Immigration, Citizenship, and Belonging:

Two Days of Discussion, Debate, and Celebration

April 3 and 4, 2023

UMass Amherst and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences are honored to be hosting a Naturalization Ceremony on April 4, 2023, in coordination with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. We expect around 200 new citizens to be naturalized at the ceremony!


To celebrate, there will be a variety of events and performances throughout April 3rd and 4th, all centered around the Naturalization Ceremony, including a talk by Suketu Mehta, author of This Land is Our Land: An Immigrant’s Manifesto, a discussion on immigration and citizenship by UMass scholars, art exhibitions, and Felipe Salles’ jazz ensemble performance of The New Immigrant Experience: Music Inspired by Conversations with Dreamers.


We encourage everyone to participate in what will be a fantastic series of events!

Schedule

Monday, April 3, 2023

11:30am: Suketu Mehta – The Global War of Storytelling: How Can We Tell Better Stories?

2:00pm: Book Discussion with Suketu Mehta – This Land is Our Land: An Immigrant's Manifesto

4:00pm: Immigration and Citizenship in 2023: Reflections and Debates

5:30pm: Fotodiásporas Exhibition – Lights and Shadows on the Path to Reparation: Colombians' Experiences of Forced Migration to the US  

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

2:00pm: Naturalization Ceremony

4:00pm: Our Immigrant Voices Project Exhibition at the Building Bridges Showcase Event

7:30pm: Felipe Salles – The New Immigrant Experience: The Creation of a Multi-Media Jazz Work

Speakers and Performers

Suketu Mehta

Author of This Land is Our Land:
An Immigrant's Manifesto

Lynnette Arnold

Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Tania DoCarmo

Lecturer of Legal Studies

Ina Ganguli

Associate Professor of Economics

Razvan Sibii

Senior Lecturer II of Journalism

Felipe Salles

Professor of Jazz &
African American Music Studies

Sponsors and Partners