Leah C Schmalzbauer | Amherst College (original) (raw)

Papers by Leah C Schmalzbauer

North Carolina Law Review, Dec 31, 2010

Feminist Theory, Jul 24, 2016

Harvard Educational Review, 2019

In this research article, Leah Schmalzbauer and Alelí Andrés examine the educational mobility of ... more In this research article, Leah Schmalzbauer and Alelí Andrés examine the educational mobility of low-income US citizen and DACAmented youth who are members of mixedstatus families. Drawing from thirty life history interviews with Latinx students attending a top-tier liberal arts college, and based on ethnographic case studies of eight of their families, they explore what it is like to experience an elite education as a member of a socially and legally marginalized family. They found that their research participants' lives were stratified. While most thrived academically and were primed for individual socioeconomic mobility, they continued to bear the heavy weight of their parents' deportability, a burden that was invisible to faculty, staff, and most student peers. The authors contend that the invisible burdens and responsibilities associated with family illegality block students' full integration into the elite educational strata and cause stress and anxiety.

Qualitative Sociology

In the context of US higher education, the collective advancement of low-income youth, especially... more In the context of US higher education, the collective advancement of low-income youth, especially youth of color, has been limited. Latinxs are faring the worst, with the lowest college graduation rates when compared to Blacks, whites and Asian Americans. Yet, while collective mobility stagnates a growing number of Latinx youth are finding their way into elite colleges and universities. In this paper, we draw from life history interviews and focus groups to explore the mobility pathways of low-income Latinx youth who have achieved admission into a highly selective college. We pay special attention to how Latinx youth are experiencing educational mobility as members of socially marginalized families and communities. Our findings highlight the importance of three overlapping networks-family networks, local school and community networks, and elite recruitment networksto students' ability to achieve mobility into education's upper echelons. We argue that place shapes both network access and the meaning educational mobility has in youths' lives.

Qualitative Sociology, 2022

In the context of US higher education, the collective advancement of low-income youth, especially... more In the context of US higher education, the collective advancement of low-income youth, especially youth of color, has been limited. Latinxs are faring the worst, with the lowest college graduation rates when compared to Blacks, whites and Asian Americans. Yet, while collective mobility stagnates a growing number of Latinx youth are finding their way into elite colleges and universities. In this paper, we draw from life history interviews and focus groups to explore the mobility pathways of low-income Latinx youth who have achieved admission into a highly selective college. We pay special attention to how Latinx youth are experiencing educational mobility as members of socially marginalized families and communities. Our findings highlight the importance of three overlapping networks-family networks, local school and community networks, and elite recruitment networksto students' ability to achieve mobility into education's upper echelons. We argue that place shapes both network access and the meaning educational mobility has in youths' lives.

Harvard Educational Review, 2019

Andrés examine the educational mobility of low-income US citizen and DACAmented youth who are mem... more Andrés examine the educational mobility of low-income US citizen and DACAmented youth who are members of mixedstatus families. Drawing from thirty life history interviews with Latinx students attending a top-tier liberal arts college, and based on ethnographic case studies of eight of their families, they explore what it is like to experience an elite education as a member of a socially and legally marginalized family. They found that their research participants' lives were stratified. While most thrived academically and were primed for individual socioeconomic mobility, they continued to bear the heavy weight of their parents' deportability, a burden that was invisible to faculty, staff, and most student peers. The authors contend that the invisible burdens and responsibilities associated with family illegality block students' full integration into the elite educational strata and cause stress and anxiety.

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2017

Assimilation theory typically conceptualizes native whites in metropolitan areas as the mainstrea... more Assimilation theory typically conceptualizes native whites in metropolitan areas as the mainstream reference group to which immigrants’ adaptation is compared. Yet the majority of the U.S. population will soon be made up of ethnoracial minorities. The rise of new immigrant destinations has contributed to this demographic change in rural areas, in addition to already-diverse cities. In this article, we argue that assimilation is experienced in reference to the demographic populations within urban and rural destinations as well as the physical geography of these places. We analyze and compare the experiences of rural Mexicans who immigrated to urban Southern California and rural Montana, demonstrating the ways in which documentation status in the United States and the rurality of immigrants’ communities of origin in Mexico shape assimilation in these two destinations.

Sociological Forum, 2013

This article assesses Mexican immigrant women's experiences of isolation and autonomy in three ne... more This article assesses Mexican immigrant women's experiences of isolation and autonomy in three new destination sites in Montana, Ohio, and New Jersey. We highlight six case studies from our cross-comparative data set of in-depth interviews and field work with 98 women to illustrate the intersections between contexts of reception and gender relations in shaping women's settlement experiences. We find that women in sites with a concentrated Mexican population and a well-developed social service infrastructure are relatively autonomous in accomplishing daily activities independent of their relationships with husbands or partners. In contrast, for women living in sites with few social support services, relationships with the men in their lives, what we call their "relational contexts," matter for women's experiences of isolation or autonomy outside the home. Relational contexts have not been emphasized in previous literature on gender and migration but may be significant in shaping women's experiences across varying contexts of reception.

Rural Sociology, 2011

This article draws on ethnographic research to explore the impacts of the current economic crisis... more This article draws on ethnographic research to explore the impacts of the current economic crisis on Mexican migrant families in rural Montana. It looks specifically at the ways rural families negotiate gender roles and expectations as they devise survival strategies in response to major economic shifts. My analysis suggests that traditional gender roles are being transgressed, as migrant women enter wage labor, often for the first time. Simultaneously, gender ideologies are being reinforced, as migrant women struggle to protect men's sense of masculinity by continuing to perform a culturally appropriate gender script. Whereas the paradoxical combination of gender transgression and tradition has been noted within urban migrant families, its dynamics are different in rural contexts. While urban migrants tend to look outward to social networks for support, rural migrants turn inward to their immediate families, strengthening family solidarities. * I would like to thank Michael Schulman and the anonymous reviewers for their extensive and insightful comments. Their suggestions greatly improved this article. I would also like to thank Joanna Dreby, Steve Bruner, and Katie Gray for their helpful and supportive comments on earlier versions of this article. This research was supported by the American Sociological Association Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline and an MSU Scholarship and Creativity Grant.

Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2013

In this article I use the US H2A guest worker programme as a lens through which to analyse the ge... more In this article I use the US H2A guest worker programme as a lens through which to analyse the gender subjectivities of Mexican transnational fathers. My qualitative findings highlight the ways in which the prioritization of productive over reproductive labour within the H2A programme exploits gender-based expectations within Mexican families, reproducing rigid gender divisions of family labour. Additionally, the subjectivities of guest worker fathers are influenced by cultural expectations as well as by the rurality and cyclicality of their lives. As fathers shift between the USA and Mexico, so do their gender subjectivities, symbolizing gender's fluidity. Findings complicate the oft-cited conclusion that emotional labour and sacrifice are the exclusive domain of transnational mothers.

Action Research, 2012

In this article, we offer our reflections on our community-based participatory research (CBPR) pr... more In this article, we offer our reflections on our community-based participatory research (CBPR) project in partnership with Mexican migrants in a new rural destination of the Rocky Mountain West. To set the stage for our work, we first present the Montana migration context – a unique context in which the migrant community is hard to define, locate, and engage. Next, we present who we are and how we forged a partnership with Mexican migrants in Montana. We then provide the details of our project – Salud y Comunidad: Latinos en Montana – and reflect on the pragmatic and ethical challenges of using a CBPR approach in this context. Finally, we attempt to reframe some of the tensions and paradoxes inherent in community-based work with vulnerable communities and reflect on the question, ‘is CBPR a good fit?’ We aim for our analysis to contribute a unique perspective to the rich discussions underway about using CBPR to ameliorate health disparities and promote justice in marginalized commun...

American Journal of Sociology, 2015

The Last Best Place: Gender, Family, and Migration in the New West Leah Schmalzbauer Southwest Mo... more The Last Best Place: Gender, Family, and Migration in the New West Leah Schmalzbauer Southwest Montana is beautiful country, evoking mythologies of freedom and escape long associated with the West. Partly because of its burgeoning presence in popular culture, film, and literature, including William Kittredge's anthology The Last Best Place, the scarcely populated region has witnessed an influx of wealthy, white migrants over the last few decades. But another, largely invisible and unstudied type of migration is also present. Though Mexican migrants have worked on Montana's ranches and farms since the 1920s, increasing numbers of migrant families-both documented and undocumented-are moving to the area to support its growing construction and service sectors.

