Doctoral Dissertation Research: Immigration and the Politics of Citizenship and Race

这一博士论文研究项目将探讨与绝对法公民身份原则有关的问题，绝对法公民身份原则是指在一个国家出生的人无条件获得出生公民权的做法，这种做法在美国和其他大约30个国家(主要是美洲)都有发现。该项目将侧重于政治和经济条件的地理位置以及维持妇女前往另一个国家分娩以便为其子女获得该国公民身份的做法的跨国网络。尽管学术界对其他形式的移民给予了相当大的关注，但相对较少的学术关注集中在被贴上标签的“生育旅游”上。项目成果将提供新的见解和信息，有助于在一系列领域，如跨国移徙、移民接待、种族和地点创造以及公民身份研究等领域加深了解。该项目还将促进人们更多地了解出生公民身份对移民政治的影响，特别是与种族构成和国家归属感有关的影响，并将揭示在已建立的美国门户城市内移民的地理位置变化。作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将为有前途的学生建立强大的独立研究生涯提供支持。博士生将进行一个案例研究，重点是南加州的中国生育旅游。该项目的目标是收集有关生育旅游过程的基本事实信息；调查当地人对生育旅游的看法；并分析生育旅游如何影响当地、地区和国家背景下的社区和区域机构的种族观念。学生将使用一系列的人种学研究方法，包括参与者观察，与从事这一实践的主要利益相关者和家庭(特别是女性)的访谈，以及对相关文件的分析，如媒体报道和法律政策。

This doctoral dissertation research project will examine issues related to the principle of jus soli citizenship, which is the practice of unconditional birthright citizenship for people born in a country, a practice found in the United States and about 30 other nations, mostly in the Americas. The project will focus on the geography of political and economic conditions and transnational networks that sustain the practice of women who travel to another nation to give birth in order to secure citizenship in that nation for their children. Although considerable scholarly attention has been given to other forms of migration, relatively little scholarly attention has focused on what has been labelled as "birth tourism." Project findings will provide new insights and information that will contribute to broader understanding in a range of fields, such as transnational migration, immigration reception, race and place-making, and citizenship studies. The project also will foster greater knowledge about birthright citizenship's impacts on immigration politics, particularly in relation to racial formations and national belonging, and it will shed light on the changing geographies of migrant arrivals within established U.S. gateway cities. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.The doctoral student will conduct a case study that focuses on Chinese birth tourism in southern California. The project's objectives of this research are to gather basic factual information about the process of birth tourism; investigate local perceptions about birth tourism; and analyze how birth tourism influences ideas about race in neighborhoods and regional institutions in local, regional, and national contexts. The student will employ a range of ethnographic research techniques, including participant observation, interviews with key stakeholders and families (especially women) who engage in this practice, and analysis of relevant documents such as media reports and legal policies.