Session of the Week: The Borders of Immigration History

In session 67, The Borders of Immigration History: Citizenship and Politics from the Local to the Global, the presenters examine immigration through three different lenses: immigration in the Reconstruction years; Japanese, Chinese, and Mexican American experiences from 1945 to 1965; and Los Angeles’s Koreatown from 1965 to 1992.

First up Hidetaka Hirota (Boston Coll.) looks to state-level immigration control in the 1870s (primarily in Massachusetts and New York), notes undesirable classes of European immigrants, and explains the lesser known Immigration Act of 1882. Aaron I. Cavin (Univ. of Michigan) considers improved rights for Japanese Americans after 1945 (though notes the continuing limitations and inequalities), and also examines the experiences of Chinese and Mexican Americans from 1945-65. Finally, Shelley S. Lee (Oberlin) tracks the expansion of Los Angeles’s Koreatown from 1965 to 1992.

See below for the complete session information, and check out the other “Session of the Week” posts that have appeared on the blog, pulled from the content of the Program of the 125th Annual Meeting.

The Borders of Immigration History: Citizenship and Politics from the Local to the Global
AHA Session 67
Friday, January 7, 2011: 9:30 AM-11:30 AM
Boylston Room (Marriott Boston Copley Place)

Chair: Geraldo L. Cadava, Northwestern University

Papers: The Moment of Transition: Immigration Control by Northern States and the Struggle for National Immigration Legislation in Reconstruction Years
Hidetaka Hirota, Boston College

Immigrant Rights and the Welfare State: Race and Citizenship in Santa Clara County, 1945–65
Aaron I. Cavin, University of Michigan

Immigrant Dreams, Urban Dystopia: Korean Americans and Late Twentieth-Century Los Angeles
Shelley S. Lee, Oberlin College

Comment: George J. Sanchez, University of Southern California

This post first appeared on AHA Today.