Living Beyond the Borders
Essays on Global Immigrants and Refugees
Summary
The contributors to this volume analyze the impact of transnational lives on the identity construction of migrants and how they acquire and negotiate their multiple identities. The book further interrogates these identities by questioning the experiences of immigrants and refugees living precarious lives in their country of permanent or temporary settlement. This book contributes knowledge and literature that is intended for academic scholars, researchers, and undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of immigration studies, global studies, sociology, political science, development studies, and interdisciplinary studies. Its multidisciplinary approach has significant value to readers, as it integrates perspectives on the multidimensionality and complexity of transnational migration, settlement, and integration in the contemporary globalized world.
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- About the author(s)/editor(s)
- About the book
- This eBook can be cited
- Table of Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Introduction: Globalization, Migration, and Transnational Formations (Edward Shizha)
- Globalization and the Transnationals
- Migration and Transnational Formations
- Organization of the Book
- References
- Part One: Canada’s Immigration and Multicultural Studies
- Chapter One: Canadian Immigration Policy: The Search for Solutions (Andrew Newton)
- Introduction
- Historical Context and Points-Based Assessment
- Economic Inequality/Fiscal Burden
- Systemic Issues
- Public Attitudes
- Policy on Temporary Migrants
- Undocumented Migrants
- The Case for Refugees
- Policy on International Students
- Recent Policy Changes
- Language Proficiency Requirements
- Recommendations and Solutions
- Conclusion and Future Implications
- References
- Chapter Two: Canada’s Shift in Immigration Policy: The Neglect of Refugee Claimants (Ebony Evans)
- Introduction
- History of Immigration Policy in Canada
- Current Immigration Policy Programs
- The Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP)
- The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
- The Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP)
- Canadian Experience Class Program (CECP)
- The Ministerial Instructions
- Rationale for Policy Changes
- Historical Refugee Class
- Current Refugee Program
- Limitations of Current Refugee Program
- Case Study: Syrian Refugees
- Suggestions for Improvement
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter Three: Current Multiculturalism Ethos in Canada (Margarita Enriquez)
- Introduction
- Multiculturalism Policy—A Brief Timeline
- Building Canada’s Multicultural Ethos
- Skepticism and Anxieties Towards Multiculturalism
- Limitations of Multiculturalism as a Framework for Diversity
- Multiculturalism Versus Pluralism
- Multiversality and Global Citizenship
- Accounting for Transnational Identities: Syrian Refugee Crisis
- Critiques, Limitations, and Future Research
- Conclusion
- References
- Part Two: Home, Belongingness, and Identities
- Chapter Four: Cosmopolitanism and the Future of Fragmented Hybrid Identities (Dalia Elawad)
- Introduction
- Debates in Cosmopolitan Theory
- Institutional and Cultural Cosmopolitanisms
- Cosmopolitan Nationalism
- Cosmopolitanism and Human Rights
- Cosmopolitanism and Globalization
- Developing the “The Self” Cosmopolitan
- Nationalism, Identity, and “the Generalized Other”
- Critical Awareness and the Political Self
- Immigrants’ Identities, the Self, and Acculturation
- The Cosmopolitan Self
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter Five: The Integration of Syrian Refugees in Canada: Role of Social Capital and Acculturation (May Mahrat / Doaa Shalabi)
- Introduction
- Belonging and Acculturation
- Social Capital and Social Connections
- Berry’s Framework for Acculturation Research
- Ager and Strang’s Conceptual Framework on Integration
- Cheung and Phillimore on Social Capital and Integration
- Syrian Refugees and Integration
- Syrians Refugees in the Kitchener-Waterloo Region
- Conclusion and Way Forward
- Notes
- References
- Chapter Six: Ambivalence of Home in the Formation of Transnational and Diasporic Identities (Alison Gupta)
- Introduction
- The Creation of Ambivalent Identity
- The Role of Immigrant Enclaves
- Feeling “At Home”
- Inclusion Versus Exclusion
- Identity Confusion and a Sense of Belonging
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter Seven: Nostalgia, Diaspora, and Cultural Memory Among Former Yugoslavians (Virginia Pecjak)
- Introduction
- The Conflict
- Cultural Memories, Longing, and Belonging
- Not Always the Fondest of Memories
- Nostalgia and Yugo-Nostalgia
- Virtual Space as a Site of Nostalgic Memories
- Yugo-Enclaves and Belonging
- Former Yugoslavians and the Diaspora
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter Eight: The Diasporic Pilgrimage: Finding Identity Through Tertiary Memory (Madeline McCaffrey)
- Introduction
- Diaspora and the Second Generation
- The Fluidity of Identities
- Home and the Pursuit for Identity
- Collective and Tertiary Memory and the Temporal Object
- Tertiary Memory and the Diaspora
- Second Generation Diaspora and Secular Identity Pilgrimages
- Diasporic Dissatisfaction With Pilgrimages
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter Nine: Psychoanalytic Reading of Diasporic Subjectivity and Narratives of Return Migration (Nicola Mason)
- Introduction
- Conceptualizing Diaspora and Diasporic Identity
- Lacan’s Theory of Identification
- When Return Is More Than a Myth
- Return Migration and Desire: Searching for the Objet Petit a in the “Homeland”
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter Ten: Ethnic Enclaves in Canada: Opportunities and Challenges of Residing Within (Tolulope Helen Ojo / Edward Shizha)
- Introduction
- Canada’s Immigration History
- Immigration and Settlement Patterns in the Census Metropolitan Areas (CMA)
- Ethnic Groups in Canada
- What Is an Ethnic Enclave?
