Posted on April 2, 2007
What does it mean to be an American?
JMU tried to answer this question with a two-day conference last week entitled: “Immigration, Assimilation, and Cultural Identity.” The conference, in its fifth year, was created and directed by Dr. Giuliana Fazzion, the department head of the foreign languages and literatures department.
“We started five years ago, and we choose a different topic every year,” said Fazzion. “The first year we focused on exile, and last year we focused on human rights.”
Fazzion said she chose the topic because it’s a problem Italy is currently facing, as people from Africa and Eastern European countries immigrate in. She wanted to show that immigration is occurring across the globe, not just in the United States.
In its fifth year, the conference held sessions which spanned two days, covering 14 different topics on immigration, assimilation and cultural identity. The conference brought in a wide variety of people from the JMU and Harrisonburg communities.
Many students chose to participate in panels while other professionals decided to present. Joan Walker, adjunct professor for the department of sociology and anthropology, recounted her experiences with Italian women who immigrated to the United States and assimilated into American culture, at the same time managing to retain their cultural identities.
“Looking at their stories it shows that you can live in the United States and not give up your cultural identity,” Walker said. “Their children who have grown up in America are still very proud of their Italian heritage; oftentimes when immigrants assimilate, their children do not, for example, retain their language, but they still have pride in their culture.”
Professor Donald Corbin also thinks it’s important to listen to the stories of other cultures.
He said, “I think conferences like these are worthwhile because you hear about immigration and assimilation from different aspects.”
