Inventing Illegality in the US

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course offers a chance to do original research on the fascinating time period in immigration history from 1880 to 1929. It was during these years that the legal restrictions that ended mass immigration to the United States until the 1950s were put into place. Using both primary and secondary sources, the course will trace the rise of immigration and restrictions placed on it, changing notions of citizenship, and the differentiation by race—or scientific racism—among immigrants of Asian, Mexican, and eastern and southern European background. Topics explored will include the relationship between race and citizenship status; the history of the idea of the “illegal alien”; and the gendered aspects of the immigration experience. Each student will have the opportunity to do original research using both published and archival primary sources. A field trip to the National Archives is part of the course. The first half of the course will focus on common readings to establish themes and background; the second half will be built around developing individual research interests.