Nolan’s Class on Deportation Featured in BU Today
“History of Deportation to Latin America, Border Security, and the Wall,” a course taught by Rachel Nolan, Assistant Professor of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, was featured in a BU Today article exploring the content of the class.
The article, titled “BU Class Explores the Deportation of 56 Million Latin Americans from the United States over the Last Century,” details the discussion of a specific class – “Why Latin Americans?” – and how Nolan aimed to have students think twice about the United States’ immigrant-welcoming narrative. Nolan led her students through the history of U.S. deportation policy and why Latin American’s in particular have been targeted.
Throughout her course, Nolan and her students have discussed “the continuities and long-standing patterns of labor exploitation and racist animus driving the deportations well before Trump came along.”
An excerpt:
‘I want them to question the notion of the United States as a ‘nation of immigrants,’ in JFK’s phrase, after we have deported over 56 million people since the beginning of the 20th century, mostly Latin Americans,’ Nolan said when interviewed. ‘I also want them to learn about the impact of deportations in the lives of deportees and for the countries of origin of deportees.’
The full article can be read on BU Today’s website.
Rachel Nolan is a historian of modern Latin America. Her research focuses on political violence, Central American civil wars, childhood and the family, historical memory, and U.S.-Latin American relations. She is currently completing a book manuscript on the history of international adoption from Guatemala. Read more about Professor Nolan on her faculty profile.