By Roger Waldinger

Although it's a key part of globalization, international migration is far less well understood today than worldwide flows of goods, services and capital. That's an odd truth, considering the immediate and tangible impact that immigrants have on the communities they enter, not to mention their importance to the countries left behind. The United States and other receiving countries are struggling to come to terms with immigration, while countries of emigration, whether in Latin America, Africa, or Asia, are looking for ways to connect with and mobilize their citizens abroad.

As a sociologist whose teaching focuses solely on migration, I am happy to report that the field is growing and embracing insights from all of the social sciences as well as other disciplines. Scholarship is booming. And I'm even more pleased, with this announcement, to be able to extend an invitation to colleagues in the interdisciplinary field of migration studies.

This summer at UCLA, from June 13 through July 15, I will direct a five-week seminar for college and university teachers on "Rethinking International Migration." With generous funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the seminar will cover basic expenses for 16 NEH summer scholars, from a broad range of disciplinary backgrounds. If you teach undergraduates at a U.S. college and have a strong interest in migration, I encourage you to check the full eligibility requirements and submit an online application. The seminar is also open to qualified independent scholars and will include two full-time graduate students.

Over five weeks in Los Angeles, we will engage in sustained discussion of texts, hear lectures, and venture into the field to make the most of the opportunities presented by studying immigration in the U.S.’s premier immigrant metropolis. For more information about the program, the themes we plan to discuss, and readings, click here.

Roger Waldinger is a professor of sociology and interim associate vice provost of international studies at UCLA.

Published: Tuesday, December 14, 2010