Irene Bloemraad - What does it mean to be American?

Описание: This talk, featuring Professor Irene Bloemraad (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada) was convened by the Loughborough University Nationalism Network (LUNN) on Wednesday 26 February 2025.

Abstract: How do immigrant-origin residents claim membership in the United States? Membership in US society is often phrased as being “American”. But in this presentation, I investigate the subtle nuances between being (or becoming) an “American” and being a good U.S. citizen. This difference could be considered the distinction between a somewhat thicker national membership and possibly thinner and more civic political membership. Indeed, during in-depth interviews with Chinese, Vietnamese and Mexican-born parents and their citizen teenagers, respondents underscored legal, moral, civic, and economic actions over ascriptive characteristics or political values in discussing good citizenship. This may be an inclusive membership, as it is less centred on ethno-racial, cultural or religious markers that could exclude those of immigrant origins. In fact, the emphasis on citizenship acts illuminates how noncitizens, including undocumented residents, can claim membership even if they are not legal members. In comparison, although the term “American” is more ambiguous legally – and has thus been embraced by some out-of-status or noncitizen immigrants – it is also understood as more racially and economically fraught. Potential exclusions in being American can include U.S. citizens, since racialized tropes of illegality or cultural otherness affect those of Mexican or Asian origins, respectively. Membership markers are thus not simply about categorical placement inside or outside a boundary of “citizen” or “American”. Rather, national membership can be felt as partial and gradient, positioned closer or further from multiple ideals.

Biography: Irene Bloemraad holds the President's Excellence Chair in Global Migration at the University of British Columbia and is a professor of Political Science and Sociology. She also co-directs the UBC Centre for Migration Studies. Bloemraad studies how migrants become incorporated into the political communities where they live, and the consequences of migration for politics and national membership. Her research has been published in over 100 articles spanning sociology, political science, history, and ethnic/ migration studies; she has authored or co-edited five books on citizenship, immigrant protest, and civic organizations. An award-winning researcher and teacher, Bloemraad regularly shares her work with policymakers, immigration stakeholders, and the general public. Prior to her appointment at UBC in July 2024, Bloemraad spent two decades at the University of California, Berkeley, where she ultimately held the Class of 1951 Chair in Sociology, the Thomas Barnes Chair in Canadian Studies, and founded the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative.