Contested Boundaries:

The Past, Present, and Future of US Citizenship

 Thursday, September 30 – Friday, October 1, 2021

Thursday, September 30, 2021

Reception & Dinner 6pm-9pm: (To be held outdoors at the Courtyard Marriott Chevy Chase Hotel).

Friday, October 1, 2021

8:30am-9am:             Breakfast & Welcome Remarks by Dean Roger Fairfax

9:10am-9:30am:        Opening remarks, Mae Ngai (Columbia)

9:30-10:40am:            Session 1: Race, Sovereignty & Citizenship (Discussion of the evolving racial boundaries of US citizenship and the significance of settler colonialism to US citizenship)

      •  
  • Christopher Bonner (University of Maryland)
  • Stephen Kantrowitz (University of Wisconsin)
  • Rachel Rosenbloom (Northeastern)

10:40am-10:55am:    Break

10:55am-12:20pm      Session 2: Citizenship and Empire (Discussion of how, as the US expanded its presence globally, it also worked to regulate citizenship using shifting conceptions of jurisdiction, territory, and family status)

      •  
  • Kristin Collins (Boston University)
  • Rose Cuison-Villazor (Rutgers)
  • Lucy Salyer (University of New Hampshire)
  • Sam Erman (University of Southern California)

12:20pm-1:10pm:      Lunch

1:15pm-2:15pm         Discussion between Martha Jones (Johns Hopkins University) & Erika Lee (Minnesota) (moderated by Amanda Frost) (describing historical forces that have shaped US citizenship laws and policies and the role that history should play in current debates over citizenship & legalization).

2:20pm-3:45pm         Session 3: Creating New Citizens (Discussion of the history, politics, and policy behind legalization and naturalization policies)

      •  
  • Jayesh Rathod (American University)
  • Amanda Frost (American University)
  • Atossa Abrahamian (Journalist & Author)
  • Hiroshi Motomura (UCLA)
  • Kelton Williams (USCIS historian)

3:45-4:00pm               Break

4:00-5:30pm               Session 4:  Naturalization and Integration of New Citizens (Discussion of laws, policies and programs designed to integrate immigrants on their way to citizenship)

      •  
  • Ming Hsu Chen (University of Colorado)
  • Emily Ryo (University of Southern California)
  • George Escobar (Board Member of National Partnership for New Americans & Chief of Programs and Services at CASA of Maryland)
  • Kelly Ryan (USCIS) (Chair, Interagency Naturalization Working Group on Promoting Naturalization) (pending gov’t approval)