Circulation of Knowledge on Immigrant Issues: A Case from Prince George's County, Maryland
When |
Nov 18, 2013
from 12:00 PM to 01:00 PM |
---|---|
Where | 2120 Francis Scott Key |
Contact Name | Kris Warner |
Contact Phone | 301-405-4330 |
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Knowledge about immigration tends to be compartmentalized, with conflicting information provided to the public by government documents, the media, think tanks, and community organizations. The voices of immigrants themselves are often left out of the production of knowledge. This discussion seeks to address that issue.
Based on research funded by a seed grant and in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution and the Center for the History of the New America, Professor Freidenberg taught two courses on the topic of immigration and oral history. From these courses, 16 video life history interviews were collected with immigrants in Prince George’s County, Maryland and edited into three short, thematic videos in order to disseminate these silenced voices and to stimulate public dialogue both on the life circumstances of immigrants as well as on the policies and politics of contemporary immigration. Professor Freidenberg will introduce and show a portion of these videos, and then lead a discussion on how immigrant voices add to the production and circulation of knowledge about immigration.
Judith Freidenberg is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Maryland. Her interest on migration and health – including foreigners moving to the United States and U.S. nationals residing abroad – is disseminated publicly here. Her latest book is The Invention of the Jewish Gaucho: Villa Clara and the Construction of Argentine Identity (2009). She is currently working on a book on contemporary immigrant experiences in the United States.