Claiming the Right to Belong: Diversity and the Politics of Inclusion in Queens, New York

Author

Susan J. Tanenbaum, The Graduate Center, City University of New YorkFollow

Date of Degree

9-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Program

Sociology

Advisor

Philip Kasinitz

Committee Members

Nancy Foner

John Mollenkopf

Robert Courtney Smith

Subject Categories

Civic and Community Engagement | Community-Based Research | Demography, Population, and Ecology | Migration Studies | Politics and Social Change | Race and Ethnicity | Social Psychology and Interaction | Sociology

Keywords

Civic engagement, immigrant incorporation, intergroup contact, Islamophobia, nonprofit organizations, Placemaking

Abstract

This dissertation examines social integration in a diverse civic and political mainstream. The social science research on intergroup contact in U.S. cities undergoing significant demographic change tends to focus on encounters between members of majority “in-groups” and minority “out-groups” in the context of workplaces, neighborhoods, and families. I contend that civic politics is another compelling strategic site for observing intergroup contact between emerging and established players. My study presents three cases of claims-making activity during the post-9/11 period in New York City’s borough of Queens, where close to 50% of the population is foreign-born and no single racial group predominates. I explore how marginalized groups deploy claims to achieve the same rights already secured by other groups. Specifically, I interrogate how diversity itself shapes the negotiations, which can result in an expansion of social membership, signifying the enactment of inclusion.

Recommended Citation

Tanenbaum, Susan J., "Claiming the Right to Belong: Diversity and the Politics of Inclusion in Queens, New York" (2024). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5943