In this portion of the website, we will focus on the demography and residence patterns of Eastern European Jews (1880-1920) and Mexicans (1980-present).

In our examination of patterns, trends, and shifts, we hope to paint as visual and accessible a picture as possible about the great transformations that occurred within these populations in the relatively short time span of several decades. The greatest transformation, of course, is immigration itself. To take a population that belonged to a a larger community that had shared experiences and become accustomed to one way of life for generations and to uproot it is to greatly change established demography and residence patterns. These terms are familiar to most, but let’s review their definitions:

Demography is, very broadly, the statistical study of human populations. Data is commonly collected about education, nationality, religion, and ethnicity criteria and examined for patterns.

Residence patterns elaborate on studies of demography by detailing the living conditions and circumstances of a particular population.

Basically, we want to look at where and how two specific populations were living both there and here. Click on either picture below to experience the demography and residence patters of that group.

Eastern European Jews

Mexicans

Respectively by R.G. and Faith Pang.