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This book explores how undocumented migrants in the United States have represented themselves in narrative form, entering the struggle for political self-representation by telling their own stories. This interdisciplinary exploration of migrant narratives will interest researchers across American Literary Studies, Citizenship, and Migration Studies.
List of contents
Introduction: Documenting the Undocumented Part 1: From Aliens to DREAMers 1. The Making of the "Illegal Alien" 2. A Pathway to Citizenship for "Illegal Aliens" Part 2: Life Narratives by Undocumented Migrants 3. The Beginnings of the Undocumented Movement: The First Congressional Testimonies 4. The Undocumented Movement Comes of Age: Underground Undergrads: UCLA Undocumented Immigrant Students Speak Out 5. Unapologetic, Unafraid, Undocuqueer: Jose Antonio Vargas’ "Outlaw" Part 3: Life Writing by Undocumented Migrants 6. From DREAM Act to DACA, from Life Narrative to Life Writing: Dan-el Padilla Peralta’s Undocumented 7. Challenging How to Narrate Undocumentedness: José Ángel N.’s Illegal Concluding Remarks:
Undocumented in Trump’s America
About the author
Ina Batzke is Lecturer at the Chair of American Studies at Münster University, Germany, and Visiting Scholar at the Department of History at UC Santa Barbara, California, USA
Summary
This book explores how undocumented migrants in the United States have represented themselves in narrative form, entering the struggle for political self-representation by telling their own stories. This interdisciplinary exploration of migrant narratives will interest researchers across American Literary Studies, Citizenship, and Migration Studies.
Additional text
"Drawing from life narratives, including court testimonials, collaborative story collections, newspaper essays and memoirs, Ina Batzke applies fascinating insights from the burgeoning realm of narrative studies and law, and thereby contributes crucial insights, and support, to previously protected classes of undocumented persons who, after years of uncertain status, are currently under threat of deportation." — Robert F Barsky, Professor of Literature and of Law, Vanderbilt University, USA
"Ina Batzke has written an original and creative study of an exciting new genre—undocumented migrant literature. Exploring a variety of published autobiographies, oral histories, and online testimonies, Batzke has given us first hand narratives of young Dreamers. She has produced the first scholarly analysis of this new genre. A great contribution and much needed!" — Mario Garcia, University of California, USA
