Latin American Studies Commons^™

Three Methodological Innovations In Race And Ethnicity Research, Jeffrey Napierala

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation examines topics related to racial and ethnic diversity through three essays. Each essay takes a new perspective on a current issue in the literature and utilizes a unique statistical methodology to address that issue. The first essay uses the Monte Carlo Simulation Method to develop a measure of segregation for the ACS and uses it to assess whether the ACS is useful for measuring segregation in places with different sizes. The second essay considers whether a relatively unexplored factor, genetics, is correlated with migration. This perspective broadens our understanding of why migration occurs and is perpetuated over time. …

Birds Of Passage No Longer? The Mexican Population Of New York City, 2000 - 2015, Guillermo Yrizar Barbosa

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This report examines the Mexican origin population in New York City in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015.

Methods: This report is based on US Census Bureau’s Public Use Microdata Series (PUMS) data for 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 organized and released by IPUMS USA at the Minnesota Population Center of the University of Minnesota. The author is very thankful to Averi Giudicessi for providing research support and editorial assistance to complete this report.

Results: The Big Apple’s Mexican origin population increased consistently from approximately 195,000 in 2000 to 376,000 in 2015. Mexicans retained their position as the third largest …

Navigating Risks Across Borders: The Lived Experiences Of Central American Women Migrants, Carla Angulo-Pasel

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

The journey for ‘unauthorized’ migrant women from the Northern Triangle of Central America (NTCA) through Mexico dangerous and violent. In hopes of achieving safe passage to the United States (U.S.), women migrants will have to navigate borders. In this dissertation, I use the concept of borders to reveal the gendered experiences of (im)mobility. I argue that navigating borders throughout the migratory journey is not simply about experiencing the risks and vulnerabilities associated with restrictive border enforcement policies and practices implemented by the nation-state. (Im)mobility for women migrants is equally about the boundaries and/or barriers that are created by oppressive systems …

Migration And Injustice In The Neoliberal Era: A Comparative Analysis Of Migratory Laws And Sweatshop Labor Conditions In Argentina And The United States, Kelly L. Johnson

Spanish Honors Papers

In the contemporary neoliberal era, the global phenomenon of migration dominates the international political discourse and generates empirical and normative questions regarding the admission, rights, and realities of migrants who leave their home countries to live elsewhere. Argentina and the United States are countries in which migration was, and continues to be, a main factor in shaping the nation’s identity. Despite the similar migratory phenomenon in both of these countries, their migratory policies vastly differ—Argentina considers migration to be a right, but the United States constantly strengthens its efforts to deter migrants from entering the country. Even though migratory policies …

Una Aproximación Al Proceso De Construcción De La Identidad Cultural Coreano-Argentina En La Ciudad De Buenos Aires / An Approach To The Korean-Argentine Ethnic And Cultural Identity In The City Of Buenos Aires, Hyeree Ellis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Korean migration to Argentina is still fairly new, with the first migrants having arrived in the 1960s. However, the population of Koreans in Argentina has created a collective society large enough to be named its own Barrio. The purpose of this research is to investigate the construction of ethnic identity among Korean-Argentines living in the city of Buenos Aires in Argentina. In this process, the investigation considers the relationship between discrimination and ethnic-identity formation, as well as the importance of the knowledge and practice of heritage language, customs, and rituals in the familiar world in order to maintain ethnic-identity. Furthermore, …

Smoking Trends Among U.S. Latinos, 1998–2013: The Impact Of Immigrant Arrival Cohort, Georgiana Bostean, Annie Ro, Nancy L. Fleischer

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

Few studies examine nativity disparities in smoking in the U.S., thus a major gap remains in understanding whether immigrant Latinos’ smoking prevalence is stable, converging, or diverging, compared with U.S.-born Latinos. This study aimed to disentangle the roles of period changes, duration of U.S. residence, and immigrant arrival cohort in explaining the gap in smoking prevalence between foreign-born and U.S.-born Latinos. Using repeated cross-sectional data spanning 1998–2013 (U.S. National Health Interview Survey), regressions predicted current smoking among foreign-born and U.S.-born Latino men and women (n = 12,492). We contrasted findings from conventional regression analyses that simply include period and duration …

Adam Goodman Interview, Jennifer Thomson

Bucknell: Occupied

Jennifer Thomson, assistant professor of History at Bucknell University, interviews Adam Goodman, assistant professor of Latin American and Latino Studies and History at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Thomson and Goodman discuss the Trump administration's Executive Order Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States issued January 27, 2017. Dr. Goodman reviews past executive orders related to immigration and specific issues which may affect higher education. Dr. Thomson mentions community interest in adopting sanctuary campus policies at Bucknell University.

