Latinas Crossing Borders and Building Communities in Greater Washington: Applying Anthropology in Multicultural Neighborhoods

(Hardback)

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Description

After crossing several borders, Latina/o immigrants and their children meet challenges of globalization as they acclimate to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Facing different social and cultural barriers while adapting to this metropolis, most of them meet these challenges by building transnational bridges that connect societies and cultures. These circumstances have offered opportunities for anthropologists and other scholars to work together with community residents in activities that have contributed to cultural knowledge and action. Latinas Crossing Borders and Building Communities in Greater Washington: Applying Anthropology in Multicultural Neighborhoods addresses how Latina/o immigrants use a variety of strategies to meet adaptation challenges. Drawing on ethnographic research and practices, contributors highlight how Latinas and Latinos are building community while reshaping ethnic, gender, and generational identities. They focus on models of collaboration and interaction in community centers, healthcare, the labor market, education, and faith-based communities.

Reviews

Latinas Crossing Borders and Building Communities in Greater Washington is a book of dedicated best practices that immigrants have used to better their, and surrounding, communities in Washington, D.C. The authors, applied anthropologists and practitioners, give vivid portrayals of the clinics, schools, and activities that have integrated Central Americans and worked to make Washington a better place. The book gives visibility to Latina/o contributions to the city over the past fifty years, and shows that conscious and well-planned community building can help immigrants and their neighbors as well. It is important to policy makers and scholars of immigration because of its emphasis on the agency of Latinas who have an ideology of improving the communities where they live. Also, it is a reference point for others in cities in the U.S. and elsewhere that face the challenge of meeting the needs of immigrants and at the same time improving the quality of life for everyone. -- Allan Burns, University of Florida
Written for a broad audience, this case study of Latina and later immigrants to Washington, D.C. should be required reading for academicians studying recent historical and contemporary issues in immigration studies, as well as lay persons interested in the impact of immigrants on the social, cultural, political, and economic changes currently taking place in the United States. The chapters cover a variety of interdisciplinary, multiethnic, transnational, and economic perspectives and, in doing so, bridge gaps in our understanding of the challenges and successes in the everyday lives of immigrants in America. -- Susan Trencher, George Mason University
Latino immigration to the United States too often is discussed in the disembodied language of politics and public policy. For more than half a century, Lucy M. Cohen has led the way in humanizing our understanding of the challenges faced by Latina/o immigrants in our nations capital, the strategies they have employed to cope and thrive, and the adequacy of Washington institutions in addressing their needs. This volume edited by Ral Snchez Molina and Lucy M. Cohen deepens our understanding of the adaptation of Latina/o immigrants in greater Washington, D.C. in the face of the economic and legal challenges and cultural differences that have confronted them. -- Timothy Ready, Western Michigan University

Author Bio

Ral Snchez Molina is professor of anthropology at Universidad Nacional de Educacin a Distancia (UNED). Lucy M. Cohen is professor of anthropology at The Catholic University of America.