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Xenophobia/Xenophilia
Place and Difference in the U.S. and Mexico
Xenophoblia/Xenophilia is a book-length examination of
“community” through differential interpretations of local
identity in locations where diverse groups of people come together to
live in and share a geographic location, but use and interpret the
landscape in distinct and often contradictory ways. This project
examines the idea of the “common good” and how communities
negotiate priorities for lifestyle, aesthetics, and business
development.
While these instances often occur in locations where two or more
distinct ethnic groups share a common space, this work extends the
scholarship on local assimilation and social difference by examining
three related, but wholly distinct social contexts: the historic
colonial town of San Miguel de Allende, home to a diverse group of Mexicans and predominantly white North American retirees; Berkeley Springs, WV,
the Appalachian spa town that was first developed as a resort in the
18th century and now is a popular location for weekend homes and
retirees from Washington, DC; and, finally, Manassas, Virginia,
a Washington DC suburb with longstanding ties to southern culture, the
Civil War and is home to increasing numbers of new Washington
suburbanites and Latino immigrants.
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