Ethnicité et race. Séminaire MIM. Séance 18

What’s New About Contemporary Immigration to the United States?
Nancy Foner (Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, USA)

A hundred years ago a massive wave of immigration dramatically changed the United States. Today, a similar influx is again transforming the nation. In what ways is history being repeated? And what -- and how much-- is different from the past? The talk will explore both parallels and contrasts between immigration then and now as well as ways that the legacy of the past has helped to shape the immigrant experience -- and reaction to immigration -- today.

God Needs No Passport: Reflections on Migration, Religion, and the Nation from the U.S. Experience
Peggy Lewitt (Wesley College, Department of sociology and Co-Director, Transnational Studies Initiative, Harvard University, USA)

Dreams of global citizenship have long captured the western imagination, but religion is rarely seen as a possible contributor to its emergence. This paper uses the case of transnational migrants -- potential global citizens par excellence -- to explore the relationship between religion and politics across borders. Based on a study of Indian Hindus, Pakistani Muslims, Irish Catholics, and Brazilian Protestant immigrants living in the metropolitan Boston area, it examines how these citizens of the world actually think about who they are and what they want to do about it. How does religion figure into the rights and responsibilities of global citizenship, where are they fulfilled, and who benefits from them? I argue that while a small group claims an exclusive variety of religious global citizenship and are only concerned about helping those who share their point of view, the vast majority are open to partnerships around major social issues, such as education, health, and employment. Religion is an underutilized, positive force that social scientists and activists can no longer afford to ignore.

Discutant : Denis Lacorne (CERI, Sciences Po, Paris)

Conférence en Anglais