City and island : Dominicans in Lawrence : transnational community formation in a globalizing world

Abstract

As an exploration of the Dominican immigrant community in Lawrence, Massachusetts, this thesis seeks to understand how the continuing motives for migration, as well as the barriers and opportunities facing Dominicans in Lawrence, depend on a complex intersection of political, economic, cultural, and social forces linking the Dominican Republic and the City. Historic economic and political ties create strong objective and cultural-ideological links between the Island and the United States and give rise to a set of transnational practices through which immigrants maintain ties to their homeland. The history of the City also intersects with a restructuring of the regional and global economy to shape the nature of immigrant incorporation into local labor markets and political and social structures. Dominicans in Lawrence negotiate through these structures by engaging in a broad variety of both transnational and creole practices-involving ties to the Island and cultural adaptations in the City-that in many ways represent a continuity with previous immigrant strategies. Political and economic advancement for Dominicans in the City is complicated by the interaction between objective difficulties, such as the language barrier and persistent racism, and more subjective frameworks such as the American Dream and the dream of returning to the Island. Community development efforts aimed at overcoming these complications should build on the family and social networks of the community and make use of the creative transnational ties that Dominicans in the City have forged.