Full Citation
Title: Region, Rural Space, and New Immigrant Destination Areas: A View from the Rural and Small-Town U.S. South
Citation Type: Conference Paper
Publication Year: 2006
ISBN:
ISSN:
DOI:
NSFID:
PMCID:
PMID:
Abstract: This paper examines how (1) Southern region, (2) rural/small-town space, and (3) new immigrant destination area contexts and characteristics are reported to flavor Hispanics experiences and opportunities in the rural and small-town U.S. South. Data come from ethnographic research and 129 individual semi-structured interviews conducted with Latin American immigrants, U.S.-born Hispanics, and white and black key native informants in two rural counties in eastern North Carolina between June 2003 and May 2004. First, although I find that there is some evidence for all three contextual effects, respondents do not readily agree upon how or why they matter subjectively in their lives, producing confusion or even disagreement when viewed more broadly. However, I also find that any intermediate Southern regional context on Hispanics experiences and opportunities may be diminished when viewed alongside, on one hand, a very broad national-level context of reception, or, on the other hand, very close local-level contexts of reception, including rural/small-town space and new immigrant destination area (roughly measured here by the size of the coethnic population). I conclude that current research on immigration in the New South (and the New Midwest) may be overemphasizing the importance of region and underemphasizing the importance of other factors, namely metropolitan status and new immigrant destination area. Both help to explain variation in Hispanics experiences and opportunities within the same region (here, the U.S. South) or state (here, North Carolina) and warrant more serious attention in future research.
User Submitted?: No
Authors: Marrow, Helen B.
Conference Name: The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Global American South Conference
Publisher Location: Chapel Hill, NC
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Migration and Immigration, Race and Ethnicity
Countries: