For Immediate Release Media contact: The Field Museum Greg Borzo 312/665-7106 gborzo@fieldmuseum.org For example, earlier immigrants tended to settle in Chicago on a permanent basis; today, many Mexican immigrants are transnationals, crossing the border frequently and living with one foot in each country. Does transnationality stretch family networks? How do hometown associations function to maintain social ties in Mexico? And how do immigrants use public rituals, festivals and gatherings to improve their quality of life? “Humans beings are successful because of our cultural diversity,” says Rebecca Severson, Manager of Urban Research Programs at The Field Museum, and Co-Investigator of this study. “Unfortunately, however, we are losing much of that diversity. This work will help identify ways Chicago’s Mexican immigrants draw on their distinctive cultural and artistic practices while they begin to live and work in the U.S.” How the study will be conducted The grant, which was awarded in January, will allow for a series of focus groups to identify broad issues and locations for the research to be conducted – anything from churches to playgrounds and community centers to cafes. Research will focus on South Chicago, a north side Chicago neighborhood, and one suburban location yet to be determined. Next, six bi-lingual, graduate-level researchers will conduct field work from March to August, interviewing immigrants photographing events and participating in activities, such as church services, political meetings, and neighborhood gatherings. They will combine CCUC’s asset mapping approach with network asset mapping exercise, an innovative technique developed by the Team Engineering Collaboratory at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne. Principal Investigator Noshir Contractor, Professor of Speech Communication Psychology and Coordinated Science LAB, developed this study’s methodology for analyzing immigrant networks. Ultimately, the team will analyze the collected data and produce a multi-media research report, incorporating the visual and audio documentation with the network graphs and asset maps. Asset maps correlate the existence and relative strengths of social institutions with corresponding patterns in the social construction of place. They are a powerful way to analyze and represent data. “In the end, we will understand better how artistic and cultural activities are embedded in the lives of Chicago’s Mexican immigrants and how they are related to earlier immigrants as well as society, at large,” Wali says. <<Back to the Press Room