The Venezuelan Diaspora: A Cerebral Exodus, Liam Baldwin

Latin American Studies: Student Scholarship & Creative Works

In this piece, I identify the phenomenon of brain drain as a serious threat to Venezuela economically and socially. Although Venezuela has historically been regarded as a destination for migrants, its current political and economic climate has caused a massive exodus from the country, further debilitating a crumbling economy. First, I outline the problems that arise from loss of skilled human capital. Then, I examine the root causes of Venezuela's brain drain. And finally, I propose possible solutions to soften the blow of brain drain on the economy.

Shelo Yigamer L’Olam: La Construcción De Identidades Compuestas En La Comunidad Judía De Iquitos, Perú / Shelo Yigamer L'Olam: The Construction Of Composite Identities In The Jewish Community Of Iquitos, Peru, Beatrice Waterhouse

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este informe trata de la comunidad judía en Iquitos, Loreto, Perú, y como compara al marco estándar de la identidad judía como diseñado por Simon Herman (1977) y Altman, Fine, Ritter, Inman, y Howard (2010). A través de observación a primera mano y entrevistas con una muestra de participantes en la comunidad organizada, analiza varias facetas de la identidad judía: etnia, religión, relaciones con la comunidad no-judía, nacionalidad, y sentimientos sobre el Estado de Israel. Este estudio de caso encuentra que la comunidad de Iquitos generalmente sigue ese marco con algunas diferencias claves, especialmente con referencia a la prominencia de …

Natural Disasters In Latin America: The Role Of Disaster Type And Productive Sector On The Urban-Rural Income Gap And Rural To Urban Migration, Madeline Alice Messick

Dissertations

This research provides insight into the impact of natural disasters as drivers of rural to urban migration in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Disasters of varying types are predicted to have differing impacts on the productive sectors of agriculture, industry, and services; which due to the concentration of the various productive sectors in either urban or rural areas, subsequently changes the urban-rural wage differential. Changes to the wage differential (as measured by the urban-rural income gap) are predicted to lead to movement between urban and rural areas until a new equilibrium wage is reached.

This dissertation first identifies a …

¿El Derecho A Una Vida Sin Discriminación?: Un Análisis De Las Representaciones Discriminatorias Sobre Los Migrantes Bolivianos Por Parte De Los Residentes Argentinos En El Barrio Porteño De Flores, Kelly Johnson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Argentina has always been a country where migration has influenced the nation’s identity. Although migration from bordering countries towards Argentina is a phenomenon that dates back to the beginnings of the nation, since the 1990s this migratory phenomenon has been the most visible in the country, especially migration from Bolivia. The visibilization of these migrants, who do not always share the characteristics of the hegemonic Argentine (the figure of the son of white European immigrants), caused in the 1990s a surge of discrimination and social rejection. Combined with the continued existence of the restrictive “Videla Law,” a migratory law from …

Indigenous Ecuadorian Mobility Strategies In The Clandestine Migration Journey, Victoria Stone-Cadena

Publications and Research

Based on testimonials of migration journeys of indigenous Cañaris from southern highland Ecuador, this paper examines strategies of mobility and social networking employed by migrants and facilitators in the human smuggling market. Following a series of economic crises in the late 1990s, Ecuadorian transnational migration increased significantly, with a 55.5 percent increase to the United States between 2000 and 2008, and staggering 12,150 percent increase to Spain between 1998 and 2005. This article focuses on the growth of a regional migration industry in the southern high-land region, and pays special attention to the roles of indigenous Cañari migrants and migration …

Convergence? The Incursion Of Technology In The United States - Mexico Remittance Corridor, Sam Wilner Simon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The United States-Mexico remittance corridor finds itself at a crossroads, exacerbated by an amalgam of factors including tapering migration levels, a more mature Mexican economy and higher levels of technological permeation. I identify the individual, governments and service providers as the three main actors in the United States - Mexico Remittance Corridor. I deploy an interdisciplinary set of sources, ranging from academic journals to World Bank datasets to illustrate the logistical hurdles that are delaying changes to what many experts believe, is an unsustainable status-quo. I explore the idea of a Galtung inspired mutually reinforcing triangle as a means of …

No Child Is An Island: The Predicament Of Statelessness For Children In The Caribbean, Catherine A. Tobin

International Human Rights Law Journal

In a region characterized by human mobility, many children in the Caribbean are born in a different country than their parents. In fact, the Caribbean is considered one of the regions with the highest percentage of people migrating. This article will analyze the root causes of statelessness for children in the Caribbean, focusing primarily on the dangerous interplay between ineffective birth registration systems and lack of safeguards for children who would be otherwise stateless. The article will also address recent shifts in migration and nationality policies in countries such as The Bahamas and the Dominican Republic that have exacerbated existing …

On The Midnight Train To Georgia: Afro-Caribbeans And The New Great Migration To Atlanta, Latoya Asantelle Tavernier

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the 21st century, Atlanta, Georgia has become a major new immigrant destination. This study focuses on the migration of Afro-Caribbeans to Atlanta and uses data collected from in-depth interviews, ethnography, and the US Census to understand: 1) the factors that have contributed to the emergence of Atlanta as a new destination for Afro-Caribbean immigrants and 2) the ways in which Atlanta's large African American population, and its growing immigrant population, shape the incorporation of Afro-Caribbeans, as black immigrants, into the southern city. I find that Afro-Caribbeans are attracted to Atlanta for a variety of reasons, including warmer climate, job …

When Wives Migrate And Leave Husbands Behind: A Jamaican Marriage Pattern, Elaine B. Douglas-Harrison

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

For over a hundred years Jamaicans have been migrating to make the proverbial `better life' for themselves and their families. In the early 20th century husbands migrated, leaving wives behind. As economies of the United States and Canada have become more service-oriented, wives migrate leaving husbands behind. The experiences of Jamaican immigrant women are documented in Caribbean migration studies, but the marriages of Jamaican legally-married immigrant wives and their husbands left behind in Jamaica are so far unstudied. The main research question of this study is what maintains these transnational marriages over time, sometimes for decades, when spouses see each …

The Second Generation's Homeland Trips: A Parental Expectation For The U.S.-Born Children Of Mexican Immigrants In The South Bronx, Alexia Raynal

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

New deportation policies in the United States are making it harder for undocumented immigrants to return home periodically (Dreby 2013a). This has a direct impact on their children. Because parents can't travel, thousands of foreign-born minors have recently been forced to travel alone in hopes of reunification. Their U.S.-born counterparts face a similar challenge: immigrants' lack of mobility places a new expectation on them to visit relatives that were left behind. Unlike their parents, these children can move freely across borders and maintain family ties. This project explores the second generation's homeland trips as experienced by a small group of …

Threatening Others : Nicaraguans And The Formation Of National Identities In Costa Rica, Carlos Sandoval-Garcia

Ohio University Press Open Access Books

During the last two decades, a decline in public investment has undermined some of the national values and institutions of Costa Rica. The resulting sense of dislocation and loss is usually projected onto Nicaraguan “immigrants.”
Threatening Others: Nicaraguans and the Formation of National Identities in Costa Rica explores the representation of the Nicaraguan “other” in the Costa Rican imagery. It also seeks to address more generally why the sense of national belonging constitutes a crucial identification in contemporary societies. Interdisciplinary and based on extensive fieldwork, it looks critically at the “exceptionalism” that Costa Ricans take for granted and view as …

The Latino Population Of New York City, 1990—2010, Laird W. Bergad

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This report examines demographic and socioeconomic factors concerning the Latino population of New York City between 1990 and 2010.

Methods: Data on Latinos and other racial/ethnic groups were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, reorganized for public use by the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, IPUMSusa. Cases in the dataset were weighted and analyzed to produce population estimates.

Results: The City’s Latino population continued its steady increase from 1.7 million people and 24% of the total population in 1990 to nearly 2.4 million and 29% of all New Yorkers in 2010. Within the Latino population …

Gringotenango : The U.S. Retirement Migration To Antigua, Guatemala, Katherine Wilnelia Platt

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

This dissertation documents the migration of U.S. retirees to Antigua, Guatemala. Antigua is a charming Spanish colonial city in the middle of the Guatemalan highlands with beautiful volcano views, cobblestone roads, the presence of Mayan and Ladino cultures, and an eternal spring climate. The physical and cultural beauty of Antigua allows U.S. citizens to enjoy a permanent vacation-like retirement experience. Antigua, however, is located in a country whose recent history is characterized by 36 years of civil war, and current events are stressed by new violence criminal activities. Despite the beauty of Antigua, this colonial city is an odd retirement …

Schooling And The Everyday Ruptures Transnational Children Encounter In The United States And Mexico, Edmund T. Hamann, Víctor Zúñiga

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Using examples of students in Mexico who used to attend US schools and examples from Georgia of students who used to and might again attend Mexican schools, this chapter considers how an unremarkable, quotidian activity—the act of attending school—can become means for transnationally mobile children to experience shock, disconnection, and a reiterated sense of dislocation if schools are incompletely responsive to learners' biographies.

