Why study immigration?

In an extensive survey, OASIS participants expressed strong interest in the history of immigration in America. With the United States currently accepting immigrants at a faster rate than in the 1850s, immigration and the problems immigrants encounter are a visible part of our current society.

Because some OASIS participants are themselves immigrants and many more are the children of immigrants, they are interested in how immigrants create a new identity in a new country. Specifically, they want to know:

• What kinds of problems did their ancestors face when coming to America?
• How did those problems compare the problems immigrants faced as a whole?
• What problems do today’s immigrants face?
• What is the history of immigration to this country?
• How did the immigration process change in the 20th century?
• What is the history of their own ethnic heritage in comparison to the history of other ethnic groups?
• How did the different ethnic groups find their American identities?

How did the project get started?

OASIS set out to create a multi-disciplinary humanities look at American immigration. A team of American humanities scholars from around the country met in St. Louis to plan a program exploring the topic from multiple angles. They outlined five core courses on immigration history, literature, film, food and culture. Other approaches exist to this topic, but OASIS had to limit the scope to five of the best.

To bring the best possible humanities themed project to its participants, OASIS submitted a grant application to the National Endowment for the Humanities and received funding in 2006 to create the program, which debuted nationwide in 2008.

What is the purpose of the program?

The goal is to enable participants to think deeply and creatively about the different themes of the immigrant’s experience in America and to continue their learning beyond the formal classes. Every aspect of this project has been conceived to further learning rather than merely prescribe one interpretation or one set of facts.

The Immigrant Experience was made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to The OASIS Institute.