The first main take away that I got from this week's reading, "The Age of Migration", was how pervasive the impacts of globalization are in so many different areas of the world and in so many different disciplines. As someone who is studying economics and global health, my knowledge of the impacts of globalization has been fairly focused on impacts to different economies, economic policy, trade of goods, medical advancements, and economic and health-related disparities. After reading this selection from The Age of Migration, I was able to see how globalization has impacted social groups and social policy, as well as how individuals live their daily lives, especially in communities that have been so impacted or, in fact, formed by this up-tick in migration.
Second, I was really struck by the connection between migration patterns and the growing economic divide between the global North and South. People in countries with declining economies and social conditions that have the means to leave usually do, and those who cannot are already poor and are left in a poor country. It makes a ton of sense, but it is still unsettling I would like to discuss it in class.
Finally, I was able to connect between the reading and my own life that almost everyone's life has been impacted by migration in some way. For example, the vast majority of Americans have ancestors (distant or recent) who came to this country from somewhere else. Even someone whose family has lived in their current state for hundreds of years has surely had their life impacted by immigrants, whether it is negative (such as increased competition in the job market) or positive (such as bringing innovation or art to their home country).
The question I would really like to address is this: why is that some people who have ancestors who were migrants, such as some white Americans, are so against immigrants today? In addition, how does this connect to the discourse of national identity?
(Note: This entry was meant to be published on April 3rd, but was accidentally saved in drafts instead. Sorry!)
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