Archives for Writing
Exploration of Andersonville, a Congregation of Swedish immigrants — Comparison of Chinese and Swedish Immigration
Author: Yongfei Lu Program of Study: SSD Computational Social Science On the morning of September 7th, I took a bus with my teammate from Hyde Park to Andersonville. It was a sunny day. On the way to our destination, we passed by long tracks along the Michigan Lake. People were running or cycling in the lanes. Outside of those...
The Propagation and Adaption of Shin Buddhism in Chicago
Author: Wuxing Shi Program of Study: Divinity Religious Studies The Propagation and Adaption of Shin Buddhism in Chicago Kuan-Wei Lin The Midwest Buddhist Temple (MBT), located at 435W Menomonee Street in the Old Town neighborhood, is a Japanese Jodo Shinshu (淨土真宗) temple. My two classmates and I set out our journey on Saturday morning Sep 7. The present minister...
Stranded by gentrification: The German navigating a changing neighborhood
Author: Carina Koerner Program of Study: SSD MAPSS (MA Program in the Social Sciences) The first thing visitors encounter walking into Humboldt Park, one of the largest public green spaces in Chicago, might most likely be a group of Puerto Ricans playing Bomba, having a barbecue, or a family gathering on one of the benches. Humboldt Park, as well...
Pilsen: The Land of Immigration
Author: Joonsuk Kang Program of Study: PSD Statistics Two years ago, I moved to the United States. As a newcomer to this land, I have been deeply interested in the histories and stories of other newcomers, or immigrants in general. One of my favorite authors is Jhumpa Lahiri, who writes fiction about Indian immigrants’ life. Her characters suffer from...
Feeling Mexican Styles in Pilsen
Author: Minghao Yang Program of Study: SSD Computational Social Science Pilsen, which refers to either a populous city of Czech, or a renowned type of beer born in Czech, seems to have nothing to do with Mexico or Mexicans; however, Pilsen in Chicago is an exception, with Mexican ingredients building up its exotic culture. Before I explain the reasons,...
The Identity of Pilsen—Spanish Language Presence, Cultural Appropriation, and Gentrification
Author: Yuxin Fan Program of Study: Humanities MAPH For any visitors to neighborhoods formed by an ethnic diaspora, they must have been greeted by the profusion of street names and shop signs in foreign languages. Indeed, racial minority groups tend to congregate when migrating to a new place. It is hard for the newly nascent communities to forget the...
To Kill A Neighborhood: Urban Transport Policies and the Decline of Bronzeville
Author: Alvin Ulido Lumbanraja Program of Study: SSD MAPSS (MA Program in the Social Sciences) Before Bronzeville gained notoriety in recent decades as a low-income, high-crime, and depopulated neighborhood, it used to be a thriving hub of the African-American community during the early to mid-20th century. Thousands of African-Americans who migrated north to escape the harsh oppressions of...