AMST 298G Immigration & The U.S.-Mexico Border Summer Session II: 10-ust 18, 2017 Instructor: Jacqueline Partida Email: jpartida@umd.edu Course Overview Immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border are highly controversial topics, consequently, when discussed in a public forum such as the comments section in online news articles, Facebook, New York Times, CNN and so forth, we are more than likely to find an unproductive dialogue. In other words, the conversations that develop in these forums have a tendency to be highly racialized and violent, stemming from stereotypes surrounding immigrant bodies. What is often missing from these online discussions are how governmental institutions have historically displaced a large number of immigrant communities. What this course aims to do is take a structural approach for evaluating how governmental institutions have been complicit in instigating the movement of people beyond international borders. Immigration & The U.S.- Mexico Border will examine how socioeconomic and political factors shape U.S. immigration policies, cross-border relations, and how policy impacts immigrant communities. This online course has a total of 5 units, briefly: Unit 1: Why do people immigrate? Explores what exactly is the difference between the illegal, illegal alien, legal immigrant, and how these identities were constructed historically. Overall, this unit will explore what pushes people to immigrate and what pulls them in to certain locations/countries. Unit 2: Constructing Borders Analyzes the U.S.-Mexico border as not only a physical demarcation of two nations, but interrogates how a physical boundary is imbued with social meanings of belonging. Unit 3: Militarization of the Border Investigates how increase border surveillance has impacted sovereign Native American nations along the U.S.-Mexico border. In addition, students explore the consequences of surveillance on migratory patterns. Unit 4: Gendered Migrations Investigates how international trade policy impacts migration patterns among women, and the ramifications of this migration. Unit 5: Challenges Facing Immigrant Communities Explores structural vulnerabilities among undocumented communities.
Overall, these units are designed to provide a deeper understanding of why people immigrate and how policy impacts the lived experiences of undocumented immigrants. Given the nature of the topic, this class draws from multiple disciplinary fields, such as sociology, history, anthropology, and education. Course Objectives By the end of this online course students should be able to: Identify how scholars have theorized migratory patterns. Identify what and how economic policies have historically produced the U.S.-Mexico border. Explain and understand the outcome of population displacements. Describe the political, economic and social consequences regarding the militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border. Explain why immigrant communities maintain transnational relationships. Explain what a mixed-status household is and identify the social consequences. Demonstrate excellent written communication skills. Grading Procedures Quizzes 20% Blogs (Weekly Responses) 30% Reflections 10% Final Research Paper 40% Components of The Grade: Quizzes: (Total of 4) In order to ensure that students keep up with the readings, weekly quizzes will be administered at the end of every unit. Please note: No unit quiz will be administered for week 5 and 6. Each unit quiz will be available every week starting Thursday-Sunday. The deadline for completing the quiz will always be on Saturday at 11:59pm, no extensions will be given. The quizzes will vary in format. For example, your quiz can be composed of one or two of the following, multiple-choice questions, fill-in the blank, true or false, and or short written responses. You can expect the quizzes to include material from both the readings and lecture-audio power points. Please make sure to review all materials prior to the quiz. Blogs (Weekly Response): (Total of 5) A critical objective of this online course is that you develop strong written communication skills. Given that this course is focused on quality over quantity, I do ask that on weekly basis you engage the material critically. This will be done by posting
Blogs on our discussion board every Sunday by 9:00pm. Your response should be 2-3 pages, 500-word minimum, and must cite 3 or more readings for that week s readings. Late assignments will be deducted half a letter grade for every 8 hours it is late. You can always turn-in the assignment early! Extra credit will be given to students who respond to a peer s blog, more information will be provided via-elms. A successful critical response: is clear, focused and thesis driven demonstrates comprehension of the author s main arguments demonstrates clear understanding for how the author arrived at his/her conclusion highlights overarching themes and successfully connects the reading uses quotes as evidence and successfully analyzes them does not generalize and does not use outside sources is not opinion based is thoughtful and provides the implication for the research A detailed grading rubric will be available via-elms. Reflection: (Total of 2) You will be asked to do a total of 2 reflections, (minimum 1 page each) reacting to one film, and two shorter clips. The short reflections are due on June 26 & ust 1 @11:59pm. A successful reflection: summarizes the film/clip connects the film to themes of the course answers the so what question? For example, why is the film important, what is its objective? How did this film impact you? Asks a thought provoking question. A detailed grading rubric will be available via-elms. Final Research Paper: You will be required to produce a final research paper, estimate length is 6-8 pages. You are not required to do original research. What you are expected to do is investigate a topic that relates to any one of the five units discussed in this course. Yes, the topics we have discussed are broad so you have an infinite number of possibilities. Your overall final research paper is composed of various benchmarks, why? The production and completion of good quality work is done in the span of days not the night before the assignment is due. In order to make sure you produce excellent college-level work, your final research paper is composed of various components. Additionally, week 6 you will have no assigned readings thus giving you extra time to produce excellent scholarship!
