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

此次博士论文研究课题将研究与出生地公民权（jus soli citizenship）原则有关的问题。出生地公民权是指在一个国家出生的人无条件享有出生公民权的做法，这种做法在美国和其他30多个国家，主要是美洲国家。该项目将侧重于政治和经济条件的地理和跨国网络，这些网络支持妇女前往另一个国家分娩以使其子女获得该国公民身份的做法。尽管学术界对其他形式的移民给予了相当大的关注，但对所谓的“生育旅游”的关注相对较少。项目结果将提供新的见解和信息，有助于在跨国移民、移民接收、种族和地方制定以及公民研究等一系列领域获得更广泛的理解。该项目还将促进对出生公民权对移民政治的影响的更多了解，特别是在种族形成和国家归属方面，并将阐明在美国成熟的门户城市中移民抵达的地理变化。作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立研究生涯。这位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。该项目的研究目标是收集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，地区和国家背景下社区和区域机构的种族观念。学生将采用一系列的民族志研究技术，包括参与观察，与参与这一实践的关键利益相关者和家庭（尤其是女性）的访谈，以及对相关文件（如媒体报道和法律政策）的分析。

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.