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HUMANITARIAN AID AND THE PRODUCTION OF SPATIAL KNOWLEDGE AND
PRACTICES IN THE U.S.MEXICO
BORDERLANDS
by
Andrew Burridge
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(GEOGRAPHY)
December 2009
Copyright 2009 Andrew Burridge
Object Description
| Title | Humanitarian aid and the production of spatial knowledge and practices in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands |
| Author | Burridge, Andrew |
| Author email | burridge@usc.edu; forwardyouth@gmail.com |
| Degree | Doctor of Philosophy |
| Document type | Dissertation |
| Degree program | Geography |
| School | College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |
| Date defended/completed | 2009-10-09 |
| Date submitted | 2009 |
| Restricted until | Unrestricted |
| Date published | 2009-12-07 |
| Advisor (committee chair) | Dear, Michael J. |
| Advisor (committee member) |
Pulido, Laura Kun, Joshua |
| Abstract | This research has sought to understand how practices of humanitarian aid groups contest established spatial orders and normative geographies within the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, and in what manner their presence and operation within spaces of migration might afford or advocate for certain rights of mobility to non-citizens. In particular, these groups are deploying water, food, and medical aid intended for migrants in transit within the space of the southern Arizona borderlands, often against the will of law enforcement agencies. At this highly localized scale in which humanitarian groups conduct the majority of their work, this space - and movement throughout it - are highly controlled by law enforcement agencies, providing few openings for contestation of processes of militarization and criminalization. This research therefore seeks to develop a method of inquiry in to the production of space within the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, concerned with multiple agents operating at different scales (from the national to the local) frequently within the same spaces simultaneously.; It was found that since 2003, humanitarian groups have moved from solely discussing their strategies in relation to the U.S. Border Patrol, to include differing law enforcement and land management agencies, along with private contractors who play a growing role in the process of migrant interdiction, incarceration, and deportation. This has resulted in the ongoing criminalization of both undocumented migrants as well as of humanitarian aid volunteers, creating a situation of increased vulnerability for both groups. Although law enforcement agencies have deployed several practices to disorganize the work of aid volunteers - including the co-optation of humanitarianism, and the use of spatial denial and containment - through the development of critical spatial knowledge, aid groups have countered such efforts to criminalize their work. Spaces of respite, safety, and resistance were constructed by the humanitarian aid groups in their efforts to maintain "death free zones" in the face of significant adversity demonstrated by various formations of power. Yet these spaces are temporary and in flux, and were frequently breached by the USBP and other enforcement agencies, as well as vigilante groups and local residents who were unsympathetic or antagonistic to the work of aid groups. |
| Keyword | borderlands; direct action; geography; humanitarian aid; migration; U.S.-Mexico border; spatial knowledge; spatial production |
| Geographic subject (country) | USA; Mexico |
| Coverage date | circa 2003 |
| Language | English |
| Part of collection | University of Southern California dissertations and theses |
| Publisher (of the original version) | University of Southern California |
| Place of publication (of the original version) | Los Angeles, California |
| Publisher (of the digital version) | University of Southern California. Libraries |
| Provenance | Electronically uploaded by the author |
| Type | texts |
| Legacy record ID | usctheses-m2788 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Rights | Burridge, Andrew |
| Repository name | Libraries, University of Southern California |
| Repository address | Los Angeles, California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Filename | etd-Burridge-3350 |
| Archival file | uscthesesreloadpub_Volume23/etd-Burridge-3350.pdf |
Description
| Title | Page 1 |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Repository email | cisadmin@lib.usc.edu |
| Full text | HUMANITARIAN AID AND THE PRODUCTION OF SPATIAL KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES IN THE U.S.MEXICO BORDERLANDS by Andrew Burridge A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE USC GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (GEOGRAPHY) December 2009 Copyright 2009 Andrew Burridge |
