Conferences
2005 Conference
Newcomers, Neighbors, and Networks: A Community Conference on Immigration and Language in New England
Friday & Saturday, September 23-24, 2005
The 2005 conference introduced key themes in New England's migration history and provided a forum for discussing concerns of community in a changing world.
2004 Conference
Becoming American / Maintaining Identity
In October of 2004, the Center for the Study of Community (CSC) and the Center for New England Culture hosted a community conference on the history of migration in New England. Over one hundred diverse participants gathered, including Sawa, a recent refugee from Congo.
After learning about the history of migration in the Seacoast of New Hampshire and New England, Sawa was inspired to share the story of her struggle of surviving her war-torn country of origin and making a life for her family in New Hampshire.
Later that day, Martha Pinello, staff archaeologist at Strawbery Banke Museum, expressed her appreciation for hearing the personal narratives of Sawa and others. Martha noted that, while we do not have access to the personal narratives of Mary Rider, Molly Shapiro, or many of the other immigrants who lived at Strawbery Banke, we can glean transferable insights from the people who are moving here today about what it is like to "fit in" to a new community, learning a new language, or maintaining personal ties to faraway people and places.
We learn that history may not repeat itself in exactly the same ways, but the story of moving to a new place, experiencing new foods, cultures, and languages resonate with American families, past and present. Today, as our communities grapple with the tensions associated with human security and cultural difference, we can look to past generations of newcomers and Yankees to learn lessons for today.
In this way, CSC helps foster a dialogue between past and present in an effort to help build better communities for the future. We do this through conferences, new research, writing, outreach in public schools, and a range of other community-oriented projects.