Permeable Borders: History, Theory, Policy, and Practice in the United States

by Paul Otto (Editor), Susanne Berthier-Foglar (Editor)

Overview

If the frontier, in all its boundless possibility, was a central organizing metaphor for much of U.S. history, today it is arguably the border that best encapsulates the American experience, as xenophobia, economic inequality, and resurgent nationalism continue to fuel conditions of division and limitation. This boldly interdisciplinary volume explores the ways that historical and contemporary actors in the U.S. have crossed such borders—whether national, cultural, ethnic, racial, or conceptual. Together, these essays suggest new ways to understand borders while encouraging connection and exchange, even as social and political forces continue to try to draw lines around and between people.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781789204438
Publisher:	Berghahn Books, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/09/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Paul Otto is Professor of History at George Fox University. He earned a Ph.D. at Indiana University and has been the recipient of several grants and fellowships, including support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Humanities Center. He has published several articles, and his book, The Dutch-Munsee Encounter in America: The Struggle for Sovereignty in the Hudson Valley, won the Hendricks Award for the best volume in colonial Dutch studies.

Susanne Berthier-Foglar is Professor of American Studies and Native American Studies at University Grenoble Alpes; she is the director adjunct of ILCEA4, a research group focusing on world languages and cultures. She is the author of Les Indiens pueblo du Nouveau-Mexique. De l'arrivée des conquistadors à la souveraineté des nations pueblo (Presses Universitaires de Bordeaux, 2010) and has edited or co-edited four other volumes.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
Acknowledgments

Introduction
Paul Otto and Susanne Berthier-Foglar

Part I: Historical Border Crossing: National, Ethnic, and Theoretical

Chapter 1. American Indians and U.S.–Canada Trans-Border Migration: Opportunity and Refuge
Roger L. Nichols

Chapter 2. Warped Mirrors: Shifting Representations and Asymmetrical Constructs on the Border(s) of the American Southwest
Jeffrey Swartwood

Chapter 3. “Dare to Dance Your Own Dance”: Transgressing Aesthetic Borders in Early Twentieth-Century American Theatrical Dance
Claudie Servian

Chapter 4. Border Work: The Migration of Los Angeles Japanese Americans from the Manzanar Relocation Center to Father Flanagan’s Boys Town during World War II
Heather Fryer

Chapter 5. From Geographical to Virtual Borders in New York City: From Little Italy to Chinatown
Marie-Christine Michaud

Part II: Permeability in Border and Migration Policy

Chapter 6. Realizing Government Ambitions: Policing Insiders and Outsiders
Jon Wiebel

Chapter 7. Detention for Deterrence? The Strategic Role of Private Facilities and Offshore Resources in U.S. Migration Management
Marietta Messmer

Part III: National Borders, Liminal Spaces, and Permeation

Chapter 8. Douglas, Arizona, and Agua Prieta, Sonora: Cross-border Relationships and Security Issues
Cléa Fortuné

Chapter 9. (Dis)continuities of the Border Spectacle: An Analysis of a Binational Park in San Diego, California
Marko Tocilovac

Chapter 10. A Durable Permeation: Imagination, Motion, and Differentiation at the Border between Canada and the United States
Victor Konrad

Afterword: Permeability and the Making and Unmaking of Borders
David C. Atkinson

Index

Editorial Reviews

“From borders south to north, east to west, and from concrete walls to more fluid and ephemeral ideas and expressions, these thoughtful and carefully researched chapters encompass a wide range of bordered communities that offer fascinating stories and analyses. This is a timely collection that challenges increasing national and global efforts to close off national borders and limit transnational interactions, despite the forced migrations and economic exchanges propelled by global capitalism and wars.” • Laurie Mercier, Washington State UniversityVancouver

“This insightful and well-structured volume will be a welcome resource for both scholars and students working on issues related to borders and nationalism.” • John Emory Dean, Texas A&M International University

From the Publisher