Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Political Economy of Migration and Identity

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Political turmoil, ecological disasters, and economic crises have led to an increase in migration. What impact do these mass movements have both on national and regional policies, and on the experiences and identity of newly arrived populations? This doctoral dissertation project investigates how national policies that attempt to exclude versus integrate newly arrived populations affect migrant identity and experience, and how this feeds back on policies and national identities. The project tests and synthesizes theories of governance, migration, and identity, and supports the training of a graduate student in anthropology in the methods of empirical, scientific data collection and analysis.This is a multi-sited ethnographic study with working-class, newly arrived migrants in two contexts, where attitudes toward and policies affecting migrants differ. Specifically, the doctoral student will carry out participant observation in organizations serving working-class migrants and will conduct informal open-ended and semi-structured interviews with migrants and other important stakeholders affecting and affected by migration. These findings will be complemented by textual analysis of local, mainstream, and alternative presses that provide concrete documentation of migrant-relevant policies, supports, and information. The resulting research findings will allow for greater understanding of the dynamics and consequences of transnational migration governance; the cultural, economic, and political significance of integration versus exclusion for migrants; and the implications of mass population movements for identity at local, regional, and national levels.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.