Fall 2015

Transitions

Change has many forms, whether physical relocation, the reordering of societies, or the intimate transformations of identity. It is a fundamental part of the human experience. Here, we survey the transitions — small, profound, sometimes revelatory — that shape our world and the people in it.

in this issue:

Coming to America and Coming of Age

– Asthaa Chaturvedi and Jenny Luna

Nelson escaped gang violence in Honduras and crossed the border illegally. The 19-year-old now faces a new country, high school, and immigration court, while New York City grapples with the legal proceedings of the thousands of unaccompanied Central American immigrant youths like him.

Out from behind the lines

– Alex Myers

There are the histories that are handed to us, into which we are expected to fit, and there are the histories that we must assemble for ourselves.

Tell me something about Sikh people

– Josh Kramer

No one should suffer violence and discrimination. For more than a century, Sikhs in America have, whether in Oak Creek, Bellingham, or Chicago. A proud and strong community endures.

What we lost in Palmyra

– Heidi Stalla

The destruction of Palmyra by ISIS is horrific. Behind the visible, what is the real thing that we mourn?

Eyes wide cut: the American origins of Korea’s plastic surgery craze

– Laura Kurek

South Korea's obsession with cosmetic surgery can be traced back to an American doctor, raising uneasy questions about beauty standards.

Going back home: life as a reverse immigrant

– Andrea Yu

Decades after her mother immigrated from Hong Kong to Canada, Andrea Yu made the reverse move. She’s one participant in a growing trend: second-generation reverse migration.

Guardian of the dispossessed: an economic dissident in modern India

– J. Zach Hollo

As India thrives and convulses in its embrace of capitalism, one labor organizer sees himself as the last line of defense for the working class and those being left behind as the country develops.

Can the profit motive save environmentalism?

– Rick Fedrizzi

“The environmental movement is deeply, fundamentally virtuous, but our tactics have become obsolete,” writes the founding chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council. “Enterprise is environmentalism’s only hope.”