Immigrant America and Its Children

Catalog description

With a focus on the experiences of the immigrant second generation, this course seeks to expose students to the recent social science literature on contemporary immigration to the United States, including discussions on its origins, adaptation patterns, and long-term effects on American society. We will closely examine patterns of assimilation and adaptation for the children of immigrants, address the challenges they confront when trying to straddle two cultures, describe their ethnic identity formation, and interrogate the effects of their increasing presence on U.S. schools and society in general. The experiences of the second generation will be examined in various institutions including the family, labor market, schools, and community, and we situate these institutions in both national and transnational spheres. The course will consist of lectures by the instructor combined with class discussion of assigned texts. This course will also provide students with an analytic framework to address questions of multiculturalism. The course will also help students develop a better understanding of the dynamics of race, class, gender, and sexuality in society.