Esther Lai
ASA 114
Week 5
In “Transnational Migration and the Globalization of Grassroots Politics,”
Michael PeterSmith takes on a new modern meaning to “grassroots” politics that takes
into fact transnationalism and redefines the local and global nexus that immigrants
and refugees have come to adapt in their transnational identities. By expanding
grassroots politics to be more bifocally in tune for people who travel back and forth
between nation-states, it allows for them to truly develop their own sense of worth
into the countries that they are constantly moving in and out of in political,
economical, social, and cultural means. To truly exist transnationally, migrants need to
have their own space, be it China Town or Little Saigon, to truly be able to exist in
their bifocal space. This resonates with me because having been to China Town, I
understand the importance of having a local space bubble that reflects the homeland to
feel legitimized and part of the new society, even if it means having to live in both
cultures at the same time.
Question: What are the dangers of the government not directly acknowledging the marginalization of transnational identities and how would it negatively impact these transnational communities?
Image source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinatown,_Philadelphia
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