Instructions on how to write a successful proposal and annotated bibliography will be made available via-elms. Specifically, handouts and rubrics will be available in the module section for that week that its due. Please be aware of the following deadlines: Task Date Grade % 1. Proposal & Annotated Bibliography ust 9 th 10% 2. Detailed Outline ust 15 th 10% 3. Final 6-8 page Research Paper ust 18 th 20% Total= 40% Readings All of your readings coming from journal articles and or chapters in books will be made available via-elms, and easily accessible in your weekly modules. The only required book you need to purchase is available via-amazon. (The electronic version on Amazon is under $21) Hernandez, Kelly Lytle. Migra!: A History of the U.S. Border Patrol. Berkeley, California:University of California Press, 2010. This following book is free and electronically available via-umd library Massey, Douglas S., Nolan J. Malone, and Jorge. Durand. Beyond Smoke and Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in an Era of Economic Integration. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 2002 Communication I am highly responsive via-email, however, please allow a 24-hour response time. Because this is an online course, I do not have official office hours on campus, however, I am available for skype-appointments. As is typical with any course do not wait until the last minute if you have a pressing concern please contact me in advance. I will provide weekly audio-power points to supplement the reading material and clearly identify how that week s readings meet our learning objectives. Make sure to appropriately manage your time, as my lecture power points may range from 20-40 minutes. Course and Campus Policies
The complete guide to UMD s campus rules and regulations can be accessed by visiting the following website: http://www.ugst.umd.edu/courserelatedpolicies.html Absences/Late Assignments Late assignments in this online course are deducted half a letter grade every 8 hours it is late. The only way to waive this penalty is if you have an excused absence according to the UMD guidelines. An excused absence is understood as the following: religious observance mandatory military obligation personal illness compelling circumstances beyond the student s control In order to be formally excused from the penalty you will be required to provide documentation such as a doctor s note, funeral program and so forth. Please note that providing false information to University officials is prohibited under Part 9(h) of the Code of Student Conduct (V-1.00(B) University of Maryland Code of Student Conduct) and may result in disciplinary action. Students with Disabilities If you have a registered disability with UMD's Disability Support Service (DSS), please let me know as soon as possible so I can make suitable accommodations. You do not need to tell me the specific disability but I do need to have an Accommodation Letter prepared by DSS. To obtain a letter, either call 301.314.7682, email dissup@umd.edu, or visit DSS in Shoemaker Building. Academic Dishonesty Students who are in violation of academic dishonesty according to UMD s code of conduct will automatically fail that assignment and be reported to the Student Honor Council. If you are found in violation an XF will appear on your transcript. The academic code UMD abides by defines academic dishonesty as: CHEATING: fraud, deceit, or dishonesty in any academic course or exercise in an attempt to gain an unfair advantage and/or intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, or study aids in any academic course or exercise. FABRICATION: intentional and unauthorized falsification or invention of any information or citation in an academic course or exercise. FACILITATING ACADEMIC DISHONY: intentionally or knowingly helping or attempting to help another to violate any provision of this Code. PLAGIARISM: intentionally or knowingly representing the words or ideas of another as one's own in any academic course or exercise.
For more information on the Code of Academic Integrity or the Student Honor Council, please visit http://www.shc.umd.edu If you believe that you might be in violation of academic dishonesty contact me immediately in order to resolve the issue. Week 1/Unit 1: Why do people (im)migrate? This syllabus is subject to change. Course Schedule Date Topic Reading Task 10 11 Introduction Defining Terms *Massey et al. In Beyond Smoke & Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in an Era of Economic Integration ~Ch.1 Ghost in the Machine: Interventions in the Mexico-U.S. Immigration (pgs. 1-7) Extra Credit Syllabus Quiz 12 Histories of Migration and Economic Restructuring in Mexico * Massey et al. In Beyond Smoke & Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in an Era of Economic Integration ~Ch. 2 Principles of Operation: Theories of International Migration (pgs. 7-23) *Film ~Why do Mexican Workers Head North? (Time: 10minutes, 31 Seconds) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anrs1i6-1om Thu 13 Theme Continued... * Massey et al. In Beyond Smoke & Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in an Era of Economic Integration ~Ch.3 System Assembly: A History of Mexico- U.S. Migration (pgs. 24-51) 14 Theme Continued... * Massey et al. In Beyond Smoke & Mirrors: Mexican Immigration in an Era of Economic Integration ~Ch.6 Breakdown: Failure in the Post-1986 U.S. Immigration System (pgs. 105-141) Sat Sun 15 16 Reading Quiz #1 @ 11:59pm Critical Response #1