Ethnicities

This special issue features carefully selected case studies that document and analyze the experie... more This special issue features carefully selected case studies that document and analyze the experiences of Latino youth and young adults as they struggle for inclusion in the United States. Articles draw from qualitative research with Latinos/as who reside in different regions of the United States, hail from or trace their origins to various countries, and embody distinct experiences of incorporation and inclusion. Special emphasis is placed on the 1.5 generation, young people who immigrated to the US as young children but have spent the majority of their lives there—some of whom hold temporary protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. This introduction presents a conceptual framework for analyzing the experiences of Latino youth and young adults. We argue for an approach that centers intersecting social locations of youth and the specificity of place for understanding the dynamics and implications of Latino youth’s struggles for inclusion in the 21st century.

Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, Sep 1, 2012

The Montana State University student chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA is a student-manage... more The Montana State University student chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA is a student-managed partnership with the people of Khwisero, Kenya. The primary mission, to bring potable water and clean sanitation facilities to 61 primary schools and the surrounding communities of Khwisero, necessitates a long-term commitment to collaboration and cultural exchange. Engineers Without Borders has helped transform views regarding engaged scholarship at Montana State University. Students and faculty members are collectively advancing interdisciplinary, service-learning, and global action initiatives across the campus. This article describes the growth, organizational principles, and goals of Engineers Without Borders at Montana State University.

Berkeley Journal of Sociology, 2005

... i , D , D Iglarry Eidlin, Sarah Garrett, Katie Hasson, Paul Hathazy Bec H25; lzsgiferalgheg 0... more ... i , D , D Iglarry Eidlin, Sarah Garrett, Katie Hasson, Paul Hathazy Bec H25; lzsgiferalgheg 0Sv,:1'rah acdonald, LM 1 , M - -' ' . Wilson aura ange s arcel Paret, Heidy Sarabia, Stephen Smith, NlChOla§ HQQVQI Business Managers: Katie A. Hasson and Nicholas Hoover Wilson ...

North Carolina Law Review, Dec 31, 2010

Feminist Theory, Jul 24, 2016

Harvard Educational Review, 2019

In this research article, Leah Schmalzbauer and Alelí Andrés examine the educational mobility of ... more In this research article, Leah Schmalzbauer and Alelí Andrés examine the educational mobility of low-income US citizen and DACAmented youth who are members of mixedstatus families. Drawing from thirty life history interviews with Latinx students attending a top-tier liberal arts college, and based on ethnographic case studies of eight of their families, they explore what it is like to experience an elite education as a member of a socially and legally marginalized family. They found that their research participants' lives were stratified. While most thrived academically and were primed for individual socioeconomic mobility, they continued to bear the heavy weight of their parents' deportability, a burden that was invisible to faculty, staff, and most student peers. The authors contend that the invisible burdens and responsibilities associated with family illegality block students' full integration into the elite educational strata and cause stress and anxiety.

Qualitative Sociology

In the context of US higher education, the collective advancement of low-income youth, especially... more In the context of US higher education, the collective advancement of low-income youth, especially youth of color, has been limited. Latinxs are faring the worst, with the lowest college graduation rates when compared to Blacks, whites and Asian Americans. Yet, while collective mobility stagnates a growing number of Latinx youth are finding their way into elite colleges and universities. In this paper, we draw from life history interviews and focus groups to explore the mobility pathways of low-income Latinx youth who have achieved admission into a highly selective college. We pay special attention to how Latinx youth are experiencing educational mobility as members of socially marginalized families and communities. Our findings highlight the importance of three overlapping networks-family networks, local school and community networks, and elite recruitment networksto students' ability to achieve mobility into education's upper echelons. We argue that place shapes both network access and the meaning educational mobility has in youths' lives.

