The Road to Citizenship

What Naturalization Means for Immigrants and the United States

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Government, Civics, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Emigration & Immigration
Cover of the book The Road to Citizenship by Sofya Aptekar, Rutgers University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sofya Aptekar ISBN: 9780813575445
Publisher: Rutgers University Press Publication: March 18, 2015
Imprint: Rutgers University Press Language: English
Author: Sofya Aptekar
ISBN: 9780813575445
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Publication: March 18, 2015
Imprint: Rutgers University Press
Language: English

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. 

In 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 “supercitizens,” Aptekar’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 immigrants’ 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. 

Aptekar’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, The Road to Citizenship demonstrates the ways in which naturalization itself reflects the larger operations of social cohesion and democracy in America.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

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. 

In 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 “supercitizens,” Aptekar’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 immigrants’ 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. 

Aptekar’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, The Road to Citizenship demonstrates the ways in which naturalization itself reflects the larger operations of social cohesion and democracy in America.

More books from Rutgers University Press

Cover of the book Black and White Cinema by Sofya Aptekar
Cover of the book Hoodlum Movies by Sofya Aptekar
Cover of the book Smoking Privileges by Sofya Aptekar
Cover of the book Jewish Mad Men by Sofya Aptekar
Cover of the book At Translation's Edge by Sofya Aptekar
Cover of the book Lesson Plans by Sofya Aptekar
Cover of the book A New Deal for the Humanities by Sofya Aptekar
Cover of the book Race and Cultural Practice in Popular Culture by Sofya Aptekar
Cover of the book Black Resonance by Sofya Aptekar
Cover of the book Becoming Frum by Sofya Aptekar
Cover of the book Haiti and the Uses of America by Sofya Aptekar
Cover of the book The Insecure City by Sofya Aptekar
Cover of the book War Is Not a Game by Sofya Aptekar
Cover of the book The Queer Fantasies of the American Family Sitcom by Sofya Aptekar
Cover of the book Children and Drug Safety by Sofya Aptekar
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy