Roosevelt’s annual —which invites academics, activists and artists to exchange ideas and reconsider “The American Dream” through different perspectives—will be hosted on the RU campus from October 21-24. The theme for this year’s conference will be “Immigration and the American Dream,” with discussions focused on the challenges and opportunities faced by those seeking a better life in the United States both in the past and present.
According to Programming Chair and Roosevelt political science professor Andy Trees: “Opposition has repeatedly arisen to argue against certain immigrant groups as ‘un-American,’ (such as the Irish of the nineteenth century, Southern Europeans of the early twentieth century, or Latin and South Americans today). This year’s conference will explore the challenges and opportunities around the complex relationship between the American Dream and immigration.”
This year’s panels will be “Navigating Immigration Issues in Chicago and Beyond in Today’s America” (which will focus on the municipal responses to Chicago’s influx of Latin American migrants and the broader impacts of immigration on American society) and “Immigration Past, Present, and Future” (which will explore America’s previous discrimination against immigrant groups and parallels with modern policy).
Other conference events will include an exhibition from acclaimed photographer Vanessa Charlot in the Gage gallery, a livestreamed CCPA performance and a discussion with author Leena El-Ali, who parses the intersections of immigration, Islam and gender.
The conference is free and open to the public.
