On April 19, 2018, the Center for Global Migration Studies will host Census 2020, an interdisciplinary conference exploring the role of racial categorization in the upcoming census. These categories will determine which Americans will be counted. While the term “census” evokes images of government “bean counters” and data specialists, this conference draws attention to the critical ways in which the Census can be viewed as a critical and on-going racial formation project. The Census has long determined how the state apportions political power as well as the distribution of good and resources across the population, from language-assistance to health services to school construction. In the past, the Census has undercounted communities of color, low-income persons, and rural persons. Conference participants will discuss how racial categories are created, how they reflect the politics of contemporary and historical America, and how they shape the experiences of citizenship, identity formation, and belonging.
The conference will feature two panels and a keynote address. Melissa Noble, Kenan Sahin Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will offer a keynote address that puts the racial categories in the U.S. census in historical and international perspective.
This event is co-sponsored by the College of Arts and Humanities; Asian American Studies; Department of Anthropology; Department of Government and Political Science; Maryland Population Research Center; Department of African American Studies; U.S. Latina/o Studies; Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity; Latin American Studies Center; Department of Sociology; the Center for American Politics and Citizenship; and Multicultural Involvement & Community Advocacy.
To RSVP to the conference, please email: globalmigration [at] umd [dot] edu.
This event is co-sponsored by the College of Arts and Humanities; Asian American Studies; Department of Anthropology; Department of Government and Political Science; Maryland Population Research Center; Department of African American Studies; U.S. Latina/o Studies; Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity; Latin American Studies Center; Department of Sociology; the Center for American Politics and Citizenship; and Multicultural Involvement & Community Advocacy.
