This innovative reader is the first in American immigration history to combine and compare the experiences of European immigrants in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and those of Asian, Hispanic, Caribbean, and African immigrants in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Through its carefully selected readings from scholarly essays and primary source documents, this collection creates a framework for instructors to engage in comparative analysis of immigration waves across time. The editors have chosen readings with accessibilty for the undergraduate student in mind, and also provide substantial introductory material to better contextualize the selections. An invaluable tool for teaching immigration history, the volume also can be used in courses in sociology, ethnic studies, and American pluralism.

In this collection, the editors seek to address the recent rebirth of interest in immigrant letters. As these letters are increasingly seen as key, rather than incidental, documents in the interpretations of gender, age, social class, and ethnicity/nationality, the scholars gathered here demonstrate a diversity of new approaches to their interpretation.

This collection addresses the recent rebirth of interest in immigrant letters. As these letters are increasingly seen as key, rather than incidental, documents in the interpretations of gender, age, social class, and ethnicity/nationality, the scholars gathered here demonstrate a diversity of new approaches to their interpretation.

This innovative reader is the first in American immigration history to combine and compare the experiences of European immigrants in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and those of Asian, Hispanic, Caribbean, and African immigrants in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Many instructors feel that they do not possess the breadth of knowledge to bridge the chronological and cultural gaps between varying waves of immigration. Through its carefully selected readings from scholarly essays and primary source documents, this collection creates a framework for instructors to engage in comparative analysis of immigration waves across time. The editors have chosen readings with accessibilty for the undergraduate student in mind, and also provide substantial introductory material to better contextualize the selections. An invaluable tool for teaching immigration history, the volume also can be used in courses in sociology, ethnic studies, and American pluralism.