- Perspectives on Enclaves
- Ethnic Enclave as Economic System
- Ethnic Enclave as Social Adjustment
- Advantages of Living in an Ethnic Enclave
- Disadvantages of Living in an Ethnic Enclave
- Are Enclaves Ghettoes?
- Conclusion
- References
- Part Three: Sexuality and Transnational Sexual Identities
- Chapter Eleven: Globalization and Sexual Minority Right: A Fear of Foreign Influence (Caitlin Harding)
- Introduction
- Homophobia, Homosexuality, and the Modernization Thesis
- Political Homophobia: From Colonialism to Globalization Resistance
- Homosexuality and the Middle East
- Western Exceptionalism: Homonationalism, Pinkwashing, and Xenophobia
- Sexual Minorities, Asylum Seeking, and International Human Rights
- Limitations of Arguments
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter Twelve: The Migration Double Standard: Sexist Rhetoric in Familial Expectations of Female Migrants (Heather Shilton)
- Introduction
- Feminist Theoretical Analysis
- The Feminization of Migration
- The Feminization of Poverty
- The Discourse of Global Care Chains
- The Care Drain
- Analysis of Families Remaining in Home Countries
- The Importance of Remittances
- Future of Care Chains
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter Thirteen: Who Am I and Where Is Here?: Refugee Mothers and the Search for Maternal Identity in Canada (Rosemary Kimani-Dupuis)
- Introduction
- Feminism, Mothering, and Globalization
- Forced Migration and the Politics of Identity
- Forced Migration and Mothering: The Dis/Possession of Identity
- Identity and the “Ideal”and “Deficient” Immigrant Binary
- Narratives of Belonging: Social Citizenship and Motherhood
- Adoptive Country and Refugee Mothers’ Citizenship
- Refugee Mother-Child Relationship: Maternal Bicultural Identity
- Mothering Is a Multidimensional Process
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter Fourteen: Global Extensions: Turning Faith Into Transnational Fashion (Priscilla Broni)
- Introduction
- What Is Indian Tonsure or Tonsuring?
- Where Faith and Global Fashion Collide
- Religion Is the Opium of the Masses—Karl Marx
- Situating Indian Hair in Within Marxist Traditions
- Marketing Virgin Indian Remy: Commodity Fetishism
- Hair Business and the Segmented Dual Labour Market
- Conclusion
- References
- Part Four: Global, Transnational, Migrant Workers
- Chapter Fifteen: Female Labour Migration: Analysis of Mexican Transnational Families (Rachel Bangura)
- Introduction
- Poverty and Mexican Families
- New Economics Theory of Labour Migration
- Mexican Poverty at the Micro Level: The Family
- Mexican Female Labour Migration
- Types of Labour Occupied by Mexican Migrant Women
- Economic Impact of Female Labour Migration: Remittances
- Effects of Labour Migration on Transnational Families
- Impact of Labour Migration on Household Duties
- Female Autonomy Through Migration
- Acquisition of Different Cultures
- Limits of Labour Migration
- Alternatives to Labour Migration
- Conclusion
- References
- Chapter Sixteen: Rethinking the Abjection of Migrant Workers in Canada (Davian Myers)
- Introduction
- Constructing the Abject Migrant
- Economic Insecurity
- Moral Obligations
- Global Inequality and the Abject South
- Neo-Liberalizing Migration
- Migration Myths Versus Realities
- Temporariness as Ideology
- Limits of Citizenship
- Demystifying Canadian Exceptionalism
- Abjection of Labour
- Agency and Resistance
- Conclusion
- References
- Contributors
Figure 5.1: Berry’s Acculturation Framework.
Figure 5.2: Ager and Strang’s Integration Framework.
Table 5.1: The Fourfold Theory Categorization Scheme.
Table 10.1: Visible Minorities in Canada’s CMA: Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, 2011 (%).
Table 10.2: Proportion of Immigrants Residing in Enclave Areas by City, 2011.
Table 10.3: Religious Affiliation of Visible Minorities by Neighborhood Type and City, 2011 (%).
Table 15.1: Number of Mexican Migrants by Gender and Destination Country, 2013.
Table 15.2: Average Remittances Sent by Gender of Senders and Receivers.
