Undocumented Storytellers: Narrating the Immigrant Rights Movement

by Sarah C. Bishop

Overview

Undocumented Storytellers offers a critical exploration of the ways undocumented immigrant activists harness the power of storytelling to mitigate the fear and uncertainty of life without legal status and to advocate for immigration reform. Sarah C. Bishop chronicles the ways young people uncover their lack of legal status experientially -- through interactions with parents, in attempts to pursue rites of passage reserved for citizens, and as audiences of political and popular media. She provides both theoretical and pragmatic contextualization as activist narrators recount the experiences that influenced their decisions to cultivate public voices. Bishop draws from a mixed methodology of in-depth interviews with undocumented immigrants from eighteen unique nations of origin, critical-rhetorical ethnographies of immigrant rights events and protests, and narrative analysis of immigrant-produced digital media to interrogate the power and limitations of narrative activism. Autobiographical immigrant storytelling refutes mainstream discourse on immigration and reveals the determination of individuals who elsewhere have been vilified by stereotype and presupposition. Offering an unparalleled view into the ways immigrants' stories appear online, Bishop illuminates digital narrative strategies by detailing how undocumented storytellers reframe their messages when stories have unintended consequences. The resulting work provides broad insights into the role of strategic framing and autobiographical story-sharing in advocacy and social movements.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780190917180
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/03/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	917 KB

About the Author

Sarah C. Bishop is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies, with affiliations in the Marxe School of Public and International Affairs and the Macaulay Honors College at Baruch College. She is the author of the award-winning book U.S. Media and Migration: Refugee Oral Histories (Routledge, 2016).

Table of Contents

Introduction Chapter 1: Inside Story Chapter 2: Learning the Story for Myself: Growing Up Undocumented Chapter 3: Taking Back the Microphone: Reclaiming the Story and Finding the Frame Chapter 4: The Search for Connection Online Chapter 5: In Pursuit of an Audience Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

"The book makes a useful contribution to the growing literature on undocumented youth in its inclusion of migrants from diverse nations, including not only Mexico and Central American countries but also Colombia, Bangladesh, South Korea, Philippines, and Hungary, among others. The use of an intersectional lens illustrates the multiple statuses and identities that shape migrant lives. Migrant storytellers challenge flat and exclusionary narratives about undocumented youth, including the "cookie cutter" portrayal of "successful" college students with high grades, which fails to address the limits of US immigration policy or the diversity of immigrant experiences. A chapter on storytelling in digital media demonstrates the ways this forum can break isolation and educate US-born citizens." — C. M. Kovic, University of Houston-Clear Lake, CHOICE

"Sarah Bishop has given us an illuminating book about storytelling—as testimony, as evidence, and as method—and the undocumented storytellers who find identity and power in their narratives." —Mae Ngai, Columbia University

"Undocumented Storytellers is an incredibly important scholarly work that offers an insightful and incisive analysis of the role of narrative in the contemporary undocumented immigrant rights movement. Drawing largely from rhetoric and communication studies, Bishop's comprehensive study of storytelling in the movement takes readers through several iterations of storytelling—from how activists understand their role in the movement, to their own narrations of their undocumented lives, to their use of story in digital space. For anyone who wants to understand the complicated connections between stories and activism or the details about the narrative strategy in this vibrant movement, Undocumented Storytellers is a must-read." —Karma R. Chávez, University of Texas, Austin

"In Undocumented Storytellers, Sarah Bishop brings the voices of undocumented, immigrant, activist storytellers to life. She coins the theoretical concept of 'reclaimant narratives' to mean the autobiographical stories marginalized people tell from the heart that help effect social change. In the remarkable narratives woven throughout this book, we witness people speaking as a way to gain voice, cope, and survive injustice and oppression. Readers of Undocumented Storytellers can respond to this era's 'alternative facts' by learning how to listen so that we, too, can know ourselves and change the world for the better." —Kent Ono, The University of Utah; Incoming President (2020), National Communication Association

"With a keen sense of narrative detail, Sarah Bishop offers a powerful account of the lives of young immigrant activists. Undocumented Storytellers is a compelling contribution to the study of contemporary migration in the United States." —Radha S. Hegde, New York University

From the Publisher