Bryan Hanner at UW

Gentrification and colonialism's "development" both enlarge the gap between the rich and the poor. Although colonialism was instigated between societies (mercantile policies of nation-states and the resulting exploitation of colonies) instead of within a society as gentrification often is, they both create situations in which the rich getting richer makes it harder for the poorer to get richer. For gentrification, it comes in the form of rising rents and possible displacement as we see in Kreuzberg and Capitol Hill. For colonialism, it comes from exploitation of natural resources and labor with extremes such as the rubber industry in the Congo in the early twentieth century. The culture of the affected area is changed by both processes. In both situations, people living in an area create an identity for their neighborhood or society, and incoming groups of people change the established community. It is important to note that while colonization often results from a lack ...

I am intrigued by the theme of identity that came up in almost all our readings and discussions. There is power in identity, in that the social, political, and cultural networks that are often associated with identity can make a significant impact on what is possible for people. Networks are particularly important for migrants because they are changing locations and thus can use help adapting to a new environment such as finding work, etc. Often living a transnational and multicultural lifestyle, difficulties arise as people navigate their identity, and thus how they interact with their networks, when they migrate. Separations from family or isolation in their receiving countries can disrupt life. I am interested in looking at opportunities to help families and individuals navigate this transition, as nuanced as it is to be working as a third party to the situation in many ways. Beyond the more tangible consequences of identity on networks, I am also drawn to identity o...

Multilingualism - Languages Without Borders: We can look at the literary scene in countries to see how the migrants are being incorporated into the receiving country's society and culture. In Germany, the "migrant literature" has become a diverse and popular area of writing, which demonstrates some cultural acceptance of the growing diversity in Germany. Three Myths of Immigrant Writing: To categorize all writings by migrants as one genre is over-simplifying and puts focus on the biographical history of the author rather than the content of the writing. Migrants do not need to be restricted to writing about certain topics (namely multi-cultural situations). People writing in their native language can do as much as experimentation with the language as people who are writing in their second or third language. Overall, a writer is a writer, and migrants should be viewed through their writing as any other writer. Creative Activism: Creative activism and u...

Key Points: 1. Immigration policy does not necessarily affect whether or not immigrants settle in the receiving countries, but how the immigrants are accepted or marginalized in the countries’ societies. 2. Countries are still divided into ius sanguinis (by blood, only allowing children of citizens to become citizens) and ius soli (by soil, allowing children born in the country to be citizens). The former, in places such as Austria and Switzerland, makes it possible for people to grow up in a country but not be able to be a citizen. 3. There are three general classifications for countries’ immigration policies: the differential exclusionary model that leads to isolated ethnic minorities (Switzerland and Austria), the assimilationist model that incorporates migrants into society with the prerequisite of giving up their background to accept the majority culture (France), and the multicultural model that grants equal rights to all immigrants without a requirement to give up their c...

Main points: 1. Migrations cannot be accurately estimated or analyzed in a specific, prescribed way such as the neo-classical (focus on individual, reasoned choices based on an immigration market) or the historical-structural approaches (focus on capital and the prolonged difference between developed and undeveloped). 2. An interdisciplinary approach incorporating any and all ways of looking at migration is most effective and given a relatively neutral name: migratory systems theory. 3. Ethnic minorities are not necessarily a result of migration but are rather a result of the receiving country's social, political, and economic interactions with those who are immigrating. 4. Migrants have traditionally been looked at through a "class" lens, but ethnicity, gender, and age are also insightful ways to understand a migrant population. 5. Citizenship and nation-states may need to be reconsidered as a transnational lifestyle becomes more common and globaliza...

I am a white, straight male from the middle class. Since these are historically the characteristics of the social, economic, and political elite that have oppressed many other peoples, I find that people expect me to have misconceptions or overly positive views of the world. My response is to strive to hear everyone’s voice and have opinions based on multiple sources, from different perspectives. I rely on logic to base my understandings. I grew up in the Seattle area, having many opportunities to learn through musical theatre performance and school from an early age. My college background I have so far and my quite privileged high school experience have given me reasoning and critical analysis skills that make my arguments strong, even in stressful situations. This often creates a situation where I expect certain knowledge from people, but since I often do interdisciplinary work I have needed to get used to making academic, computer science, or theatre jargon understandable ...

Main Take-aways from Age of Migration Chapter 1: 1. Increasing numbers of countries are involved with migration movements, which makes the migrant populations more diverse than they have been before. It is important to recognize this diversity of migrants and avoid generalizing things about them. 2. International migration brings conflicts along with benefits, such as the potential national security threats from migrants in Algeria and Germany. These examples demonstrate the possible issues caused by conflicts between migrants’ home countries and the country to which they have migrated, even if no migrant is an actual threat. 3. Migrants can be isolated within the receiving country in many ways: physical appearance, language, jobs, and many others. Discussion Questions: Why is national identity important to a people, and does migration conflict with that significance? If so, in what ways? Are migrants net positive or negative on the economy? Is migration necessarily co...

My name is Bryan Hanner, and I am a second-year Musical Theatre and Computer Science major at the University of Washington. I have performed in over seventy theatrical productions. I also co-lead a philanthropic performance duo called Hanner & Repp that I founded with my collaborator Daniel Repp (brosnshows.com). We raise funds for charities including Page Ahead Children's Literacy and Seattle Humane Society by producing our own musicals.  I also direct, musical direct, and piano-conduct in the Seattle area. My interest in theatre focuses on experimental methods for audience engagement and integrating theatre closely with community dialogues. Computer science is a more recent interest of mine. I was directly admitted to the UW School of Computer Science and worked as a software engineering intern on metrics aggregation last summer at TUNE, an advertising analytics company based in downtown Seattle. Using technology to expose people to performing arts is one way I hope ...