Author Description

"Soaring immigration to the United States in the transitional years of the new century has awakened old fears and inspired new anxieties about the future cultural shape of this country. Yet we know little about the experience of recent immigrant communities. In this volume, nine anthropologists reflect on the history of studies of migration, evaluate anthropology's contribution to the field, and develop a research program for the future. Placing contemporary immigration in the context of globalization and transnational social fields, their essays demonstrate the importance of gender and particular urban circumstances to understanding immigrants' life worlds. Addressing issues of health care, education, and minority values and practices among Mexicans, Haitians, Somalis, Afghans, and other newcomers to the United States, the authors raise serious questions about the meaning and political uses of ideas about cultural difference." -- Back cover.