The New York-based newspaper India Abroad covered the research of SMU anthropologist Caroline Brettell in an interview with journalist Artthur J. Pais in the March 2 edition.

Book a live interview

To book a live or taped interview with Dr. Caroline Brettell in the SMU News Broadcast Studio call SMU News at 214-768-7650 or email SMU News at news@smu.edu.

Related links “Civic Engagements: The Citizenship Practices of Indian & Vietnamese Immigrants” (Stanford University Press, 2012) Farmer’s Branch, Texas: Case study shows immigrants seen as threat to white, middle-class “American” identity Caroline B. Brettell DFW Immigration Research Home SMU Department of Anthropology Dedman College

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Brettell has reported that immigrants in North Texas develop their American identity by participating in ethnic community activities, then branching out to broader civic and political life.

She and co-author Deborah Reed-Danahay in their book, “Civic Engagements: The Citizenship Practices of Indian & Vietnamese Immigrants” (Stanford University Press, 2012) found that American Indians and Vietnamese Americans in North Texas develop and embrace their American identity over time — without shedding their culture of origin, as some say they should.

The research found that, for these groups, becoming a U.S. citizen is distinctly different from becoming American, say the immigration experts.

For new Vietnamese and Indian immigrants, whether naturalized citizens or not, American identity deepens as they participate in activities, festivals and banquets at their churches, schools, temples, business and civic associations, and their social and cultural organizations, say Brettell and Reed-Danahay.

From their research, Brettell and Reed-Danahay conclude that policymakers should be cautious with any attempts to integrate, assimilate or incorporate immigrants. They recommend against imposing top-down standards on how citizenship should be expressed — such as requiring full English proficiency or focusing exclusively on formal political participation.

Read the full article.

EXCERPT:

Arthur J. Pais
India Abroad
At the height of the 9/11 anti-Muslim violence and sentiments, a mosque serving mostly immigrants in the Dallas-Fort Worth area decided to reach out to the large community and opened a polling station on its premises on an election day.

This is one of the many stories you will hear from Professor Caroline B. Brettell whose book Civic Engagements: The Citizenship Practices of Indian and Vietnamese Immigrants (Stanford University Press) co-authored with Professor Deborah Reed Danahay, highlights the growth of community networking that started seriously in the 1990s in the Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth area of Texas.

“A key contribution of our research is its emphasis on the fact that the civic incorporation of newcomers does not necessarily mean abandoning who you are,” Brettell, an anthropology professor at Southern methodist University in Dallas, says. “Immigrant communities have spaces and places that are already operating as viable arenas for expressing civic and political presence and for becoming American.”

Read the full article.

SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools. For more information see www.smu.edu.

SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650.

Book a live interview

To book a live or taped interview with Dr. Caroline Brettell in the SMU News Broadcast Studio call SMU News at 214-768-7650 or email SMU News at news@smu.edu.

Related links “Civic Engagements: The Citizenship Practices of Indian & Vietnamese Immigrants” (Stanford University Press, 2012) Farmer’s Branch, Texas: Case study shows immigrants seen as threat to white, middle-class “American” identity Caroline B. Brettell DFW Immigration Research Home SMU Department of Anthropology Dedman College

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Journalist Haley Dover reported on a lecture about immigration delivered Feb. 16 by SMU anthropologist Caroline Brettell at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center.

Nebraska Mosaic (nemosaic.org) is a project of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications. It’s staffed by a class of undergraduate and graduate students.

Brettell, a University Distinguished Professor, is an internationally recognized immigration expert. She recently reported the results of her latest research with co-author Deborah Reed-Danahay in their book, “Civic Engagements: The Citizenship Practices of Indian & Vietnamese Immigrants” (Stanford University Press, 2012).

They found through their research of American Indians and Vietnamese Americans in North Texas that immigrants from India and Vietnam develop and embrace their American identity over time — without shedding their culture of origin, as some say they should.

The research found that, for these groups, becoming a U.S. citizen is distinctly different from becoming American. For new Vietnamese and Indian immigrants, whether naturalized citizens or not, American identity deepens as they participate in activities, festivals and banquets at their churches, schools, temples, business and civic associations, and their social and cultural organizations, say Brettell and Reed-Danahay.

From their research, Brettell and Reed-Danahay conclude that policymakers should be cautious with any attempts to integrate, assimilate or incorporate immigrants. They recommend against imposing top-down standards on how citizenship should be expressed — such as requiring full English proficiency or focusing exclusively on formal political participation.

Read Mosaic’s coverage.

EXCERPT:

By Haley Dover
A reasonable cost of living and jobs in agriculture, manufacturing and meatpacking contribute to Nebraska becoming a gateway into America for the growing foreign-born population, an immigration expert said Thursday.

Caroline Brettell, an anthropology professor at Southern Methodist University who has studied global immigration patterns, said the growing foreign-born population in Nebraska is part of a national trend of immigrants seeking new destinations.

In a lecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center, Brettell noted that 44.4 percent of Nebraska’s foreign-born residents have moved to the state since 2000. In Lincoln alone, 7.4 percent of the population is foreign-born. Nationally 12 percent of the population is foreign born.

