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Citizenship


Definition – The rights and responsibilities that a person has a result of being born or naturalized in a country.


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Recommended Books

From Immigrants to Americans: The Rise and Fall of Fitting In


Author: 
Jacob Vigdor (University of Washington Expert on Immigration)
Published: January 16, 2010
ISBN: 1442201363
ISBN13: 978-1442201361
Pages:  232

“Immigration has always caused immense public concern, especially when the perception is that immigrants are not assimilating into society [the] way they should, or perhaps the way they once did. Americans are frustrated as they try to order food, hire laborers, or simply talk to someone they see on the street and cannot communicate with them because the person is an immigrant who has not fully adopted American culture or language. But is this truly a modern phenomenon? In From Immigrants to Americans, Jacob Vigdor offers a direct comparison of the experiences of immigrants in the United States from the mid-19th century to the present day. His conclusions are both unexpected and fascinating. Vigdor shows how the varying economic situations immigrants come from has always played an important role in their assimilation.

The English language skills of contemporary immigrants are actually quite good compared to the historical average, but those who arrive without knowing English are learning at slower rates. He continues to argue that today’s immigrants face far fewer “incentives” to assimilate and offers a set of assimilation friendly policies. From Immigrants to Americans is an important book for anyone interested in immigration, either the history or the modern implications, or who want to understand why today’s immigrants seem so different from previous generations of immigrants and how much they are the same. “– Rowman & Littlefield

Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason and the Gap Between Us and Them

Author: Joshua Greene
Published:
December 30, 2004
ISBN: 9780143126058
ISBN13: 9781594202605
Pages: 432

Our brains were designed for tribal life, for getting along with a select group of others (Us) and for fighting off everyone else (Them). But modern times have forced the world’s tribes into a shared space, resulting in epic clashes of values along with unprecedented opportunities. As the world shrinks, the moral lines that divide us become more salient and more puzzling. We fight over everything from tax codes to gay marriage to global warming, and we wonder where, if at all, we can find our common ground.

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind

Author: Yuval Noah Harari
Published
: April 30, 2015
ISBN: 0099590085
ISBN13: 9780099590088
Pages: 498

“Fire gave us power. Farming made us hungry for more. Money gave us purpose. Science made us deadly. This is the thrilling account of our extraordinary history – from insignificant apes to rulers of the world. Earth is 4.5 billion years old. In just a fraction of that time, one species among countless others has conquered it: us. In this bold and provocative book, Yuval Noah Harari explores who we are, how we got here and where we’re going.”– Penguin Random House

 

Political Tribes, Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations

Author: Amy Chua
Published: February 20, 2018
ISBN: 0399562850
ISBN13: 9780399562853
Pages: 304

Humans are tribal.  We need to belong to groups.  In many parts of the world, the group identities that matter most – the ones that people will kill and die for – are ethnic, religious, sectarian, or clan-based.  But because America tends to see the world in terms of nation-states engaged in great ideological battles – Capitalism vs. Communism, Democracy vs. Authoritarianism, the “Free World” vs. the “Axis of Evil” – we are often spectacularly blind to the power of tribal politics.  Time and again this blindness has undermined American foreign policy.