Empathy Beyond US Borders
The Challenges of Transnational Civic Engagement

Why do colleges and churches travel to help distant others and what does transnational civic engagement actually accomplish?

Gary J. Adler, Jr (Author)

9781108474566, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 2 May 2019

314 pages
23.5 x 15.6 x 2.2 cm, 0.57 kg

'This book is a model piece of scholarship. It advances a number of important theories across the discipline and draws upon a remarkable breadth of literature. The book's empirical basis is meticulously considered. Adler's ethnographic voice is clear and compassionate. Its assessment of immersion travel is nuanced, offering important recommendations for practitioners. Scholars interested in religion, social theory, transnational politics, and the sociology of culture will find this book immensely valuable.' Chandra Russo, Sociology of Religion

How do middle-class Americans become aware of distant social problems and act against them? US colleges, congregations, and seminaries increasingly promote immersion travel as a way to bridge global distance, produce empathy, and increase global awareness. But does it? Drawing from a mixed methods study of a progressive, religious immersion travel organization at the US-Mexico border, Empathy Beyond US Borders provides a broad sociological context for the rise of immersion travel as a form of transnational civic engagement. Gary J. Adler, Jr follows alongside immersion travelers as they meet undocumented immigrants, walk desert trails, and witness deportations. His close observations combine with interviews and surveys to evaluate the potential of this civic action, while developing theory about culture, empathy, and progressive religion in transnational civic life. This timely book describes the moralization of travel, the organizational challenges of transnational engagement, and the difficulty of feeling transformed but not knowing how to help.

1. From distance to concern
Part I. Organizational Roots and Dilemmas: 2. At the border between education and action
3. The problems of finding truth through travel
Part II. Activities, Emotions, and Empathy: 4. What immersion travelers feel all day
5. Why it's better to walk than talk
Part III. Patterns of Experience and Transformation: 6. Guided unsettledness: how groups safely shape travel
7. What changes and why?
8. The possibilities and problems of immersion travel
Methodological appendix
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Political activism [JPW], International relations [JPS], Sociology [JHB], Migration, immigration & emigration [JFFN], Philosophy of religion [HRAB], Religion & beliefs [HR], Social & political philosophy [HPS]