American by Paper: How Documents Matter in Immigrant Literacy

(Hardback)

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"American by Paper" reveals how two groups of immigrants who share a primary language nevertheless have very different experiences of literacy in the United States. It describes the social realities facing documented and undocumented immigrants who use everyday acts of writing to negotiate papers the visas, green cards, and passports that promise a

Reviews

"I leave Vieiras book feeling deeply that ours is a crazy system: Why keep piling documents on top of documents, making of them a wall to the world Why should migrantspeoplehave to choose between the time-consuming work of pursuing English or caring for their families Why make migrant lives any harder than they already are American by Paper urges us to rethink all that we ask of those who seek a better life."Catherine Prendergast, University of Illinois at UrbanaChampaign

"Relentless in its critique of literacy as a social practice and in its effort to develop a counter-narrative, American by Paper forces open a conversation that has been lingering but has not received the kind of attention it deserves."Juan Guerra, University of Washington

"A riveting account of those pursuing the American Dream."CHOICE

"Vieira aims to contribute to the social history of literacy with American By Paper, informing pedagogy and practice through a comprehensive consideration of literacy, documents, and bureaucracy in ordinary life." PoLAR

Author Bio

Kate Vieira is assistant professor of English at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.