Roberto Gonzales, assistant professor at Harvard University Graduate School of Education, will discuss his work from a 12-year-study of undocumented youth and education on Thursday, May 4, at 6:30 p.m. in the Richard and Lucille Ice Auditorium at Linfield College.
Gonzales is the author of “Lives in Limbo: Undocumented and Coming of Age in America.” The book is a vivid ethnography that explores why highly educated undocumented youth share similar work and life outcomes with their less-educated peers, despite the fact that higher education is touted as the path to integration and success in America. Mining the results of a 12-year study that followed 150 undocumented young adults in Los Angeles, “Lives in Limbo” exposes the failures of a system that integrates children into K-12 schools but ultimately denies them the rewards of their labor.
Gonzales, one of the nation’s leading experts on undocumented immigrant youth and young adults, is also associate editor of the journal “Social Problems,” has conducted research focusing on the ways in which legal and educational institutions shape the experiences of poor, minority and immigrant youth.
A book signing and reception will follow the lecture.
The event is free, open to the public and sponsored by Academic Affairs, the President’s Office, Nicholson Library, Unidos Bridging Community and the Diversity Advisory Committee. For more information, contact Gerardo Ochoa at 503-883-2617 or gochoa@linfield.edu.
