Political Geography: America / Journal: Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies

Author:: Cawo Abdi
Publication Date:: 01-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:: Macalester College
Abstract:: Migration anchors the essence of what it means to be an American. The “imagined community” is made up of individuals, their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents, who crossed oceans to seek better pastures for their families. In other words, America is synonymous with migration. At its core, it remains characterized by the different waves of immigrants from across the world who, over the last five centuries, sought their fortunes and fates in this beautiful land. However, being an American is also a contested notion, one that over its long history too often failed to measure up to its ideals. The slavery of Africans as well as the brutal treatment and extermination of many Native Americans also anchor the idea of belonging to this nation. From the founding of the nation at the end of the 18th century, cracks and contradictions in its ideals continue to manifest themselves through institutionalized discrimination and the exclusion of certain groups within its diverse population.
Political Geography:: Africa and America

Author:: Owen Truesdell
Publication Date:: 01-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:: Macalester College
Abstract:: This moment in American history represents a confluence of major national and international events almost unparalleled in modern history. The United States faces two major wars, a massive and seemingly intractable recession that has robbed many of its citizens of their livelihoods and savings, and a sclerotic system of American government that seems to have lost its ability to take on and overcome big challenges for the good of the American people. Internationally, the “Arab Spring” in the Middle East has led to the toppling of feckless dictators and a move toward democracy in Egypt. However, it has also led to the deaths of thousands of civilians, further political repression in certain parts of the region, and a civil war in Libya, which also features military action by NATO and the United States and its Arab and Western allies. This chaotic and troubling time presents numerous challenges for the United States and the world.
Topic:: NATO
Political Geography:: United States, America, Middle East, Libya, Arabia, Egypt, and Somalia

Author:: Farhan Hussein
Publication Date:: 01-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:: Macalester College
Abstract:: Most of the Somali community in the United Stated came here after civil war broke out in Somalia in 1991. During the war, hundreds of thousands of people fled to neighboring countries where many received resettlement aid from yet other countries, including the United States. The largest Somali community in the United States lives in Minnesota, mainly in the Minneapolis area.
Topic:: War
Political Geography:: United States, America, and Somalia

Author:: Ihotu Ali
Publication Date:: 06-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:: Macalester College
Abstract:: As a nation of immigrants, the United States has also been a nation of nativists...We have welcomed immigrants in periods of expansion and optimism, reviled them in periods of stagnation and cynicism...In short, American nativism has had less to do with 'them' than us...Fear and loathing of foreigners reach such levels when the nation's problems become so intractable that some people seek scapegoats. Typically, these periods feature a political or economic crisis, combined with a loss of faith in American institutions and a sense that the national community is gravely fractured. Nativists' targets have reflected America's basic divisions: class, race, religion, and, to a lesser extent, language and culture.
Political Geography:: United States, America, and Somalia

Author:: Ahmed I. Samatar and Lidwien Kapteijns
Publication Date:: 07-2004
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:: Macalester College
Abstract:: This issue of Bildhaan is dedicated to some of the commissioned proceedingsof an international conference, “Somalis in America: TheChallenges of Adaptation,” which was held at Macalester College, July15–17, 2004.
Political Geography:: America and Somalia

Author:: Helga Leitner
Publication Date:: 07-2004
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:: Macalester College
Abstract:: United States immigration policy is based on the assumption that every legal immigrant to this country is on the road to becoming a U.S. citizen. In order to become a citizen, immigrants are explicitly or tacitly expected to assimilate into the U.S. sociocultural and economic system, to shed their attachment and allegiance to their home country, and to devote their loyalty to just one country, the United States. The first line of the citizenship oath makes this clear: “I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign…state…of…which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen.” Viewing loyalty in such zero-sum terms has blinded American policymakers to migrants' transnational practices, ties, and multiple allegiances.
Political Geography:: United States and America

Publication Date:: 07-2004
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:: Macalester College
Abstract:: Among the enormous costs of the civil strife and the demise of Somali national institutions is the exodus of hundreds of thousands of people who have sought refuge in almost every continent. A large portion of those in flight have found succor in North America, particularly the United States, with the state of Minnesota as an epicenter. As was the case with others who fled their native lands, the degree of success of all arrivals to settle in the new environment depends on two interconnected processes: the construction of adaptive individual/ collective identities fit for the new time, and the willingness of the receiving communities to embrace cultural diversity, within a national framework, in the perennial remaking of America.
Political Geography:: America, North America, and Somalia

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