Of Borders and Belonging: Toward a Politics of Citizenship at the Crossroads of America

Dr. Vega's recent research illustrates how Mexican residents claimed an ethnic sense of belonging during contemporary immigrant antagonism in local and national contexts. This project illustrates the on-the-ground consequences of heightened politicized rhetoric through an analysis of interview accounts, historical narratives, media discourses, and religious ritual performances from 2004 to 2007. Through a notion of ethnic belonging, the ethnography examines personal daily investments in the making and marking of legitimate membership in a predominately White community in Central Indiana. The voices depicted in the ethnography explore immigration and belonging from Mexican, Mexican American, White, and Black perspectives.

This work will support Dr. Vega as she revises her dissertation research into an ethnographic book project: Of Borders and Belonging: Toward A Politics of Citizenship at the Crossroads of America.