MHS News

MHS Announces Publication of What's New About the "New" Immigration? Traditions and Transformations in the United States since 1965

BOSTON, January 2014—As debates over immigration reform echo from local communities to the halls of Congress, the Massachusetts Historical Society is pleased to announce the publication of What's New about the "New" Immigration? Traditions and Transformations in the United States since 1965, co-edited by professors Marilyn Halter of Boston University, Marilynn S. Johnson of Boston College, and Director of Research Conrad Edick Wright and Research Coordinator Katheryn P. Viens of the MHS. The book is available from the publisher Palgrave MacMillan.

Through the ten essays in this collection, readers will discover a wide range of experiences that will inform their understanding of immigration today. Newcomers share the stuff of daily life as they cope with teenagers, worship together, and maintain long-distance family ties using new social media. In other instances, their experiences have been marked by the passage of the 1965 Hart-Celler Act, which ushered in the current immigration system. In this new context, the men and women in these pages eke out a living below minimum wage, or practice a profession and contribute to political campaigns. They seek asylum through the federal bureaucracy and navigate the meaning of citizenship. They are Bosnian, Chinese, Mexican, Asian Indian, and Nigerian. They reside in Boston suburbs, the Nuevo South in Georgia, affluent Dallas suburbs, and the heart of Los Angeles. But they are representative of newcomers to communities throughout the United States.

What's New about the "New" Immigration? presents the work of recognized immigration scholars. It is the latest in a series of essay collections based on conferences held at the Society. Founded in 1791, the MHS is an independent research institution that promotes the study of the history of Massachusetts and the nation. It strives to enhance the understanding of our nation’s past and its connection to the present, demonstrating that history is integral to our daily lives. The MHS collections, which include more than 12 million manuscripts and several hundred thousand books, are particularly well-known for extensive holdings of personal papers from three presidents: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. Moreover, the MHS offers many other ways for the public to engage with history, including its publications, exhibitions, and an extensive range of programs including public lectures, tours, academic seminars and conferences, brown-bag lunch talks, and teacher workshops.

What’s New about the "New" Immigration? Traditions and Transformations in the United States since 1965. Marilyn Halter, Marilynn S. Johnson, Katheryn P. Viens, and Conrad Edick Wright, eds. (Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 2014. x, 306 pp. Maps, tables, index. $90.00.) ISBN 978-1-137-48386-7