Events Calendar
November 2007
On the Eve of the Election:
The Immigrant Issue and the Challenge to Virginia's Communities
Thursday, November 1,
7:30 p.m.
Dewberry Hall North, Johnson Center
The question of immigration policy has become a hot button issue that
has polarized many communities across our nation, including many
counties and municipalities that have sought to adopt restrictive
policies toward undocumented or illegal immigrant groups. Especially as
Virginia's election draws near, there is a pressing need for reasoned,
informed discussion of immigration and the challenge it poses to
Virginia's communities.
The forum will include Rev. Stephen Smith-Cobbs, Pastor of Trinity
Presbyterian Church in Herndon, Virginia and affiliate of Project Hope
and Harmony; Ms. Maria Teresa Petersen, founding Executive Director of
Voto Latino, a youth organization seeking to galvanize the fastest
growing eligible voting block in America; and Ms. Claire Guthrie
Gastañaga, the principal and chief strategist of CG2 Consulting, a firm
that provides strategic legislative services and public policy advice.
She currently represents nonprofit groups before the Virginia General
Assembly, including the Virginia Coalition of Latino Organizations.
October 2007
Douglas Massey, "Understanding America's Immigration Crisis"
Director of the Mexican Migration Project at Princeton University
Thursday, October 25, 12:00
JC Cinema
The escalation of border enforcement has not only failed to stop
immigration from Mexico, it has backfired. The unilateral militarization of the border with one of our largest trading partners has lowered the probability of
apprehension, nationalized what had been a regional flow, lowered the rate of return migration, increased the rate of settlement in the U.S., and has driven up the costs to U.S. taxpayers beyond what they would otherwise have been.
Douglas S. Massey is professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at
Princeton University. In 1982, Massey and Jorge Durand (Universidad de
Guadalajara), with an interdisciplinary team of researchers, created
the Mexican Migration Project to further our understanding of the
complex process of Mexican migration to the United States. The project
is a binational research effort and has collected survey data on over
114 communities in Mexico. Since its inception, the MMP's main focus
has been to gather social as well as economic information on Mexican-US
migration. The data collected has been compiled in a comprehensive
database that is available to the public for research and educational
purposes through the MMP website (http://mmp.opr.princeton.edu/).
Massey has authored and co-authored some 14 books on international
migration and segregation, including Return to Aztlan: The Social
Process of International Migration from Western Mexico (U of California
Press: 1987); Worlds in Motion: Understanding International Migration
at the End of the Millennium (Oxford UP: 1997); Crossing the Border:
Research from the Mexican Migration Project (Russell Sage Foundation:
2006); and most recently Categorically Unequal: The American
Stratification System (Russell Sage Foundation: 2007).
"The Social and Political Views of American Professors"
Solon Simmons, Assistant Professor, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University
Thursday October 18, 11 am
Robinson Hall B313
Documentary film "A Dream in Doubt"
With discussion facilitated by
Tami Yeager, the film maker, and Preetmohan Singh, co-producer and
Deputy Director of Public Policy at The Interfaith Alliance in Washington, DC
Thursday, October 2, seating begins at 7:30 pm
Harris Theater
September 2007
Lost and Found in Mexico: a documentary by Caren Cross
Screening and discussion with Caren Cross
Monday, September 24, 7:30 pm
Part of the annual Fall for the Book Festival (www.fallforthebook.org)
Co-sponsored by Mason Projection on Immigration and the Folklore Programs
JC Cinema
Although the transnational movement of cultures and communities is not new, when most Americans think about immigration they imagine people coming to the U.S. and the effect immigrants have on their local communities. Rarely do they see immigration as a two-way process, with Americans traveling to foreign countries and exerting their influence on others' communities. While Americans are not leaving the U.S. in overwhelming rates, there are places in Mexico and Central America where U.S. retirees constitute a growing trend: a growing population of American emigrants.
For over a decade Mexico has been a preferred location for North American retirees, and it is estimated that it is home to over one million Americans. San Miguel de Allende is one of the oldest and best-known expatriate communities in Mexico and leads the list of preferred locations abroad for American retirees.
Lost and Found in Mexico, a documentary film by American expatriate Caren Cross, examines the life choices of a variety of Americans who have made San Miguel de Allende their permanent home. Cross was a successful professional who was pursing the American dream with a successful career, family and comfortable lifestyle. After she and her husband took a one-week vacation to Mexico, however, the couple came home and dismantled their lives in the United States and moved permanently to San Miguel. A few years later, Cross realized that she had been significantly changed by the experience of living in Mexico. Her film gathers a compelling collection of life stories and explores why she and a variety of San Miguel expatriates have given up their lives in the U.S. Lost and Found in Mexico is a complex and honest portrayal of an evolving trend in U.S.-Mexico immigration, and offers important insights to the lives of America's growing emigrant population. Her film recently won the award for Best Film Made in Guanjuato at Expresion en Corto, Mexico's largest film festival.
May 2007
"Defining the Unmet Needs of Children in Northern Virginia: Opportunities
and Challenges of a Diverse Community"
Tuesday, May 22, 8:00 am - 3:30 pm
SUB II.
Please visit http://www.vakids.org/work/northernva.htm#save to register online or print out a registration form.
Co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost and Voices for Virginia's Children.
A diverse group of academics, human service providers, state legislators, and community leaders interested in education, health care, public safety, housing, recreation, and economic development will meet for a day to brainstorm about ways in which agencies and stakeholders can collaborate to better serve the unmet needs of immigrant children in our communities. Please join us.
March 2007
"Immigration Policy and Family Reorganization: Experiences of Salvadoran and Guatemalan Immigrants"
Dr. Cecilia Menjivar, Arizona State University
Thursday, March 22, reception at 5:00 pm, Lecture at 6:00 pm
Center for the Arts. Grand Tier II
"Lost in Translation: Language Acquisition and Loss in the United States"
Alejandro Portes, Princeton University
Closing plenary, Spanish in the U.S. Conference
Sunday, March 18 (George Mason University Arlington campus)
For more information: http://www.spanishintheus.org
February 2007
"Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life " Talk and book signing
Annette Lareau
Wednesday, February 21, 4:30 - 6:30 pm
Johnson Center, 3rd floor, meeting room D
Sponsored by CSSR's Mason Task Force on Youth
Researching Latinos in Richmond: Latino Migration in Mid-Size Metropolitan Areas
Friday, February 16, 3pm - 5 pm
Mason Hall, Edwin Meese III Conference Room
Dr. Keo Cavalcanti, James Madison University, and Dr. Debra Schleef, University of Mary Washington
Cancelled due to weather -- will be rescheduled
Children Affected by War: Transcending from Victimhood to Active Peacebuilding
Tuesday, February 6, 4pm
Student Union (SUB) II, Ballroom
Presented by the ASA African Student Association, co-sponsored by Black History Month Board, and the Mason Project on Immigration.
Panelists include:
Kimmie Weeks (Liberia), Founder and Director of Youth Action International
Monique Bagirimvano (Rwanda), President of GMU’s African Students Association
Grace Akallo (Uganda), World Vision Spokesperson
John W. Leek (Sudan), “Lost Boy of Sudan;” Activist and Student
Betty Bigombe (Uganda), former Ugandan parliamentarian and government minister; chief peace negotiator between the Government of Uganda and Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)
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