Qualitative Sociology, 2022

In the context of US higher education, the collective advancement of low-income youth, especially... more In the context of US higher education, the collective advancement of low-income youth, especially youth of color, has been limited. Latinxs are faring the worst, with the lowest college graduation rates when compared to Blacks, whites and Asian Americans. Yet, while collective mobility stagnates a growing number of Latinx youth are finding their way into elite colleges and universities. In this paper, we draw from life history interviews and focus groups to explore the mobility pathways of low-income Latinx youth who have achieved admission into a highly selective college. We pay special attention to how Latinx youth are experiencing educational mobility as members of socially marginalized families and communities. Our findings highlight the importance of three overlapping networks-family networks, local school and community networks, and elite recruitment networksto students' ability to achieve mobility into education's upper echelons. We argue that place shapes both network access and the meaning educational mobility has in youths' lives.

Harvard Educational Review, 2019

Andrés examine the educational mobility of low-income US citizen and DACAmented youth who are mem... more Andrés examine the educational mobility of low-income US citizen and DACAmented youth who are members of mixedstatus families. Drawing from thirty life history interviews with Latinx students attending a top-tier liberal arts college, and based on ethnographic case studies of eight of their families, they explore what it is like to experience an elite education as a member of a socially and legally marginalized family. They found that their research participants' lives were stratified. While most thrived academically and were primed for individual socioeconomic mobility, they continued to bear the heavy weight of their parents' deportability, a burden that was invisible to faculty, staff, and most student peers. The authors contend that the invisible burdens and responsibilities associated with family illegality block students' full integration into the elite educational strata and cause stress and anxiety.

The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2017

Assimilation theory typically conceptualizes native whites in metropolitan areas as the mainstrea... more Assimilation theory typically conceptualizes native whites in metropolitan areas as the mainstream reference group to which immigrants’ adaptation is compared. Yet the majority of the U.S. population will soon be made up of ethnoracial minorities. The rise of new immigrant destinations has contributed to this demographic change in rural areas, in addition to already-diverse cities. In this article, we argue that assimilation is experienced in reference to the demographic populations within urban and rural destinations as well as the physical geography of these places. We analyze and compare the experiences of rural Mexicans who immigrated to urban Southern California and rural Montana, demonstrating the ways in which documentation status in the United States and the rurality of immigrants’ communities of origin in Mexico shape assimilation in these two destinations.

Sociological Forum, 2013

This article assesses Mexican immigrant women's experiences of isolation and autonomy in three ne... more This article assesses Mexican immigrant women's experiences of isolation and autonomy in three new destination sites in Montana, Ohio, and New Jersey. We highlight six case studies from our cross-comparative data set of in-depth interviews and field work with 98 women to illustrate the intersections between contexts of reception and gender relations in shaping women's settlement experiences. We find that women in sites with a concentrated Mexican population and a well-developed social service infrastructure are relatively autonomous in accomplishing daily activities independent of their relationships with husbands or partners. In contrast, for women living in sites with few social support services, relationships with the men in their lives, what we call their "relational contexts," matter for women's experiences of isolation or autonomy outside the home. Relational contexts have not been emphasized in previous literature on gender and migration but may be significant in shaping women's experiences across varying contexts of reception.

Rural Sociology, 2011

This article draws on ethnographic research to explore the impacts of the current economic crisis... more This article draws on ethnographic research to explore the impacts of the current economic crisis on Mexican migrant families in rural Montana. It looks specifically at the ways rural families negotiate gender roles and expectations as they devise survival strategies in response to major economic shifts. My analysis suggests that traditional gender roles are being transgressed, as migrant women enter wage labor, often for the first time. Simultaneously, gender ideologies are being reinforced, as migrant women struggle to protect men's sense of masculinity by continuing to perform a culturally appropriate gender script. Whereas the paradoxical combination of gender transgression and tradition has been noted within urban migrant families, its dynamics are different in rural contexts. While urban migrants tend to look outward to social networks for support, rural migrants turn inward to their immediate families, strengthening family solidarities. * I would like to thank Michael Schulman and the anonymous reviewers for their extensive and insightful comments. Their suggestions greatly improved this article. I would also like to thank Joanna Dreby, Steve Bruner, and Katie Gray for their helpful and supportive comments on earlier versions of this article. This research was supported by the American Sociological Association Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline and an MSU Scholarship and Creativity Grant.

