Becoming Citizens in an Era of Globalization and Transnational Migration: Re-imagining Citizenship as Critical Practice

Abstract

This article examines how the perspectives and experiences of Arab American

“Why Do I Have to Pledge the U.S. Flag? It's Not My Country!”: Latina Youths Rearticulating Citizenship and National Belonging

“…Although transnational migration holds important implications for the meanings and practices of citizenship education, scholars explain that current models of citizenship education in U.S. public schools do not meet the needs of youth who live in globally interconnected societies (Abowitz & Harnish, 2006;Banks, 2008;El-Haj, 2009;Fr anquiz & Brochin-Ceballos, 2006). Citizenship education typically stresses allegiance to the nation, political participation in the form of voting, civic responsibilities to one's local and national community, a patriotic identity and values, and civic literacy (Abowitz & Harnish, 2006;Banks, 2008;El-Haj, 2009;Salinas, 2006).…”

“You Lie—That's Not True”: Immigration and Preservice Teacher Education

“…Today's immigrants negotiate opposing cultural norms and belief structuresa juxtaposition at odds with traditionalist views of citizenship and canonical notions of citizenship as a birthright (P. Sánchez & Machado-Casas, 2009). Proponents of cultural democracy accuse assimilationists of undermining the immigrant experience, both past and present, while delegitimizing the democratic power of new Americans and their families (El-Haj, 2009). Conversely, assimilationists contend that only by renouncing the home culture will immigrants retain and respect their responsibilities as citizens of the nation-state (Banks, 2008;Schlesinger, 1998).…”

“…Nevertheless, transnational identities and other contemporary immigrant experiences are ignored or disparaged in citizenship curriculum (El-Haj, 2009;Salinas, 2006;Wilson, 1986). In Charlotte, North Carolina, 100 PAUL G. FITCHETT AND SPENCER SALAS or Atlanta, Georgia, more than half of unauthorized immigrant parents are the heads of mixed-status households (Passel, 2009).…”

Latina Youth, Education, and Citizenship: A Feminist Transnational Analysis

“…Collectively, this research cultivates a more complex understanding of adolescent Latinas/os' transnational lives and highlights the identities forged in the in-between spaces as strengths and not deficits. As educational scholarship has slowly begun to focus on youth immersed in transnational contexts, the same can be said of studies on citizenship as they relate to youth in U.S. public schools: Researchers are now beginning to use a transnational lens when they encounter adolescents whose citizenship identities span national borders (Abu El-Haj, 2009;Bondy, 2014Bondy, , 2015DeJaeghere & McCreary, 2010;Maira, 2009). Educators, therefore, might come to a more complex way of knowing Latina/o youths' citizenship identities if they were understood through a transnational lens.…”

“…However, global migration, transnationalism, and increasing linguistic and racial diversity in the United States create complicated and potentially divisive questions for schools over the meaning and practices of citizenship education, particularly in ways that reflect the diversity of young people's experiences with citizenship and belonging (Abu El-Haj, 2009;Banks, 2008).…”