Synopses & Reviews
Between 2000 and 2011, eight million immigrants became American citizens. In naturalization ceremonies large and small these new Americans pledged an oath of allegiance to the United States, gaining the right to vote, serve on juries, and hold political office; access to certain jobs; and the legal rights of full citizens.and#160;
Inand#160;The Road to Citizenship, Sofya Aptekar analyzes what the process of becoming a citizen means for these newly minted Americans and what it means for the United States as a whole. Examining the evolution of the discursive role of immigrants in American society from potential traitors to morally superior andldquo;supercitizens,andrdquo; Aptekarandrsquo;s in-depth research uncovers considerable contradictions with the way naturalization works today. Census data reveal that citizenship is distributed in ways that increasingly exacerbate existing class and racial inequalities, at the same time that immigrantsandrsquo; own understandings of naturalization defy accepted stories we tell about assimilation, citizenship, and becoming American. Aptekar contends that debates about immigration must be broadened beyond the current focus on borders and documentation to include larger questions about the definition of citizenship.and#160;
Aptekarandrsquo;s work brings into sharp relief key questions about the overall system: does the current naturalization process accurately reflect our priorities as a nation and reflect the values we wish to instill in new residents and citizens? Should barriers to full membership in the American polity be lowered? What are the implications of keeping the process the same or changing it? Using archival research, interviews, analysis of census and survey data, and participant observation of citizenship ceremonies,and#160;The Road to Citizenshipand#160;demonstrates the ways in which naturalization itself reflects the larger operations of social cohesion and democracy in America.
Review
andquot;Both excellent and unique,
The End of American Lynching offers a sophisticated yet clear and methodical approach to the study of lynching...fresh, distinct, and eminently readable.andquot;
Review
andquot;Written with vigor and in sprightly prose, in this provocative book Rushdy adds much-needed subtlety to the contemporary andlsquo;end of racismandrsquo; debate while clarifying why so many Americans misunderstood or denied the reality of lynching for so long.andquot;
Review
andquot;
The End of American Lynching, Ashraf H. A. Rushdyandrsquo;s important examination of lynching discourse, asks scholars to reconsider how they
remember and talk about racial violence.andquot;
Review
andquot;The Road to Citizenship is an important addition to the recent scholarly efforts to examine and understand the naturalization process primarily in the United States, but with cohesive and well-integrated comparative material from Canada, Australia, and Europe as well.andquot;
Synopsis
The End of American Lynching questions how we think about the dynamics of lynching, what lynchings mean to the society in which they occur, how lynching is defined, and the circumstances that lead to lynching. Ashraf H. A. Rushday looks at three lynchings over the course of the twentieth centuryandmdash;one in Coatesville, Pennsylvania in 1911, one in Marion, Indiana in 1930, and one in Jasper, Texas in 1998andmdash;to see how Americans developed two distinct ways of thinking and talking about this act before and after the 1930s.
and#160;
Synopsis
The End of American Lynching questions how we think about the dynamics of lynching, what lynchings mean to the society in which they occur, how lynching is defined, and the circumstances that lead to lynching. Ashraf H. A. Rushdy looks at three lynchings over the course of the twentieth century--one in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, in 1911, one in Marion, Indiana, in 1930, and one in Jasper, Texas, in 1998--to see how Americans developed two distinct ways of thinking and talking about this act before and after the 1930s.
One way takes seriously the legal and moral concept of complicity as a way to understand the dynamics of a lynching; this way of thinking can give us new perceptions into the meaning of mobs and the lynching photographs in which we find them. Another way, which developed in the 1940s and continues to influence us today, uses a strategy of denial to claim that lynchings have ended. Rushdy examines how the denial of lynching emerged and developed, providing insight into how and why we talk about lynching the way we do at the dawn of the twenty-first century. In doing so, he forces us to confront our responsibilities as American citizens and as human beings.
Synopsis
The End of American Lynching questions how we think about the dynamics of lynching, what lynchings mean to the society in which they occur, how lynching is defined, and the circumstances that lead to lynching. Ashraf H. A. Rushdy looks at three lynchings over the course of the twentieth centuryandmdash;one in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, in 1911, one in Marion, Indiana, in 1930, and one in Jasper, Texas, in 1998andmdash;to see how Americans developed two distinct ways of thinking and talking about this act before and after the 1930s.
One way takes seriously the legal and moral concept of complicity as a way to understand the dynamics of a lynching; this way of thinking can give us new perceptions into the meaning of mobs and the lynching photographs in which we find them. Another way, which developed in the 1940s and continues to influence us today, uses a strategy of denial to claim that lynchings have ended. Rushdy examines how the denial of lynching emerged and developed, providing insight into how and why we talk about lynching the way we do at the dawn of the twenty-first century.and#160; In doing so, he forces us to confront our responsibilities as American citizens and as human beings.
and#160;
Synopsis
In The Road to Citizenship, Sofya Aptekar analyzes what the process of becoming a citizen means for newly minted Americans and what it means for the United States as a whole. Examining the evolution of the discursive role of immigrants in the American society, immigrantsandrsquo; own understandings of naturalization, and the growing inequality in who gets citizenship, Aptekarandrsquo;s in-depth research uncovers considerable contradictions in the way and#160;naturalization works today. Aptekar contends that debates about immigration must be broadened beyond the current focus on borders and documentation to include larger questions about the definition of citizenship.and#160;
About the Author
ASHRAF H. A. RUSHDY teaches in the African American studies program and the English department at Wesleyan University. He is the author of The Empty Garden: The Subject of Late Milton, Neo-Slave Narratives: The Social Logic of a Literary Form, and Remembering Generations: Race and Family in Contemporary African American Literature.
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Table of Contents
Contents
and#160;
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: When Is an American Lynching?
1and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Accountant and the Opera House
2and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Date Night in the Courthouse Square
3and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The End of American Lynching
4and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Last American Lynching
Conclusion: The Subject of Lynching
Notes
Index