La notion espaces et échanges (document en anglais)

For the Inuit of the Arctic regions of Canada, contact with the "outside" world has been characterized by great changes both within their culture and in the ways their cultural values have been altered to incorporate perceptions of the rapidly changing world around them. In many ways, traditional conceptions of time and space have been readjusted to meet the demands of externally imposed industrial time and space. This article examines the nature of these changes and their impact on Inuit society. The implications of the experiencing of dramatic time-space compression, combined with rapid technological change are explored from a behavioral perspective. A reformulation of the culturally acceptable perceptions of the changing time and space parameters of imposed modernity characterizes Inuit society today, as individuals struggle to come to terms with the challenges of moving from preindustrial to postmodernist societies within the span of a single lifetime.

The different spaces of the world are nowadays more and more connected to each other. Indeed the globalization connected the areas at different scales. This globalization is characterized by the multiplication of actors and the explosion of the flux. Consequently, the exchanges raised in the past century. These exchanges have been helped by the progress of transport. The exchanges can appear on many forms: capitals, people, goods, and data. One particular exchange is very interesting because it involves both notions: spaces and exchanges, and it is immigration.

Immigration is the movement of non-native people into a country in order to settle there. The notion of immigration is compelling because these movements of people imply, with them, movements of culture. That is to say the people bring their habits, their way of communicate thus it create exchanges. The countries with a high level of immigration, such as the United States of America, notice the emergence of a phenomenon such known as melting pot. A melting pot is a place where different styles, or way of life, are mixed together. We will see how the United States of America deals with this issue, especially in New York City. I will show you how it is related to spaces and exchanges through several documents: an interview dealing with American immigration, an extract from a novel about Ellis Island and a study regarding Porto Ricans and US immigration.

First of all, a bit of the historical background might help us understand the issue of immigration. The USA is a nation of immigrants. Every person in America is an immigrant or the descendant of an immigrant. There were three major immigration waves: 1607-1790, 1800-1880 and 1880-1924. From 1880’s to 1924 America tried to limit immigration by nationality by establishing quotas of immigrants per country in order to maintain the unity of the U.S. These laws were called the Quota Act. Therefore the immigrants were examined, checked before they can enter the territory. In New York, they had to go through Ellis Island. Mark Helprin, in Ellis Island and Other Stories, tells us how this unfolds. Ellis Island was an island located in New York Bay. It was the gateway for millions of immigrants. The narrator feels like is on the threshold of a new world because for him and everybody else the United States represented the land of opportunities. Americans believe in a better world for the man in the street. According to the narrative of the narrator,

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