Daily Archives: March 12, 2012

Legality, Literacy, and Belonging among Azoreans and Brazilians in Massachusetts – a talk by Dr. Kate Vieira of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

What: Legality, Literacy, and Belonging among Azoreans and Brazilians in Massachusetts –  a talk by Dr. Kate Vieira of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
When:  Thursday, March 15 at 8:00 A.M.
Where:  UMass Dartmouth, Liberal Arts Building – Room 101

~ The event—free and open to the public ~

Dr. Kate Vieira’s talk is being presented by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Ferreira-Mendes Portuguese-American Archives

Based on ethnographic work conducted in a Massachusetts community, the talk addresses issues of ethnic identity among Portuguese-speakers, examining how concepts of literacy and legality regulate the lives of Azoreans and Brazilians.

“On one hand,” states Dr. Vieira, “Azoreans needed to be literate in order to migrate to the U.S. On the other hand, literacy was systematically withheld from Azoreans in line with local labor needs. How, then, is literacy tied up with national identity for Azoreans, especially in a U.S. context in which factory work often won out over school? “

Dr. Vieira’s talk will ask us to rethink common assumptions about the relationship between literacy, legality and immigrant integration, arguing that rather than promoting upward social mobility, literacy and legality are primarily used to regulate the lives of immigrants, including those of Massachusetts’ newest group of Portuguese-speakers, Brazilians, who are often viewed as more educated than Azoreans, but less legal.

Dr. Kate Vieira is assistant professor of English and Writing Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her work on migration and literacy has appeared in College English and Written Communication. She recently won the International John R. Hayes Award for Excellence in Writing Research.  Dr. Vieira is currently working on a monograph about literacy, legality, and belonging among Azoreans and Brazilians in a community in Massachusetts. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

For further information,contact Sonia Pacheco at  508-999-8684 or email her at spacheco@umassd.edu.