It's Complicated: America's Relationship with Immigration

Understand how our past shapes (and haunts) our present.

Although borders and immigration have been hot-button topics lately, polarized immigration policies are nothing new in America. This lecture traces changes and continuities over generations to try to make sense of how and why a nation of immigrants so frequently turns its back on...you guessed it: immigrants.

The takeaway
Immigration is far more complex than hot takes and tweets. You'll develop a long lens for understanding why the definition who qualifies as "tired, huddled masses" is a constantly moving target.

The instructor
Thomas Dolan is a Ph.D. Candidate in American Studies at George Washington University, focusing on Middle Eastern diaspora and race. A recent recipient of the Calouste Gulbenkian Global Excellence Scholarship, Thomas' research has also been supported by the Institute for Middle East Studies, Dr. Philip M. Kayal Fund for Arab American Research, Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, Bentley Historical Library Bordin-Gillette Fellowship, Loeb Institute for Religious Freedom and the Armenian General Benevolent Union. He is an alumnus of NYU, the New School's Institute for Critical Social Inquiry, and Yale University. Last semester, Thomas was a visiting researcher at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, and has recently published in Huffington Post, Muftah, and HowlRound. Prior to returning to graduate school, Thomas performed and produced work at Madison Square Garden, Lincoln Center, Town Hall, Studio 54, among others.

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Meet Elective: Elective creates opportunities for curious minds to come together and engage with ideas, with each other, and with what it means to be human. We do that by offering in-person, for-fun, arts and humanities classes and courses in NYC.

Others Details

Time: 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm