’s authors contend that immigration laws are out of step with the way children are treated in other areas of U.S. law and, at best, marginalize, and at worst totally ignore, the children’s status as citizens.

Join a stimulating and in-depth discussion of these issues Tuesday, April 14, 2009, from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Cowles Auditorium, Hubert H. Humphrey Center.

The panelists will discus whether children's interests are being neglected in the pursuit of immigration control. They will address questions such as which laws should apply to these children, and how -- or whether -- the U.S. enforcement approach should be changed to minimize harm to citizen children of undocumented parents.

Speakers include:
• Katherine Fennelly, Professor, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, Moderator
• Joseph Dierkes, Retired Immigration Judge, Executive Office of Immigration Review, U.S. Dept of Justice
• James Kremer, Partner, Dorsey & Whitney, co-author, Severing a Lifeline: The Neglect of Citizen Children in America’s Immigration Enforcement Policy
• Representative Carlos Mariani, Minnesota House of Representatives, Chair, House K-12 Education Policy and Oversight Committee
• Esther Wattenberg, Professor, School of Social Work and Policy and Program Coordinator in Child Welfare, Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, University of Minnesota

Sponsors:
Dorsey & Whitney LLP
University of Minnesota: Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs ; Human Rights Center, Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, Immigration History Research Center, Human Rights Program; The Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, School of Social Work
Midwest Coalition for Human Rights
Family and Children’s Service
League of Women Voters of Minnesota
Jewish Community Action
Catholic Charities of St. Paul/Mpls - Office for Social Justice
Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network

Posted by Elizabeth Hawley at 6:00 PM | Permalink