The symposium provides a critical race perspective on U.S. welfare regimes to examine underlying racialization processes. It shifts the traditional/historic debate from how immigrants are incorporated into the host society to questions of how immigrants and their communities are racialized and thus incorporated into a racialized society that determines access and eligibility to welfare.
28 June, 2023, 10 am - 5:30 pm | Universität Passau
In light of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing stream of refugees to Germany or the U.S. for more than a year now, the question of how to successfully integrate refugees and migrants became once more viable. New migratory patterns, routes, and regimes have altered assumptions about migrants and their reception in respective host countries, yet increased the debate on who is deemed worthy of being admitted and thus eligible to obtain welfare rights, citizenship, or access to social benefits. Our symposium, therefore, provides a critical race perspective on U.S. welfare regimes to examine underlying racialization processes. It shifts the traditional/historic debate from how immigrants are incorporated into the host society to questions of how immigrants and their communities are racialized and thus incorporated into a racialized society that determines access and eligibility to welfare benefits. This new angle allows for a timely and more nuanced debate and a thorough understanding of how immigrants’ incorporation functions especially against the backdrop of increasing right-wing populism, an unregulated neoliberal economic system, and a diminishing welfare state. Claudia Sadowski-Smith addresses in her opening lecture the entangled relationship between race and the welfare state and the resulting inequities in migration. Immigrant incorporation, however, takes place at the state and local levels. Hence, local histories, the dominant sociopolitical climate, or the current racial demographic composition of the population impact redistribution and allocation of resources and accordingly spur or hinder immigrants’ incorporation into racialized localities. In two parallel lectures, namely Texas as a conservative and Minnesota as a seemingly progressive state, Andrew Torget and David Hugill respectively examine two contrasting localities. We are looking forward to a stimulating discussion and welcome you to an exciting symposium!
