Richard Alba Jessica Sperling CUNY Graduate School
This doctoral dissertation research studies the ways in which different socio-historical contexts shape the process of immigrant assimilation and perceived possibilities of social membership. It examines these issues in a comparative perspective, specifically in New York City (a historic immigrant destination) and Madrid (a recent immigrant destination). The principal research questions are: What boundaries do children of immigrants see as the dominant dividing lines between social groups in their country of residence, and how flexible are these boundaries? To what degree do children of immigrants feel receiving society national membership is available to them, and what role, if any, does immigrant-descent or ethno-racial minority status play in limiting membership? Research methods are both comparative and qualitative; analysis is principally based upon in-depth interviews with members of the Latin American 1.5 and second generation in each location.
This project will contribute to an improved understanding of the current and possible future courses of diversity in receiving societies. For instance, the comparative framework and focus on perceived boundaries contributes to research on the contextual basis of social boundaries, and this has direct implications for research on racial and ethnic integration. Existing comparative transatlantic research often focuses on measures of integration and immigrant success, such as educational and economic outcomes. Yet perceived opportunities of belonging - the focus of this study - both reflect and affect these outcome measures. Moreover, since dominant assimilation theories were developed with an eye towards the U.S., their assumptions about the placement and salience of social boundaries (e.g., the perceived permissibility of diversity, and the presence of established minorities) may not accurately reflect other settings. It therefore broadens assimilation theory to consider boundaries and membership possibilities in other socio-historical contexts.
Most research on migrants in Europe focuses on Muslim populations, but this study focuses on a non-Muslim group. This study adds to the body of literature on migrant-descent populations in Europe, and it highlights the role of race and ethnicity, rather than religion, as potential social divides. The focus on Latin Americans in Europe also contributes to the study of Latin American migration, which has been overwhelmingly focused on immigration to the United States. Finally, despite Spain?s relative prominence as a receiving country within Europe, most research on Europe has focused on Northern and Western Europe. This study?s focus on Spain will therefore contribute to the regional diversity of immigration research and improve understanding of a key immigrant receiving area.
This project identifies the ways in which different contexts shape the placement and salience of enthnoracial social boundaries, as well as determines the perceived possibilities of social membership in these receiving societies. It examines these issues in a comparative perspective, specifically focusing on children of Dominican and Colombian immigrants in New York City (a location with a historical immigrant presence) and Madrid (a location new to immigration). During the NSF funding period, data collection (qualitative interviews) and data analysis were completed. Writing of results was partially completed. The end results of this project are divided into three areas of focus. The first discusses respondents’ experiences in various arenas of life. It first reviews the experience of arrival, both for the respondents’ national origin groups generally and for this project’s 1.5 generation respondents. It then discusses experiences the arenas most prominent in respondents’ lives thus far –neighborhoods, schools, and employment – and specifically highlights intergroup relations and experiences of othering or discrimination. This data provide background information on the study’s respondents, providing a clearer sense of their overall life experiences and their basis for perceptions of social boundaries and identities. In line with this project’s principal focus, it further shows how various differences in destination society context affect numerous institutions and areas of life. The second deals directly with the concept of social boundaries. It discusses the principal characteristics perceived as differentiating immigrant-origin young adults from their native-origin peers, comparing particular markers of difference and their salience as social divides in New York City and Madrid. Based on analysis of this project’s data, this chapter reviews three principal bases of difference, or boundary markers: race, language, and cultural values and norms of interaction (referred to in Spain as forma de ser, or "way of being"). This section reviews data on the three principal markers of difference in each research site, and highlights and explains difference between the two sites for each marker of differences. The third section centers on identities. Specifically, it discusses the basis and salience of specific identities (primarily, destination country identity and origin country identity), as well as the perceived compatibility of such identities. The study of identification with the destination country is core to understanding perceptions of membership in the destination, since identification conveys an internalized sense of belonging. It begins by reviewing respondent identification with the origin and destination countries, including the perceived compatibility between origin and destination-country identifications. It then addresses other relevant ethnic/geopolitical identifications beyond the nation of origin and destination; it finds that these identities may support, counter, or provide additional bases for belonging beyond destination-country identity. As with the overall project, this section focuses on how and why respondent identities, and the bases for identification (or lack thereof), differ between the two research sites. This study holds a number of contributions to migration research and theory through its comparative framework. First, researchers have recognized that comparative research on immigrant incorporation is a constructive means of studying the role of context, yet systematic comparisons are lacking (Favell 2005, Thompon and Crul 2007, Penninx 2006). This study’s explicit comparative framework (both dual-group and dual-location) advances understanding of contextual effects on immigrant identities and the acceptance and form of societal diversity. Second, the comparative focus on a non-US location helps to assess US-developed assimilation theory’s relevance relevant to other contexts, and particularly to contexts with different histories of immigration and diversity (Martiniello and Rath 2010, Silberman et al. 2007, Thomson and Crul 2007, Vermeulen 2010). Finally, by comparing two groups with strong phenotypical differences, and by looking at these two groups in two different receiving contexts, this study contribute to the growing literature on the social construction of race. This study also furthers academic research through a focus on understudied topics, populations, and regions. Most European work (and much American work) examines on specific outcomes, such as educational and occupational outcomes, rather than the establishment of group boundaries. However, there recently have been calls for studies specifically dealing with cross-cutting topics like boundaries (Thomson and Crul 2007, Martiniello and Rath 2010), since perceived opportunities of belonging both reflect and affect more concrete measures of integration and immigrant success. This study directly contributes to this line of work. Moreover, most work on Europe focuses on Muslims populations. While religion is clearly a significant issue, it may obscure the role of racial or ethnic diversity in creating social divides. This study, by focusing on religiously unproblematic groups, directly examines the importance of race and ethnicity. This focus on Latin Americans in Europe also contributes to study of Latin American migration. Finally, this study’s focus on Spain contributes to the regional diversity of immigration research and improve understanding of a key receiving area.
