Several Notre Dame students conducted substantial independent research in the Latino community in South Bend during the 2009–2010 academic year. Their research was inspired by coursework in Professor Karen Richman's class "Mexican Immigration: A South Bend Case Study." They went on to complete two senior theses and a published journal article. Meet each of the three students and learn about their projects below.
Erin Jelm
Erin Jelm graduated in May with a major in anthropology and marketing. One of Erin's most memorable college experiences was the semester she spent in Chile during her junior year, and this summer she is returning to Chile to visit her friends and adopted family. A position in marketing at Target in Minneapolis, St. Paul awaits Erin when she returns from South America. In her new line of work Erin expects to use what she gleaned through both her anthropological and marketing training.
Erin's senior thesis in anthropology grew out of the community-based research she did for the class "Mexican Immigration: A South Bend Case Study." She co-authored a brief in the Student Research Series (Volume 3, Number 2) with Katherine Feeley entitled "The Mexican Transnational Family Experience in South Bend." The discoveries Erin and her partner made for the class project inspired her to continue doing independent research for a senior thesis entitled "Fictive Kinship and Acquaintance Networks as Sources of Support and Social Capital for Mexican Transmigrants in South Bend." The thesis is condensed in Student Research Series Volume 3, Number 7. Erin plans to revise the thesis to submit for publication, with co-author Professor Karen Richman, in an academic journal.
Abstract
Grounded in extensive literature review and primary ethnographic research in the Mexican immigrant community, this project explores the role of social networks as essential sources of support and generators of social capital for Latino immigrants as they adjust to life in the United States. Whereas in US "American" culture kinship is defined as biogenetic, Latino culture is characteristically more flexible with its interpretation. "Family" includes extended relatives and even close friends who are incorporated into the tightly-knit kin network via fictive kinship relationships. Immigrants cultivate these interpersonal ties, both strong (dense) and weak (diffuse), in an effort to cope with uncertainty and resource scarcity (Granovetter 1973; Wilson 1998; Foner 1999). This study analyzes how the creation of such network bonds and the development of trust-based systems of generalized reciprocity provide immigrants access to key information, resources, and emotional support as they establish themselves in their new community. The cultural traditions of compadrazgo (co-parenthood) and the lavish Mexican fiesta culture are prime exemplifiers of the dynamic systems of fictive kinship based on generalized reciprocity and mutual obligation. Ultimately, immigrants depend on the size and intensity of their social networks as they develop a sense of belonging in their new environment, thereby facilitating long-term settlement. This research contributes to a nuanced understanding of these key relationships as they function to unite the community and to replicate nostalgic traditions for Mexican immigrants in their new society.
Mari José Sanchez
Mari José Sanchez graduated in May as an honors student in sociology and a Latino studies supplementary major. For her post-graduate year Mari José will be working in Mexico City for a foundation that helps underserved youth. She intends later to go to either graduate or law school in order to be in a position to effect positive change. During her senior year Mari José completed a senior honors thesis entitled "Latino Political Participation in Diverse Coalitions: A Case Study of a Midwestern Community Organization." The thesis project grew out of her volunteer service and community-based research in South Bend for the course "Mexican Immigration: A South Bend Case Study." Her senior project documented and analyzed the birth and development of a pro-immigrant and ethnically diverse community organization that was created in response to the rise of anti-immigrant policies and legislation. Mari José also produced a research brief in the Student Research Series (Volume 2, Number 5).
Abstract
The sleeping giant image, a metaphor based on the character from Gulliver's Travels and used to represent an unrealized source of great power or an untapped potential force, has often been employed to describe Latino immigrants in the United States. In the aftermath of the 2006 marches, in which thousands of Latinos and other people mobilized to demonstrate their disapproval in response to the HR 4437 bill, one might ask oneself whether or not the sleeping giant has finally woken up. In order to answer this question, I apply the sociological theories of social movements and framing to a case study of the organization TAP in South Bend, Indiana, where Latinos constitute about 11 percent of the total population. I analyze the inception and challenges to continuity of this novel grass-roots organization which was born from the 2006 marches and which currently strives to unite citizens and Latino non-citizens alike to resolve problems within the local community.
Caroline Hawes
Caroline Hawes graduated with majors in anthropology and arts and letters pre-professional studies. Her interest in culture and medicine and her commitment to service have inspired many pursuits, including a summer internship in a Bronx, New York clinic, on which she based her senior thesis, and her post-graduate service internship working with underprivileged Latino youth. Next, she will be applying to medical school as she works toward her goal of being a doctor serving poor communities.
Caroline's project for "Mexican Immigration: A South Bend Case Study" was based on her service and research in the local juvenile detention center. Caroline's experience there motivated a quest to understand the social and cultural reasons for the harsh reality of destructive youth behavior she was witnessing. Her paper for the course is entitled "Oppositional Youth Sub-Culture and the Second Generation of Mexican Transmigrants: Applications to the South Bend Region." Her paper received the honor of being accepted for publication in the Journal of Undergraduate Research, one of six student papers selected from across campus for professional dissemination. Caroline also produced a research brief in the Student Research Series (Volume 3, Number 6).