For the final paper, you will be writing an exploratory essay on a topic covered in the textbook Americas: A Study Guide in conjunction with the filmTrails of Hope and Terror (link posted on Canvas on the Module for Week 2).
The following are some of the issues that the film Trails of Hope and Terror explores from a multidisciplinary point of view. This film aims to outline through selected examples how territorial, social, and cultural borders and border crossings have been acknowledged and understood conceptually in the history of Anglo-American and Mexican history.
Is the border still the same it was 30 years ago? What shifted over the past 30 years that changed perceptions of the U.S.-Mexican border?
Are the current policies working?
Will barring illegal immigration decrease crime and unemployment?
After watching the film Trails of Hope and Terror, you will conduct your own research using outside material (at least 3 academic journals) and write an essay of a minimum of five (5) full pages that contemplates the shifting representations of the border and immigrants over time in relation to new ways of thinking about:
Race and ethnicity
Social class, integration, and citizenship
Political discourses such as xenophobia, deportation policy, national superiority, and border policing.
Gender and family
Human rights vs “Fake” Refugees
Church and society
Political reforms
Economic development.
Economic and cultural fears
The moral dilemmas of immigration
You are to choose one of those issues. If there is another topic you would like to explore that relates to the film and the textbook, and it is not on this list, send me an email so we can discuss it. Remember that you need to be able to make connections to the film Trails of Hope and Terror.
Possible Topics:
You can provide an understanding of the main immigration trends in Latin America and especially Mexico since 1850.
You can write an explanatory essay on the Bracero Program and how it developed into today’s immigration patterns.
You can provide an understanding of the problems attending the social and political integration of immigrants in the contemporary United States.
You can examine the concepts of integration, race, and multiculturalism within Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States framework. Explore in-depth: Why do people migrate across international borders? Can states control immigration, including “unwanted” immigrants? Should they? How do we understand the politics of immigration? What to consider in crafting immigration policy?
Once you identify which main topic you want to explore, you will need to come up with your thesis. A thesis in a research paper is a statement that people can agree or disagree with. For example, if you picked the topic of Women and Immigration, a possible thesis is “Gender Bias and Immigration Policy Against Women” (this statement can be agreed with or disagreed with). In my paper, I will take a stand toward my thesis, and each paragraph of the paper is designed to report evidence that supports my opinion.
This is just one example, but there are many possibilities. My advice to you is that you find a theme that is interesting to you and that you would like to know more about.
You do not need to draw a certain and definitive conclusion to these topics, but I do want you to look at real evidence and develop a thesis backed up by facts and critical thinking.
I hope that you view this project as an opportunity to go beyond what you are learning in class by exploring in depth an aspect of the ongoing relationship between Latin America and the Caribbean with the United States. If you want to explore another topic not included in the examples above, meet with me to discuss what you want to do and then email me your thesis to get my approval.
Remember: You will not be graded on your political opinion. You will be graded on your development of critical analysis and the way you support your arguments with evidence and facts.
After choosing a topic, you will be asked to:
Find at least 3 academic articles, books, or any other academic sources that support your research. If you need help looking for these, let me know. We have amazing librarians who want to help you.
Develop a thesis.
Formulate supportive arguments throughout the paper to support your thesis.
Instructions on the structure of your essay
Five (5) full pages minimum – Ten (10) pages maximum, the bibliography is separate from the page count.
All final papers must have an introduction, a body of analysis, and a conclusion.
Include a bibliography in MLA style.
If you are not familiar with MLA style citation, refer to the following site:
https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/mlacitationLinks to an external site.
** Make sure to use 12p Times New Roman font, and double space. Use 1-inch margins**
Optional Bibliography
Make sure that you sign in using your Penn State Library account when researching.
It is not mandatory to use articles from the following bibliography, you are welcome to use any other academic source that fits best to support your paper. These are just a suggestion.
“An Evaluation of International Migration Theory: The North American Case.” Douglas S. Massey et. al. Population and Development Review 20, No. 4, December 1999.
https://www-jstor-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/stable/2137660?pq-origsite=summon&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contentsLinks to an external site.
Mexicanos: A History of Mexicans in the United States. Manuel G. Gonzales. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999, Chapters 3 & 4.
https://muse-jhu-edu.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/article/378321/pdfLinks to an external site.
