Transnationalism may not necessarily be a new idea. As we’ve been learning all semester, cases of Transnationalism have been evident as early as the late 19th century with the Italians in Italian Harlem.

However, transnationalism has been made easy recently, due to new and developing technology. For example, a hundred years ago, Italians immigrants who wished to talk to family and friends abroad, would have to save every penny until they were able to afford to send just a letter overseas. Now, because of computers and phones, it’s very easy to contact absolute anyone.

In recent times, travel has become increasingly easy. Speedier planes have replaced the dangerous and lengthy boat rides. Thus, immigrating to a new country has become far easier. Communication has also become far easier due to new technology. Instant phone calls and video chatting have replaced letters that could take days to arrive. Not only has it become easier to travel to different countries, it’s become easier to communicate with the people that were left behind. It’s become easier to communicate with anyone for that matter.

I feel that those such as Linda Basch believed that transnationalism was a new concept because it’s become far easier to communicate with people all over the world. I believe that this idea of Transnationalism, in their minds, was more closely linked to globalism, and therefore was not as applicable to people in the late 19th-early 20th century.

Perhaps the idea of transnationalism exceeds the idea of holding on to an old culture when one moves into a new country. Perhaps the term transnationalism is more about actually being able to hold on to that old culture at all.

I agree that a hundred years ago, many immigrants did hold strong ties to their homelands. However, unless they were a part of a community where everyone immigrated from the same general area, immigrants were forced to assimilate. I feel that the Italian immigrants who lived in Italian Harlem and the Russian Jews, who moved to Russian and/or Jewish communities, are two very specific examples that can’t be applied to all immigrants from that time period.

It was very difficult to hold on to an old culture when you couldn’t readily contact or visit anyone from that home country. I believe it’s only recently become possible for immigrants to be able to contact family members abroad or even visit their home countries. This could explain why many believed that transnationalism is a new concept.

-Christina Torossian