Ethnic and Racial Studies, 2013

In this article I use the US H2A guest worker programme as a lens through which to analyse the ge... more In this article I use the US H2A guest worker programme as a lens through which to analyse the gender subjectivities of Mexican transnational fathers. My qualitative findings highlight the ways in which the prioritization of productive over reproductive labour within the H2A programme exploits gender-based expectations within Mexican families, reproducing rigid gender divisions of family labour. Additionally, the subjectivities of guest worker fathers are influenced by cultural expectations as well as by the rurality and cyclicality of their lives. As fathers shift between the USA and Mexico, so do their gender subjectivities, symbolizing gender's fluidity. Findings complicate the oft-cited conclusion that emotional labour and sacrifice are the exclusive domain of transnational mothers.

Action Research, 2012

In this article, we offer our reflections on our community-based participatory research (CBPR) pr... more In this article, we offer our reflections on our community-based participatory research (CBPR) project in partnership with Mexican migrants in a new rural destination of the Rocky Mountain West. To set the stage for our work, we first present the Montana migration context – a unique context in which the migrant community is hard to define, locate, and engage. Next, we present who we are and how we forged a partnership with Mexican migrants in Montana. We then provide the details of our project – Salud y Comunidad: Latinos en Montana – and reflect on the pragmatic and ethical challenges of using a CBPR approach in this context. Finally, we attempt to reframe some of the tensions and paradoxes inherent in community-based work with vulnerable communities and reflect on the question, ‘is CBPR a good fit?’ We aim for our analysis to contribute a unique perspective to the rich discussions underway about using CBPR to ameliorate health disparities and promote justice in marginalized commun...

American Journal of Sociology, 2015

The Last Best Place: Gender, Family, and Migration in the New West Leah Schmalzbauer Southwest Mo... more The Last Best Place: Gender, Family, and Migration in the New West Leah Schmalzbauer Southwest Montana is beautiful country, evoking mythologies of freedom and escape long associated with the West. Partly because of its burgeoning presence in popular culture, film, and literature, including William Kittredge's anthology The Last Best Place, the scarcely populated region has witnessed an influx of wealthy, white migrants over the last few decades. But another, largely invisible and unstudied type of migration is also present. Though Mexican migrants have worked on Montana's ranches and farms since the 1920s, increasing numbers of migrant families-both documented and undocumented-are moving to the area to support its growing construction and service sectors.

Ethnicities

This special issue features carefully selected case studies that document and analyze the experie... more This special issue features carefully selected case studies that document and analyze the experiences of Latino youth and young adults as they struggle for inclusion in the United States. Articles draw from qualitative research with Latinos/as who reside in different regions of the United States, hail from or trace their origins to various countries, and embody distinct experiences of incorporation and inclusion. Special emphasis is placed on the 1.5 generation, young people who immigrated to the US as young children but have spent the majority of their lives there—some of whom hold temporary protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. This introduction presents a conceptual framework for analyzing the experiences of Latino youth and young adults. We argue for an approach that centers intersecting social locations of youth and the specificity of place for understanding the dynamics and implications of Latino youth’s struggles for inclusion in the 21st century.

Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, Sep 1, 2012

The Montana State University student chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA is a student-manage... more The Montana State University student chapter of Engineers Without Borders USA is a student-managed partnership with the people of Khwisero, Kenya. The primary mission, to bring potable water and clean sanitation facilities to 61 primary schools and the surrounding communities of Khwisero, necessitates a long-term commitment to collaboration and cultural exchange. Engineers Without Borders has helped transform views regarding engaged scholarship at Montana State University. Students and faculty members are collectively advancing interdisciplinary, service-learning, and global action initiatives across the campus. This article describes the growth, organizational principles, and goals of Engineers Without Borders at Montana State University.

Berkeley Journal of Sociology, 2005

... i , D , D Iglarry Eidlin, Sarah Garrett, Katie Hasson, Paul Hathazy Bec H25; lzsgiferalgheg 0... more ... i , D , D Iglarry Eidlin, Sarah Garrett, Katie Hasson, Paul Hathazy Bec H25; lzsgiferalgheg 0Sv,:1'rah acdonald, LM 1 , M - -' ' . Wilson aura ange s arcel Paret, Heidy Sarabia, Stephen Smith, NlChOla§ HQQVQI Business Managers: Katie A. Hasson and Nicholas Hoover Wilson ...