The beginning of the twenty-first century is a time of far-reaching global changes; these changes have tremendous implications for the meaning of citizenship. Increasing connections of all kinds across borders and between cultures demand the reevaluation of traditional understandings of the relationship of individuals to the state and to each other in the public sphere. This thesis uses the testimony of Mexican immigrants to Vancouver, Canada, (a largely unresearched group at the forefront of these global changes) to query their experiences of the meaning of citizenship. Semistructured interviews in English and Spanish were conducted with twenty-seven respondents. Three dimensions of citizenship were found to be particularly important to this group. First, these immigrants operate within the structure of neoliberal nation-building projects of both the Mexican and the Canadian states. Two examples of such biopolitical mobilization (the National Solidarity Program in Mexico, and the federal multicultural policy in Canada) are examined in detail. Second, citizenship for Mexican immigrants is transnational; it is characterized by multiple, simultaneous economic, social, and political involvements in both Mexico and Canada. However, the actual extent of such transnationalism was found to be rather more limited than much transnational literature suggests. Third, belonging to a community is a central element of citizenship; these immigrants were found not to form a single cohesive community, but rather multiple, dispersed communities split along lines of class and other identity axes. This research demonstrates the challenges and opportunities that increasingly common hybrid identities present for the meaning and function of citizenship, particularly for an ethnic minority immigrant group maintaining strong ties to their country of origin.

The United States Latino population has experienced unprecedented growth in the past several decades. Despite these growing numbers there has been relatively little research that explores how exposure to negative life events and chronic strains affects the physical health outcomes of Latinos. This thesis examines the extent to which traumatic life events and chronic strains affect the physical health outcomes of foreign-born and native-born Mexican-origin individuals (age 45 an older) residing along the U.S./Mexico border. Results from the multivariate analysis show that there is no direct association between traumatic life events and self-reported health. However, chronic strains were found to negatively impact the well-being of both foreign-born and native-born groups. Finally, the hypothesis suggesting that foreign-born respondents would fare better in terms of health (Latino/Hispanic paradox) compared to their native-born counterparts is not supported, with the results shown to be consistently in the opposite direction. Future research is needed on the interplay between different types of stressors and physical health outcomes among Mexican-origin individuals.

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2006. / Thesis research directed by: History. Includes bibliographical references (p. 242-265). Also available online.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1989. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [287]-318).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2008. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-97). Also available online in Scholars' Bank; and in ProQuest, free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Carleton University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 420-469). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-65).

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Maryland, College Park, 2006. / Thesis research directed by: History. Includes bibliographical references (p. 242-265).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconisn--Madison, 1972. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Vita. "UMI number 9905718"--T.p. verso. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 270-294). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.