Immigration and Citizenship in the Twenty-First Century / Edition 1

by Noah M. J. Pickus, Rogers M. Smith, Kwame Anthony Appiah, Linda S. Bosniak, Joseph H. Carens

Overview

In this important book, a distinguished group of historians, political scientists, and legal experts explore three related issues: the Immigration and Naturalization Service's historic review of its citizenship evaluation, recent proposals to alter the oath of allegiance and the laws governing dual citizenship, and the changing rights and responsibilities of citizens and resident aliens in the United States. How Americans address these issues, the contributors argue, will shape broader debates about multiculturalism, civic virtue and national identity. The response will also determine how many immigrants become citizens and under what conditions, what these new citizens learn_and teach_about the meaning of American citizenship, and whether Americans regard newcomers as intruders or as fellow citizens with whom they share a common fate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780847692217
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	08/20/1998
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.92(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

Noah M. J. Pickus is assistant professor of public policy and political science at the Terry Sanford Institute of Public Policy, Duke University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Foreword Chapter 2 Introduction Part 3 Part I. The Meaning of Americanization Chapter 4 The Promise of American Citizenship Chapter 5 Citizenship in Theory and Practice: A Response to Charles Kesler Chapter 6 "Am I an American or Not?" Reflections on Citizenship, Americanization, and Race Chapter 7 Reviving Americanization: A Response to Juan Perea Part 8 Part II. Nationalism and Citizenship Chapter 9 Nationalism, Cosmopolitanism, and the United States Chapter 10 A National Solidarity? A Response to David Hollinger Chapter 11 To Make Natural: Creating Citizens for the Twenty-First Century Chapter 12 Why Naturalization Should Be Easy: A Response to Noah Pickus Part 13 Part III. Multiple Memberships? Chapter 14 Plural Citizenships Chapter 15 Why Immigrants Want Dual Citizenship (And We Should Too): A Response to Peter Schuck Chapter 16 Alienage Classification in a Nation of Immigrants: Three Models of "Permanent" Residence Chapter 17 Membership and American Social Contracts: A Response to Hiroshi Motomura Chapter 18 Index

Editorial Reviews

There may be no greater or more important gulf in contemporary America than that between the academy and the public over questions of immigration and citizenship. This collection of essays comes closer than any I have seen to exploring these contentious questions with honesty and rigor. As we face anew what it means to be an American, Noah Pickus has performed a vital service.

Peter Skerry

One of the most difficult issues we will be dealing with in the next decade is the nature of citizenship in the United States. What do we expect, what do we demand, what do we have the right to expect or demand, of the one million new citizens a year we are now adding to the American polity? What can national loyalty mean in a world of changing nation-states, ever more closely bound together? The papers in this volume form an excellent introduction to these complex issues: They underline the implications of our current law of citizenship, and the alternatives that are being proposed.

Nathan Glazer

This collection of essays has two great merits: First is the sheer importance of its subject: the meaning of American citizenship is obviously at the heart of many current controversies within our policy. Second is the quality of the essays. This is a wonderful introduction to the array of opinions on the issue. It should prove helpful to scholars and citizens alike.

Sanford Levinson

"...offers a diversity of well-argued perspectives on the contemporary American debate over citizenship."

Political Science Quarterly - Peter Andreas

Throughout our existence as a nation, the process of becoming an American citizen has been linked to disputes over what it means to be an American. Combining history, theory, law, and public policy, these essays by a diverse group of first-rate scholars offer a terrific introduction to this subject. Their debates illuminate the basic issues that a 21st century immigration and naturalization policy will have to address.

William A. Galston

In this cohesive edited volume, the papers often speak to one another, sometimes explicitly since each main paper is followed by a short response, but also implicitly since common themes arise in different papers. One has the feeling when reading this book of stepping into the middle of an important conversation on immigrant and naturalization policy by many thoughtful and intelligent people. This volume does an excellent job of beginning a new debate about these important matters.

Ethics: An International Journal of Social

Although the book contains many useful reflections on the 1997 report of the Commision on Immigration Reform, most of the pieces extend well beyond it to broader considerations of the contemporary meaning of citizenship in the United States. The volume's major contribution is to provide a theoretical background for the general themes of U.S. immigration law and policy. The selections are high quality and the book holds together as a whole. The combination of longer essays and shorter responses would work well in any upper-division or graduate class which treats the topic of immigration at length, and many of the contributions counter the prevailing wisdom, which may spark energetic classroom conversation. For those wishing to enter into the current conversation, this volume is a better starting place than most.

Journal of Law & Politics - Daniel Levin

Although the book contains many useful reflections on the 1997 report of the Commision on Immigration Reform, most of the pieces extend well beyond it to broader considerations of the contemporary meaning of citizenship in the United States.

The volume's major contribution is to provide a theoretical background for the general themes of U.S. immigration law and policy.

The selections are high quality and the book holds together as a whole. The combination of longer essays and shorter responses would work well in any upper-division or graduate class which treats the topic of immigration at length, and many of the contributions counter the prevailing wisdom, which may spark energetic classroom conversation. For those wishing to enter into the current conversation, this volume is a better starting place than most.

Journal of Law & Politics, Vol.10 No.2 (February 2000) - Daniel Levin

In this cohesive edited volume, the papers often speak to one another, sometimes explicitly since each main paper is followed by a short response, but also implicitly since common themes arise in different papers. One has the feeling when reading this book of stepping into the middle of an important conversation on immigrant and naturalization policy by many thoughtful and intelligent people. This volume does an excellent job of beginning a new debate about these important matters.

Ethics

...offers a diversity of well-argued perspectives on the contemporary American debate over citizenship.
— Peter Andreas, Harvard University

Political Science Quarterly