Transnational Students' Perspectives On Schooling In The United States And Mexico: The Salience Of School Experience And Country Of Birth, Edmund T. Hamann, Víctor Zúñiga, Juan Sánchez García

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Students in Mexican schools with previous experience in US schools are transnational students. To the extent their Mexican schooling does not recognize or build on their US life and school experience and their American school experience did not anticipate their later relocation to Mexico, these students are incompletely attended to by school. Yet these students, like all students, are agentive and have some control over how they make sense of their schooling.

As schooling becomes an increasingly common institutional presence across the world and as decided majorities of children now attend at least some version of primary school, it is …

Human Rights Abuses Along The Dominican-Haitian Border, Calla Cloud

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A 122 mile-long border separates the Dominican Republic and Haiti on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. Of the two countries, Haiti’s human rights abuses are much more somber than the emerging developments of the Dominican Republic. Haiti’s stagnant economic situation has contributed to perennial political instability and lack of infrastructure, having a particularly confounding affect on the rights and labor conditions of Haitian citizens. There are a myriad of reasons why Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Two of the most prominent include its violent political history and the gradual deterioration of its economy. In the context …

Alumnos Transnacionales: Las Escuelas Mexicanas Frente A La Globalización, Víctor Zúñiga, Edmund T. Hamann, Juan Sánchez García

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Counter to the expectations that Mexico-U.S. migration is one-way, adult, and from Mexico to the United States, this Spanish-language book includes nine chapters describing various facets of the lives and educational circumstances of students encountered in Mexican schools who have previously attended U.S. schools. Data were derived from written questionnaires from a sample of more than 24,000 students in the Mexican states of Zacatecas and Nuevo León, of whom 632 had U.S. school experience and/or a U.S. birthplace and thereby American citizenship, and from more than 125 interviews with transnational students and their teachers. This study variously considers transnational students' …

The Importance Of Education-Occupation Matching In Migration Decisions, Michael A. Quinn, Stephen D. Rubb

WCBT Faculty Publications

In this article, we present and test a model that incorporates education-occupation matching into the migration decision. The literature on education-occupation matching shows that earnings are affected by how individuals' education matches that required by their occupation. Accordingly, individuals with more schooling than required by their occupation have an additional incentive to migrate: the increase in earnings that occurs with a more beneficial education-occupation match. Using data from Mexico, we found statistical support for the importance of education-occupation matching in migration decisions. Education-occupation matching provides a plausible explanation for the mixed findings in the literature on the relationship between educational …

Osmotic Borders: Thinking Locally, Thinking Globally About The Causes And Effects Of Labor Migration, Roberto L. Corrada

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

The Oxford Dictionary and Thesaurus defines osmosis both as "any process by which something is acquired by absorption," and as a biological cellular function by which solvents are absorbed through semipermeable partitions. The two articles by Professor Sylvia Lazos and Donna Maeda, which both deal with the causes and effects of labor migration, though on different levels and involving different populations, challenge traditional notions of the physical and metaphysical borders between nation-states.

In "Latina/o-ization" of the Midwest: Cambio de Colores, Professor Sylvia Lazos takes a close look at the increasing migration and presence of Latinas/os in the Midwest, particularly Kansas, …

Analyzing The Success Of The Usaid-Funded Empleando Futuros And Crime And Violence Prevention Projects In Reducing Emigration From The Northern Triangle To The United States, Sofia M. Munoz

Scripps Senior Theses

This paper explores the role of USAID-funded projects focused on the root causes of migration in the Northern Triangle as a U.S. immigration prevention strategy. Through analyzing the Empleando Futuros activity in Honduras and the Crime and Violence Prevention Project in El Salvador, I found that the projects followed an overly simplistic approach to migration based off of neoclassical economic theories of migration. When compared to alternate migration theories and empirical evidence from the region, I found that the individualistic and employment-based approaches utilized by these projects do not have the desired effect of majorly decreasing someone’s propensity to migrate …