Book Talk and Discussion: Immigration and the American Ethos
Co-sponsored by Social Science Matrix and the Jack Citrin Center for Public Opinion Research
Matrix is located on the 8th floor of Barrows Hall, on the UC Berkeley campus, near Telegraph and Bancroft Avenues, just up the hill from Sather Gate. There are entrances at both ends of the building, but only one of the elevators on the eastern side goes directly to the 8th floor. You can alternatively take the elevator to the 7th floor and walk up the stairs.
Join us for a discussion about the book, Immigration and the American Ethos.
REGISTER HERE
Authors:
Morris Levy, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Southern California
Matthew Wright, Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of British Columbia
Discussant
Nicholas Valentino, Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan
Chair
Irene Bloemraad, Professor of Political Science and Director of Canadian Studies, University of California, Berkeley
About the Book
What do Americans want from immigration policy and why? In the rise of a polarized and acrimonious immigration debate, leading accounts see racial anxieties and disputes over the meaning of American nationhood coming to a head. The resurgence of parochial identities has breathed new life into old worries about the vulnerability of the American Creed. This book tells a different story, one in which creedal values remain hard at work in shaping ordinary Americans' judgements about immigration. Levy and Wright show that perceptions of civic fairness - based on multiple, often competing values deeply rooted in the country's political culture - are the dominant guideposts by which most Americans navigate immigration controversies most of the time and explain why so many Americans simultaneously hold a mix of pro-immigrant and anti-immigrant positions. The authors test the relevance and force of the theory over time and across issue domains.
