Doctoral Dissertation Research: Demographic Projections and Narratives of Latino Growth

SES-1303164 José ItzigsohnMichael Rodríguez-MuñizBrown University在过去的几十年里，人口变化已经成为美国辩论的一个主要话题。对人口预测的广泛消费促使人们相信，该国正在经历一场似乎前所未有、不可逆转、完全不可避免的民族和文化转型。这种说法抓住了政策制定者、社会运动和公众的想象力，助长了人们对国家未来日益增长的焦虑和预期。随着美国的重点拉丁裔人口的增长，本论文扩大了学术知识的方式，社会行动者和政策制定者感知，经验，并积极参与“人口变化。“通过为期一年的定性和民族志研究，包括对关键利益相关者和专家的深入采访、对公共事件和组织活动的参与者观察、档案研究以及对媒体报道和流行话语的分析，本研究审查了国家拉丁裔公民所做的努力权利和倡导组织将拉丁裔人口增长转化为更大的政策影响力。两个主要的研究问题指导研究：1）国家拉丁美洲领导人和组织如何理解，框架，并使用人口统计数据和关于拉丁美洲人口增长的叙述？2)这项活动如何塑造拉丁美洲人的泛种族认同、民权议程以及拉丁美洲人倡导者和其他行为者之间的关系？最终，该项目旨在阐明统计的公共和文化生活，并就人口知识对当代民主生活的更广泛影响进行理论化。更广泛的影响这个项目致力于激发对拉丁美洲人口增长和人口变化的更具包容性的讨论。与政策制定者、倡导者和学者一样，它挑战了简单地将人口统计学视为客观事实的倾向。相反，该项目及时研究了人口变化的意义以及在决策和宣传中统计数据的制作、传播和使用。研究结果将在学术会议、学术出版物以及正在研究的国家拉丁美洲民权和倡导组织的工作人员和领导层中传播。研究结果还将通过英文和西班牙文媒体的专栏和评论、博客文章以及研究人员将开发的一个网站与公众分享，该网站专门用于对人口变化进行知情讨论和辩论。

SES-1303164José ItzigsohnMichael Rodríguez-MuñizBrown UniversityOver the past several decades, demographic change has become a major topic of debate in the United States. The widespread consumption of demographic projections has contributed to the belief that the country is undergoing a seemingly unprecedented, irreversible, and altogether inevitable ethnoracial and cultural transformation. Seizing the imagination of policymakers, social movements, and the general public, this narrative has fueled growing anxieties and anticipations over the future of the country. With a focus on the growing U.S. Latino population, this dissertation expands scholarly knowledge on the ways in which social actors and policymakers perceive, experience, and actively engaged "demographic change." Through a yearlong qualitative and ethnographic study involving in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and experts, participant observation of public events and organizational activities, archival research, and an analysis of media coverage and popular discourse, this study examines efforts undertaken by national Latino civil rights and advocacy organizations to translate Latino population growth into greater policy influence. Two major research questions guide the research: 1) How do national Latino leaders and organizations understand, frame, and use demographic statistics and narratives about Latino population growth? 2) How is this activity shaping Latino panethnic identity, civil rights agendas, and relations between Latino advocates and other actors? Ultimately, this project aims to shed light on the public and cultural life of statistics and theorize on the impact of demographic knowledge on contemporary democratic life more broadly. Broader ImpactsThis project strives to stimulate a more inclusive discussion about Latino population growth and demographic change. Relevant to policymakers, advocates, and academics alike, it challenges the tendency to simply take demography as an objective fact. Instead, this project offers a timely study of the meanings of demographic change and the production, circulation, and use of statistics in policymaking and advocacy. Research findings will be disseminated at scholarly conferences, in academic publications, and to staff and leadership of the national Latino civil rights and advocacy organizations under study. Results will also be shared with the general public through op-eds and commentaries in English and Spanish media outlets, blog posts, and a website the researcher will develop dedicated to informed discussion and debate about demographic change.