PLACA Presents: George Yudice

Migration and Interculturality This lecture has two parts. The first addresses the anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe and the U.S., and in particular the rejection of immigrant ethnic identities and the call for assimilation. Until recently, the integration of migrants in several European societies focused on interculturality (the mutually agreed upon interaction of various groups with the aim of beneficial coexistence for all), but the tide seems to have turned and leader after leader has renounced both multiculturalism and interculturality. The second part examines the challenges that multiculturalism and pan-ethnic identification (e.g., becoming Latinos or Asian-Americans) raises for  immigrants and their children in the US. This is particularly pointed with regard to Salvadoran immigrants who are being courted by their home country governments as crucial actors in bringing development, particularly through remittances. Hence, the government, business groups, and intergovernmental organizations promote the idea of the Salvadoran transnation, even to the point of measuring development by factoring in the economic and other indicators of Salvadorans in the US. However, will patterns of integration in the US affect this transnation gambit? What are the issues at stake for Salvadoran migrants as they confront racism in the US and an expedient welcome in El Salvador?