Faculty Focus | Mother of Exiles
A discussion of the uneven historical trajectory in how refuge and asylum have figured in America’s national self-image.
Emma Lazarus’s poem at the base of the Statue of Liberty in New York City's harbor beckons Europe’s “huddled masses yearning to be free,” a key symbol of the view of America as a welcoming nation of immigrants and refugees. However, it was not until 1980 that the U.S. had a refugee policy based on human rights standards.
This talk considers the uneven historical trajectory of how refugees and asylum have figured in America’s national self-image. It focuses on the post-World War II era of refugee settlement with its dynamics of welcome and rejection, and optimism and shame. It will involve the narratives in three texts by Henry Luce (Life magazine), Hannah Arendt (“We Refugees”), and the Yiddish novelist Kadya Molodovsky (“A Jewish Refugee in New York”).
Mae Ngai is Lung Family Professor of Asian American Studies and professor of history at Columbia. Major publications include Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America (2004) and The Chinese Question: The Gold Rushes and Global Politics (2021). She writes commentary on immigration and Asian American issues for the New York Times, The Atlantic, and other publications.
The Rendez-Vous de l’Institut Series is generously supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. You will find a full calendar of the Fellows’ Talks.
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