“The Border Is Wide.” Cecilia Balli, Harper’s Magazine, October, 2006.
http://web.a.ebscohost.com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=167e04c6-c8e7-4697-8be5-43a4f4e85192%40sdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=22331868&db=a9hLinks to an external site.
“Putting a Stop to Slave Labor.” Bryan Welch; Utne Reader, March/April 2007.
https://www.utne.com/politics/puttingastoptoslavelaborLinks to an external site.
“Communities on the Move.” Danielle Maestretti; Utne Reader, March/April 2007.https://www.utne.com/politics/communities-on-the-moveLinks to an external site.
“Viva La Union.” Hannah Lobel; “Same Old Song.” Daniel Tichenor. Articles from Utne Reader, March/April 2007.
https://www.utne.com/politics/vivalaunionLinks to an external site.
“Do Immigrants Make Us Safer?” The New York Times Magazine, December 3, 2006.
https://search-proquest-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/2224013486?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=13158Links to an external site.
“Nuevo Catholics.” David Rieff, The New York Times Magazine, December 24, 2006.
https://search-proquest-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/2224032860?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=13158Links to an external site.
“The New Sweatshops,” (2005) from Suburban Sweatshops: The Fight for Immigrant Rights. Jennifer Gordon. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press., 2005
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/pensu/reader.action?docID=3300247Links to an external site.
Andreas, Peter. “A Tale of Two borders: The US-Mexico and US-Canada Lines After 9/11.” Center for Comparative Immigration Studies (2003): 1-14
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/63r8f039#mainLinks to an external site.
Araujo, B. E. & de la Piedra, M. T. (2013). Violence in the U.S. Mexico Border and Student’s Capital to Respond. International Journal of Qualitative Research, 26(3), 263-278
https://www-tandfonline com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/doi/full/10.1080/09518398.2012.762475
Bybee, Roger, and Carolyn Winter. “Immigration Flood Unleashed by NAFTA’s Disastrous Impact on Mexican Economy.” Common Dreams Newscenter (2006). 11 Nov. 2007
https://www.commondreams.org/views06/0425-30.htm#Links to an external site.
Nafta Should Have Stopped Illegal Immigration, Right?
https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/18/weekinreview/18uchitelle.htmlLinks to an external site.
Borders for Whom? The Role of NAFTA in Mexico-U.S. Migration. Patricia Fernández-Kelly; Douglas S. Massey. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 2007 v. 610 no. 1 pp. 98–118
https://www-jstor-org.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/stable/25097891?pq-origsite=summon&seq=4#metadata_info_tab_contentsLinks to an external site.
Rauch, Jonathan. “A Simpler, Better Immigration Plan” National Journal (2007). 30 Oct. 2007
http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200706u/better-Links to an external site. immigrationLinks to an external site.
Websites that might be helpful:
Migration Policy Institute: http://www.migrationinformation.org/index.cfmLinks to an external site.
Pew Hispanic Center: http://pewhispanic.orgLinks to an external site.
US Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/Links to an external site.
American Community Survey: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/index.htmlLinks to an external site.
Center for Immigration Research: http://www.cis.org/suppLinks to an external site.
Latin American Migration Project: http://lamp.opr.princeton.edu/Links to an external site.
Mexican Migration Project: http://mmp.opr.princeton.edu/home-en.aspxLinks to an external site.
New Immigrant Survey: http://nis.princeton.edu/Links to an external site.
Rutgers Immigrant Infrastructure Map (RIIM): http://www.eagleton.rutgers.edu/programs/immigration/RIIMLinks to an external site.
LC Subject Headings
Below are some subject headings that may be helpful to you when researching:
Mexican-American Border Region — Economic conditions.
Mexican-American Border Region — History.
Illegal aliens — Mexican-American Border Region.
Mexican-American Border Region — History — 20th century.
Foreign workers, Mexican — United States — History — 20th century.
United States — Emigration and immigration — Government policy — History — 20th century.
Mexico — Emigration and immigration — Government policy — History — 20th century.
Mexicans — United States — History — 20th century.
Mexican-American Border Region — Emigration and immigration — History — 20th century.
Mexicans — Mexican-American Border Region — Politics and government — 20th century.
Mexican-American Border Region — Social conditions.
Migrant labor — Government policy — History — United States — 20th century
Human smuggling — Mexican-American Border Region
