NYU Press In a New Land: A Comparative View of Immigration

2007 Choice Outstanding Academic Title! According to the 2000 census, more than 10% of U.S. residents were foreign born; together with their American-born children, this group constitutes one fifth of the nation's population. What does this mass immigration mean for America? Leading immigration studies scholar, Nancy Foner, answers this question in her study of comparative immigration. Drawing on the rich history of American immigrants and current statistical and ethnographic data, In a New Land compares today’s new immigrants with the past influxes of Europeans to the United States and across cities and regions within the United States. Foner looks at immigration across nation-states, and over different periods of time, offering a comprehensive assessment and analysis. This original approach to the study of recent U.S. immigration focuses on race and ethnicity, gender, and transnational connections. Centering her analysis on the groups that have come through and significantly shaped New York City, Foner compares today’s Latin American, Asian, and Caribbean newcomers with eastern and southern European immigrants a century ago and with immigrants in other major U.S. cities. Looking beyond the United States, Foner compares West Indian immigrants in New York with those in London. And, more generally, the book views the process of immigrants’ integration in New York against other recent immigrant destinations in Europe. Drawing on a wealth of historical and contemporary research, and written in a clear and lively style, In a New Land provides fresh insights into the dynamics of immigration today and the implications for where we are headed in the future. Review [A] highly valuable contribution to the field. Both historians and sociologists studying immigration will want to read this book.--Deirdre M. Moloney, George Mason University Excellent reading for anyone interested in ethnicity, race, and immigration patterns and policies.--Bryan Thompson "Journal of American History" Foner does social science a great service, revealing . . . how immigration functions in other contexts, past and present, and in so doing unveiling the peculiarities of the United States as an immigrant-receiving society.--Douglas Massey "Contexts" Immensely readable and interesting. . . . Scholars and students of immigration will surely find this book to be interesting, instructive, and indispensable.--Maritsa Poros "International Migration Review" In a New Land is a luminous synthesis that, through astute comparisons, sheds a bright light on key questions about immigration. Foner has much to tell us about continuities and change over the course of a century, the contextual contingencies of race, and the uniqueness and universality of New York City. The book is utterly refreshing.--Richard Alba, author of Remaking the American Mainstream: Assimilation and Contemporary Immigration In a New Land is the exceptionally well-written and thoughtful work of one innovative comparativist.--Donna Gabaccia "Journal of American Ethnic History" In A New Land: A Comparative View of Immigration uses historical and modern research to provide new insights into today's immigrants and how they are affecting societies around the world.-- "The Midwest Book Review" It should be a first stop for anyone interested in issues of immigration and integration.-- "World Politics 60" Nancy Foner's book brings an innovative contribution to the domain of academic comparative ethnography . . . Her work reveals contemporary aspects of the subtle social forces at work in shaping immigration nowadays.--Mihai Mindra "Finish Journal of Ethnicity and Migration" The author of a classic comparison of New York's current immigration and that of a century ago, From Ellis Island to JFK, Nancy Foner has now extended her use of comparative analysis both topically and geographically. Besides looking further and deeper into New York's immigrants 'then and now, ' she makes i