(Re)bordering the civic imaginary: Rhetoric, Hybridity, and Citizenship in La Gran Marcha

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Though the drive to limit US citizenship often takes shape through the symbolic and material exclusion of "aliens," immigrants also engage in rhetorical struggles over the limits of the US civic imaginary. This essay examines one such challenge to the bordering logics of US citizenship*La Gran Marcha, one of the largest immigration protests of 2006. Rather than see the protest as wholly "alien," as it was conceived of by anti-immigrant forces, or as purely "American," as an attempt for mere recognition, La Gran Marcha can best be understood as performing a hybrid US citizenship. This hybrid rhetoric problematizes contemporary understandings of citizenship and elucidates immigrants' agency within US democracy.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)26-49
Number of pages24
JournalQuarterly Journal of Speech
Volume97
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Citizenship
  • Hybridity
  • Immigration
  • La gran marcha
  • Social protest

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Communication
  • Language and Linguistics
  • Education

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