Feb. 8, 2017
The New Reality of Immigration
In recent years, immigration is a topic frequently debated in American news stations, classrooms and homes. Indeed, in the current political climate, immigration has become a hot button issue.
Catherine Dauvergne, dean of law at the University of British Columbia, will visit Central Washington University February 14 to address how immigration is changing nationally and internationally. Her free talk, entitled, “World Immigration: The New Reality,” will be from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Student Union and Recreation Center Ballroom.
A pre-talk reception is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. The presentation is part of the university’s Social Justice and Human Rights Dialogues: Migration series.
Dauvergne will focus on the identity of migrants, their experiences, and the changing paradigm for nation states. She has researched and written extensively on world migration. She recently had a major research grant examining the failure of Canada’s Charter Rights and Freedoms to protect non-citizens and is also working on an Australian Research Council grant analyzing the gendered aspects of refugee determination.
Dauvergne will explain how society’s perception of immigration as more of a “melting-pot notion” has changed in recent decades—largely due to immigration patterns and processes—to become more restrictive, particularly in North America.
Chuck Reasons, CWU professor of Law and Justice and a graduate faculty member, believes Dauvergne’s visit to campus is timely and relevant.
“Immigration is important for the world, important for this country, [and] important to understand as part of a role as citizens after they (students) leave CWU. Immigration and immigrants are crucial to our country and other countries,” Reasons said.
“Of course all of us, or most of us, apart from Indigenous peoples, know people in our lives who immigrated or migrated…the world has gotten a lot smaller in terms of social media. It’s pretty important to understand what’s going on,” he added.
Dauvergne’s latest book, “The New Politics of Immigration and the End of Settler Societies,” explores how our global understanding of immigration has seen a rise in hostility and policy paralysis. This is the third book in which she examines how human rights principles and discourses fit into migration. Books will be available for purchase and author signing following the event.
Contact: Chuck Reasons, CWU Law & Justice Department, 509-963-1779, Charles.Reasons@cwu.edu.