Born in the USA: The Politics of Birthright Citizenship in Historical Perspective

Here is the schedule for what promises to be a world-class conference, Born in the USA: The Politics of Birthright Citizenship in Historical Perspective, to be held March 29-30, 2012, at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD.  The conference is free, and no registration is required.  Attendees are requested to park in a visitor lot or arrive via metro (free shuttle buses run regularly from the College Park metro to campus).

SESSION 1: Thursday, March 29, 7:00 pm, Ulrich Recital Hall, Tawes
Keynote Address by Eric Foner (Columbia University History Department)
"The Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Origins of Birthright Citizenship"

Introduction by Wallace Loh, President, University of Maryland

** A reception jointly sponsored by the Center and the Race, Law, and Literature
conference (Department of English) will precede the keynote address beginning at 5:30 in
the first floor lobby of Tawes Hall

SESSION 2: Friday, March 30, 2012, 9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Session 2A: Origins
Van Munching Hall Room 1330
This session will explore the common law and Civil War Era origins and politics of the Fourteenth Amendment's citizenship clause.

   Chair: Holly Brewer (University of Maryland History Department)
   Panelists:
   Peter Schuck (Yale Law School)
   Garrett Epps (University of Baltimore Law School)
   William Novak (University of Michigan Law School)

   Commentator: Mark Graber (University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law)

Session 2B: Birthright Citizenship in Comparative Perspective
Van Munching Hall Room 1333

This session will place birthright citizenship in global perspective and compare it with other systems of citizenship elsewhere in the world.

   Chair: Daryle Williams (University of Maryland History Department)

   Panelists:
   David Abraham (University of Miami Law School)
   Patrick Weil (Yale Law School)
   Marley Weiss (University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law)

   Commentator: James F. Hollifield (SMU, Department of Political Science)

LUNCH BREAK: 11:30-1:00

SESSION 3: Friday, March 30, 2012, 1:00pm-3:00 pm
Session 3A: Explicating Birthright Citizenship
Van Munching Hall Room 1330

This session will explore the post-Fourteenth Amendment birthright citizenship debates and legal decisions involving Chinese immigrants, Native Americans, and residents of Puerto Rico and the Philippines after the Spanish American War.

   Chair: Julie Greene (University of Maryland History Department)

   Panelists:
   Mae Ngai (Columbia University History Department)
   Christina Burnett (Columbia Law School)
   Rebecca Tsosie (Arizona State Law School)

   Commentator: Heather Cox Richardson (Boston College History Department)

Session 3B: What difference did Birthright Citizenship make?
Van Munching Hall Room 1333
This session explores the practical effects birthright citizenship has had on the history of the United States.

   Chair: Sonya Michel (University of Maryland History Department)

   Panelists:
   Gary Gerstle (Vanderbilt University History Department)
   Linda Kerber (University of Iowa History Department)
   Linda Bosniak (Rutgers Law School)

   Commentator: Aristede Zolberg (The New School)

SESSION 4: Friday, March 30, 2012, 3:15pm-5:15 pm
Birthright Citizenship in Contemporary American Politics
Van Munching Hall Room 1330

This panel will explore the current debate over birthright citizenship, state and federal efforts to regulate it, and recent proposals to amend the Constitution's birthright citizenship clause.

   Chair: Michael Ross (University of Maryland History Department)

   Panelists:
   Walter Dellinger (O'Melveny & Meyers; Duke Law School)
   David Gutierrez (UCSD History Department)
   Marc Lacey (Journalist, New York Times)

   Commentator: Tamar Jacoby (President & CEO, ImmigrationWorksUSA)

For more information please see the conference website:

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