@ 9:00pm Week 2/Unit 2: Constructing Borders 17 18 Policing the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands Policing Mexican Bodies Hernandez, Kelly Lytle. In Migra! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol ~Introduction (pgs. 1-14) ~Part One: Formation (pgs. 17-18) ~Chapter 1 The Early Years of the U.S. Border Patrol (pgs. 19-44 ) Hernandez, Kelly Lytle. In Migra! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol ~Ch. 2 A Sanctuary of Violence (pgs. 45-69 ) 19 The U.S. & Mexico as Accomplices Hernandez, Kelly Lytle. In Migra! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol ~Ch. 4 Mexico s Labor Emigrants, America s Illegal Immigrants (pgs. 83-97) Thu 20 Remaking the Borderlands Post WWII Hernandez, Kelly Lytle. In Migra! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol ~Ch. 5 A New Beginning (pgs. 101-124) 21 The Making of the Dangerous Criminal Hernandez, Kelly Lytle. In Migra! A History of the U.S. Border Patrol ~Ch. 9 The Day of the Wetback is Over (pgs. 169-170 & pgs.196-217) Sat Sun 22 23 Reading Quiz #2 @11:59pm Critical Response #2 Week 3/Unit 3: Militarization of the Border 24 Militarization of the Border *Chacon, Justin Akers et al. In No One is Illegal: Fighting Racism and State Violence on the U.S.- Mexico Border ~Ch. 24 Militarizing the Border: Death Warrant for Migrant Workers (pgs. 201-215) ~Ch. 28 Terrorists on the Border: The Minutemen Stalk Their Prey (pgs. 249-260) 25 Responses to the *Luna-Firebaugh, E. Att Hascu Am O I-oi? What Direction Should we Take? The Desert
Militarization of the Border: Tohono O odham Nation People s Approach to the Militarization of the Border ~(pgs. 339-366) *NACLA Blog. Shadow Wolves, Border Militarization, and the Tohono O odham Nation ~(pgs. 1) *News Article: Tribe Uneasy About Border Surveillance on Their Land ~(pgs. 3) 26 Life & Death On the Border Jones, Reece. In Border Walls: Security and the War on Terror in the United States, India, and Israel ~Ch 5 Building Up, Rippling Out: Enforcement Practices at the U.S.-Mexican Border (pgs. 102-125) Human Rights Watch: *2 Short Clips 1. Fermina Lopez Cash (2min, 48 Seconds) https://www.hrw.org/videophotos/video/2014/07/17/torn-apart-fermina-lopezcash Reflection #1 @11:59pm 2. Mike Wilson (2min, 38 seconds) https://www.hrw.org/videophotos/video/2014/07/17/torn-apart-mike-wilson Thu 27 Deportation *Hagan, J., et al. U.S. Deportation Policy, Family Separation, and Circular Migration ~(pgs. 64-88) 28 Gendered Deportations *Golash-Boza, Tanya et al. "Latino Immigrant Men and the Deportation Crisis: A Gendered Racial Removal Program." ~(pgs. 271-292) Sat Sun 29 30 Reading Quiz #3 @11:59pm Critical Response #3 Week 4/Unit 4: Gendered Migration 31 Gender along the Border Lugo, Alejandro. In Fragmented Lives, Assembled Parts: Culture, Capitalism, and Conquest at the U.S.-Mexico Border
Ch. 4 Maquiladoras, Gender, and Culture Change ~(pgs. 69-89) 1 Gendered Labor Film Maquiapolis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuqgfzke3i0 Lugo, Alejandro. In Fragmented Lives, Assembled Parts: Culture, Capitalism, and Conquest at the U.S.-Mexico Border Ch. 5 The Political Economy of Tropes, Culture, and Masculinity Inside an Electronics Factory ~(pgs. 91-113) Reflection #2 @11:59pm 2 Gendered Labor Continued... Grace, Chang, Undocumented Latinas: The New Employable Mother ~(pgs. 55-92) Thu 3 Transnational Families Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo and Ernestine Avila, I m Here, But I m There : The Meanings of Latina Transnational Motherhood ~(pgs. 548-571) 4 Transnational Families Continued... Marjorie Faulstich Orellana, et al., Transnational Childhoods: The Participation of Children in Processes of Family Migration ~(pgs. 572-588) Sat Sun 5 6 Reading Quiz #4 @11:59pm Critical Response #4 Week 5/Unit 5: Challenges Facing (Im)migrant Communities 7 8 Health & Mixed-Status Families Access to Equitable Care? Castaneda, Heide et al., Health Care Access for Latino Mixed-Status Families: Barriers, Strategies, and Implication for Reform ~(pgs.1891-1909) Walter, Nicholars et al., Social Context of Work Injury Among Undocumented Day Laborers in San Francisco. ~(pgs.221-229) 9 Access to Higher Education Russell, A., State Policies Regarding Undocumented College Students: A Narrative of Unresolved Issues, Ongoing Debate and Missed Opportunities ~(pgs.1-10) Proposal & Annotated Bibliography
Thu 10 Narratives of Resistance Hernandez S., et al. Sharing Their Secrets: Undocumented Students Personal Stories of Fear, Drive, and Survival ~(pgs. 67-84) 11 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Center for American Progress. (2014). How DACA Has Improved the Lives of Undocumented Young People ~(pgs. 1-11) Nienhusser et al. (2016). Undocumented Students Experiences With Microaggressions During Their College Choice Process ~(pgs. 1-33) Sat Sun 12 13 Critical Response #5 Week 6: Final Recap & Work on Final Research Paper Thu 14 15 16 17 18 Final Recap Submit a detailed outline of your final research paper Final Research Project End of Syllabus