Cities like Boston, Atlanta and Phoenix increasingly have become popular destinations for immigrants, she said, but traditional gateways like New York City, Chicago and Miami remain popular, too.

“Continuous gateways have always attracted more than their fair share of immigrants,” Brettell said. “Immigrants are still going to those traditional cities.”

Read Mosaic’s coverage.

SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools. For more information see www.smu.edu.

SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650.

Krys Boyd, host and managing editor of KERA-FM’s flagship midday talk show “Think,” interviewed SMU anthropologist Caroline Brettell.

Book a live interview

To book a live or taped interview with Dr. Caroline Brettell in the SMU News Broadcast Studio call SMU News at 214-768-7650 or email SMU News at news@smu.edu.

Related links “Civic Engagements: The Citizenship Practices of Indian & Vietnamese Immigrants” (Stanford University Press, 2012) Farmer’s Branch, Texas: Case study shows immigrants seen as threat to white, middle-class “American” identity Caroline B. Brettell DFW Immigration Research Home SMU Department of Anthropology Dedman College

More SMU Research news

Study: Nearly two-thirds of EU citizens are marginalized by English-language dominance

From ‘Green Card’ to ‘Thin Blue Line’: Lawtalk research looks at popular legal expressions

The topic was Brettell’s research that found immigrants in North Texas develop their American identity by participating in ethnic community activities, then branching out to broader civic and political life.

Listen to KERA’s podcast of the live broadcast show.

Brettell appeared on the show with Prasad Thotakura, an American Indian immigrant and president of the Teluga Association of North America.

Brettell reported the results of her research with co-author Deborah Reed-Danahay in their book, “Civic Engagements: The Citizenship Practices of Indian & Vietnamese Immigrants” (Stanford University Press, 2012).

They found through their research of American Indians and Vietnamese Americans in North Texas that immigrants from India and Vietnam develop and embrace their American identity over time — without shedding their culture of origin, as some say they should.

The research found that, for these groups, becoming a U.S. citizen is distinctly different from becoming American, say the immigration experts.

For new Vietnamese and Indian immigrants, whether naturalized citizens or not, American identity deepens as they participate in activities, festivals and banquets at their churches, schools, temples, business and civic associations, and their social and cultural organizations, say Brettell and Reed-Danahay.

The authors cite as an example Andy Nguyen, now a Texan, who fled Vietnam and arrived in the United States as a teenager. As a young man he was commissioned an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, went on to become a successful North Texas businessman and served primarily as an ethnic community leader. Later Nguyen ran as a Republican and won election to county government.

From their research, Brettell and Reed-Danahay conclude that policymakers should be cautious with any attempts to integrate, assimilate or incorporate immigrants. They recommend against imposing top-down standards on how citizenship should be expressed — such as requiring full English proficiency or focusing exclusively on formal political participation.

SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools. For more information see www.smu.edu.

SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650.

Book a live interview

To book a live or taped interview with Dr. Caroline Brettell in the SMU News Broadcast Studio call SMU News at 214-768-7650 or email SMU News at news@smu.edu.

Related links Farmer’s Branch, Texas: Case study shows immigrants seen as threat to white, middle-class “American” identity Caroline B. Brettell DFW Immigration Research Home SMU Department of Anthropology Dedman College

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The ANSI news service has reported on the immigration research of SMU anthropology professor Caroline B. Brettell. The Dec. 7 news service article: “Indian, Vietnamese immigrants ‘Americanised’ but don’t lose own identity” has been picked up by newspapers throughout Asia, including The India Times.

Brettell is a cultural anthropologist and University Distinguished Professor in the SMU Department of Anthropology. She is an internationally recognized immigration expert, including trends of new immigration gateway cities such as Dallas, Atlanta and Minneapolis and the challenges of women immigrants. An immigrant herself, Brettell was born in Canada and became a U.S. citizen in 1993.

Read the full story.

EXCERPT:

Indian and Vietnamese immigrants become “Americanised” over time through social activities, but still retain their identities, say researchers after studying the two communities in Texas.

Typically, Indian immigrants came voluntarily, seeking education, jobs and economic opportunity, although some came to join family members, said Caroline B. Brettell, an anthropology professor at Dallas’ Southern Methodist University, who conducted the research on the Indians.

Generally they have high levels of education and income, and typically already speak English, she added.

Vietnamese came as refugees, primarily to escape communism and in search of freedom and democracy. More recently they’ve also come to join family members, said Deborah Reed-Danahay, Brettel’s colleague, who conducted the Vietnamese research.

The researchers say that there are a great many surface differences between these two populations, but the research revealed significant similarities in the way immigrants from both India and Vietnam engage in civic and political activities, according to a university statement.

For new Vietnamese and Indian immigrants, whether naturalized citizens or not, American identity deepens as they participate in activities, festivals and banquets at their churches, schools, temples, business and civic associations, say Brettell and Reed-Danahay.

The study results were reported in their book: “Civic Engagements: The Citizenship Practices of Indian & Vietnamese Immigrants” (Stanford University Press, 2012).

Read the full story.

SMU is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools. For more information see www.smu.edu.

SMU has an uplink facility located on campus for live TV, radio, or online interviews. To speak with an SMU expert or book an SMU guest in the studio, call SMU News & Communications at 214-768-7650.