Public Address and Keynote:
"Immigration, Citizenship, and the Concept of Space"
Leti Volpp (University of California, Berkeley), with commentary by Linda Bosniak (Rutgers University)
4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 7, 2009, Room 110 of the Knight Law Center
Free and Open to the Public

Convened by Assistant Professor and Wayne Morse Center Resident Scholar Michelle McKinley, "Contested Citizenships" poses a set of important and related questions to the Wayne Morse Center's inquiry into "Democracy and Citizenship." In conventional scholarship, the union of democracy and citizenship was focused on voting and political participation, birthright status, and a protective state.

Michelle McKinley

"Contested Citizenships" calls attention to those "in-between" categories of citizenship and alienage: the second-class; the refugee; the "foreign national;" the detainee; the undocumented worker; and the asylum seeker. These administrative and ascriptive categories have been created to deal with the multiple statuses of membership in democratic societies. "Contested Citizenships" critically examines the history, policy, and politics of these categories.

The symposium will feature four papers by junior faculty members (Michelle McKinley, Rose Cuison Villazor, Mary Fan, and Diana Yoon), with focused sessions and feedback from more senior faculty. Wayne Morse Dissertation Fellows Jennifer Erickson and Veta Schlimgen also will deliver papers.