It is without doubt that in today’s world, the relationship between globalization, immigration and transnationalism cannot be overemphasized. We are all affected by this phenomenon, particularly those who are mobile and have become transnationals. The subject of this book is to examine some of these transnational mobilities and how they have affected different immigrants. This book is an outcome of essays that were submitted by graduate students who have a passion on the impact of migration and globalization on transnational lives of both immigrants and refugees. Some of the contributors are transnational off-springs of immigrants. In the last decades, scholars have heatedly debated how globalization, transnational migration, and migrant transnationalism are transforming the structure and meaning of home, belongingness, citizenship and nation-state in the contemporary world. A core theme in these debates, which is also reflected in this volume, is the threat posed by economic and political globalization to nation-states as political and sociocultural units, “from above” and “from below” and by transnational migration and migrant transnationalism. Scholars agree that these developments challenge the ability of nation-states to guarantee rights, enforce obligations, and uphold traditional notions of identity associated with national citizenship. Some of the contributors to this book agree with this assertion and argue for non-state specific citizenship that takes the form of global citizenship and cosmopolitan citizenship. However, they disagree on whether these developments ← xiii | xiv → render the national model of citizenship irrelevant, and on whether it is being or should be completely replaced by transnational and postnational forms of citizenship.
In this book the contributors agree that transnationalism, migration (both forced and voluntary) and diaspora, which are a result of globalization, create transnationally contested social spaces, fields and formations that affect the everyday practices of migrants and refugees and their engagement in various transnational activities. This book highlights the effects of the diaspora and transnationalism on the lives of immigrants from least developed countries of the South, particularly visible minorities (immigrants and refugees) who are living in the “rich” countries of the North. It explores and examines how they struggle with issues of “home” and belonging, nostalgia and memories of the original homeland. The book further presents multiple perspectives and arguments on how globalization has affected and influenced transnationalism and the diaspora with reference to Canada’s immigration policies that affect immigrants and refugees. The contributors analyse the acquisition of immigrants’ and refugees’ multiple and fragmented identities because of their transnational and diaspora experiences. The book further interrogates these identities by questioning the treatment of refugees, foreign temporary workers, gendered migrants and sexual minorities. The debate extends to the construction of maternal identities and sexist rhetoric that affect female transnational immigrants. Debates on transnationalism tend to be patriarchal and focus more on the impact it has on men and little has been discussed on how transnational women are perceived especially in their homeland where they leave their families behind in search of a better life for themselves and their families. This book seeks to fill that knowledge and literature gap.
The purpose of this book is to produce a literature that has epistemic value and serves as a significant compass to the understanding and addressing of the complex interplay and impact of globalization, transnationalism, and diaspora on global and transnational immigrants and refugees, with reference to Canada. Among other objectives, it will attempt to:
– delineate the critical link among globalization and capitalism, immigration, transnationalism, and diaspora
– bring the literature up-to-date on transnationalism, diaspora and immigrants’ socio-economic lives in Canada and globally
– provide a multidisciplinary framework of analyses of immigration policy in Canada and possible solutions
– provide scholars, academics, students, educators and policy makers with a framework and tool to comprehend the complexity and magnitude of transnational issues that affect immigrants and refugees← xiv | xv →
– reflect on the role and impact of capitalism in the global production of poverty among the poor in the South and immigrants and refugees in the North.
While the different chapters of this book borrow from the current available literature on globalization, transnationalism and diaspora, they go beyond providing a descriptive analysis of the issues. They question some of the assumed discourses within the globalization-transnationalism-diaspora nexus. Overall, the book is guided by a purpose-driven vision and arguments that go beyond the current global and transnational discourses.
This volume is geared towards professionals, academic scholars, students, policy makers and the general public interested in studies on immigration, transnationalism and the diaspora that focus on immigrants and refugees. More specifically, it can be used in the fields of immigration studies, sociology, political science, development studies, global studies, local government studies and interdisciplinary studies. Its multidisciplinary approach is of significant value to readers, as it will encompass perspectives on the multidimensionality and complexities of global and transnational migration, settlement and integration in the contemporary globalized world.
This volume would not have been successful without the wonderful work of all the contributors who are past graduate students to the class on Globalization, Transnationalism, Migration and the Diaspora in the 21st Century instructed by Dr. Edward Shizha. Therefore, the book builds on the excellent and insightful scholarly work of the editors (Rosemary Kimani-Dupuis and Priscilla Broni are also former graduate students) and these students. The insights in this book germinated from their essays and discussions that we conducted in class. Their enthusiasm was remarkable and contributed to the desire to embark on this book project. Revising their essays into chapters was fun and exciting and culminated in the production of this volume. Thank you all for your efforts and enthusiasm. Special thanks to Peter Lang publishers and their editorial team, Luke McCord, Mary Egan, Megan Madden and Sara McBride for facilitating the publication of this book.
Details
- Pages
- XX, 286
- Publication Year
- 2018
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9781433148675
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9781433148682
- ISBN (MOBI)
- 9781433148699
- ISBN (Hardcover)
- 9781433148668
- DOI
- 10.3726/b11796
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2018 (January)
- Published
- New York, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, Oxford, Wien, 2018. XX, 286 pp., 2 b/w ill., 6 tables
