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Immigration, refugees are topics of USI's continued series on civility

March 9, 2017

News headlines have been dominated in recent months with stories about immigration, refugees, border control and international travel. While issues related to these topics are not new, the level at which they have been thrust to the forefront by the current administration is unprecedented.

This month, the University of Southern Indiana is exploring these topics as it continues its speaker series related to civility and the public square with a noted expert on immigration and refugees to the United States. Dr. David W. Haines, professor emeritus of sociology and anthropology at George Mason University, will present "Refuge in America," at 7p.m. Monday, March 27 in Carter Hall in University Center West. Previous speakers in the series included author and social critic Os Guinness and Senator Richard Lugar and Congressman Lee Hamilton.

Haines received his master's degree in Southeast Asian studies and a doctorate in anthropology from American University. Prior to coming to George Mason University in 1997, he worked for the federal government's refugee resettlement program and served as a senior manager at the Virginia Workers' Compensation Commission.

He is a two-time Fulbright scholar (South Korea in 2004 and Western Europe (England, France, and the Netherlands) in 1987-88), a past president of the Society for Urban, National, and Transnational/Global Anthropology (SUNTA), convener of the Wind over Water comparative project on East Asian migration, and a founding member of George Mason's Diversity Research Group.

Publications include several edited volumes on refugees and immigrants, two historical monographs (one on Vietnamese kinship and the other on refugees in the United States), and numerous articles in professional journals on migration, kinship and governance. Teaching areas include East Asia, information technology, refugees and migration. He was a recipient of George Mason's Teaching Excellence Award in 2003.

He also is currently co-president of the Association for the Anthropology of Policy and has two texts forthcoming this year: a 2nd edition of An Introduction to Sociocultural Anthropology and Introducing U.S. Immigration.

The presentation is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. and seating will be on a first-come, first-serve basis.

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