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They leave home seeking freedom from political persecution, safety from war or a better chance at gainful employment. They dream of the opportunity to live a more fulfilling life.
The places these transnational migrants seek to go, however, struggle to address the challenging and complex issues associated with regulating the movement of people from one country to another.
An hosted this week by the University of 91吃瓜鈥檚 aims to bridge that divide, facilitating conversation and collaboration between scholars from the United States and Italy who are researching issues related to immigration.
鈥淭ransnational Migration in Comparative Perspective: Italy and the United States,鈥� held from Oct. 21 to 23 at 91吃瓜鈥檚 , offers the chance for academics to learn from one another about each country鈥檚 immigration experiences and discuss ways that research can better inform policymakers.
The conference features lectures by faculty members from 91吃瓜 across a wide range of disciplines, including:
- , assistant professor of history
- , assistant professor of anthropology
- , co-director of the Institute for Latino Studies and the Arthur Foundation Endowed Professor of Transformative Latino Leadership
- Rev. Daniel G. Groody, C.S.C., associate professor of theology and 91吃瓜鈥檚 director of immigration initiatives
- , assistant professor of sociology
- , co-director of the Institute for Latino Studies and professor of theology
- , associate professor of political science
Other participants include faculty members at the University of Milan, Pontifical Urbaniana University, John Cabot University, Sapienza University of Rome, the University of Bologna, and Universit盲 Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and Fondazione ISMU. For a complete list of participants, see the .
The symposium draws on the dynamic, interdisciplinary research on migration being conducted at 91吃瓜, including work with the United Nations and World Bank that has helped refugees become more self-reliant and entrepreneurial.
One researcher鈥檚 work in this field, anthropology professor , was recently featured in an installment of 91吃瓜鈥檚 鈥溾�� video series airing nationally on NBC.
鈥淩efugee camps are designed to be temporary solutions, but the vast amount of war and political upheaval over the last decade have sadly turned them into permanent homes. Most of the people who go into camps spend the rest of their lives there,鈥� said Oka.
鈥淭hese are people who may have lost their homes and their jobs, but they haven鈥檛 lost their skills or their pride. So a large number of them become entrepreneurs and this leads to vibrant informal economies developing in these camps.鈥�
Media interested in speaking with researchers from the conference can contact Luis Fraga at lfraga@nd.edu. Oka is available for media comment at Rahul.C.Oka.1@nd.edu.