Dr. Mehnaaz Momen teaches Political Science and Public Administration courses in the Department of Social Sciences at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU). She worked at a nonprofit organization in Bangladesh and completed higher education in Halifax, Canada and Cleveland, Ohio. Her book, The Paradox of Citizenship in American Politics: Ideals and Reality, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2017, explores the meaning of citizenship in America from the multiple perspectives of history, politics, and policy. In her next book, Political Satire, Postmodern Reality, and the Trump Presidency: Who Are We Laughing At?, published in 2019, she tries to make sense of the contemporary media landscape and analyze how satire has evolved in American political culture and why it fails in the Trump era. She is currently working on a book called Space, Memory, Identity in Laredo: Anatomy of a Border City, which traces Laredo’s history and growth, and connects space, memory, and identity through pertinent urban theories and oral history.
The Bible states that God made the world in six days and took rest on the seventh day. Was it to ... more The Bible states that God made the world in six days and took rest on the seventh day. Was it to recuperate from the hard work? Was it to relax and admire the creation? Was taking that break necessary? Was it only for pleasure? If we take a close look at Western (Christian) societies where “Sunday” was a holy day (non-working day) and how it is now regarded as the day of recreation (holiday) as well as for catching up with lost work, or for some people simply a day of work, we get a glimpse into the evolving meaning of leisure. This chapter traces the transformation in our understanding of leisure and how it has influenced our notion of who deserves leisure under the socioeconomic arrangements of the twenty-first century. Against this backdrop, it analyzes how pandemic leisure is being constructed as a new form of cultural capital, undermining several sectors of labour and prioritising mostly technology-oriented sectors in the traumatic unfolding of the global COVID-19 crisis.
The Paradox of Citizenship in American Politics, 2017
This chapter explores the expansion of the state’s power with the advent of higher states of tech... more This chapter explores the expansion of the state’s power with the advent of higher states of technology, and how this power is being used to control citizens. The argument of having to choose between civil liberties and safety typically empowers the state, but the same tools that undermine civil liberties can also be employed against the state to make it more accountable. Most state intrusions have become pervasive because of the nature of recent technological innovations, which enable the collection, storage, and use of a humongous range of data with relative ease and cost. Instead of making the state more accountable and transparent, these advanced techniques of discipline and control have curtailed much of the freedom and autonomy of citizens.
This study, carried out during the second half of 1995, investigated the predisposing factors lea... more This study, carried out during the second half of 1995, investigated the predisposing factors leading to marital disruption and its consequences on the lives of women in Matlab, a rural area of Bangladesh. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Data were generated from detailed case studies and quantitative surveys of a small number of maritally-disrupted women. Additional data were used from the ongoing demographic surveillance system of ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research. The findings revealed that divorced and abandoned women and their children were extremely vulnerable, both socially and economically. Various factors that influence marital disruption were identified, the most important ones being: aspects determining the process of marriage, various family problems due to non-fulfillment of demand for dowry, mutual distrust, extramarital relationships, quality of sexual life, educa-tion of women, and other behavioural characteristics of individuals....
The Introduction explains the basic premise of the book that the evolution of American citizenshi... more The Introduction explains the basic premise of the book that the evolution of American citizenship consists in its paradoxes and anomalies rather than in coherent narratives of the ideological, racial, legal, or political dimensions of citizenship. The five paradigms selected for this purpose—national identity, state expansion, global status, immigration, and state power—and their interconnections and overlaps are discussed in detail. Each of these paradigms contains its own dimensions of rhetoric versus reality and subsequent paradoxes. This book is about the production, meanings, and implications of these processes, as it aims to uncover and capture the porous and hidden contours of citizenship in America.
This chapter is the analysis of the concept of citizenship through the evolution of immigration l... more This chapter is the analysis of the concept of citizenship through the evolution of immigration legislation and the subsequent implications of various pieces of legislation. Historically, naturalization laws in America have tended to be racist, while immigration more or less allowed people to come in when their labor was being sought. The immigrant’s rites of passage to American society have always been fraught with discrimination, the immigrant having to suffer many ironies before receiving ultimate social approval. Such paradoxes of citizenship continue amid present challenges of terrorism, muddying concerns about who is entitled to the privileges of citizenship. The use of immigration policy as a political tool has always dominated real policy over ideology or economic interests.
This chapter explores the impact of global relations and competition on American citizenship. Ame... more This chapter explores the impact of global relations and competition on American citizenship. American citizenship has consolidated much of its meaning from the clashes on the global stage, including the more recent advent of terrorism. Trade relations with countries all over the world and the success of American goods in securing world markets have paved the way for American hegemony, which in turn has been protected and expanded through military might. Unlike past decades when the expansion of American power was translated into greater citizenship rights, such as the GI Bill or the inclusion of minorities, the American state now seemson a path of reduction of the social rights of citizenship, offering different citizenship privileges for the elite versus the poor.
This chapter traces the paradoxes in American identity, a journey that began with the founding of... more This chapter traces the paradoxes in American identity, a journey that began with the founding of the nation with the dual identities of sanctimonious settlers and prosecutors of the native population. As the founding fathers were rummaging through the Greek and Roman political ideologies to construct American nationalism and identity, the American society and marketplace were growing and opening up new spaces for the common people to allow them to be active citizens. The Constitution is the perfect example of containing this paradox—encouraging citizens to be active and yet inserting structural obstacles to participation; championing the high idealism of equality and yet allowing slavery; and promoting individualism and yet retaining communitarian principles intact.
This chapter depicts the transformation of the American state, its territorial expansion, and its... more This chapter depicts the transformation of the American state, its territorial expansion, and its imperial conflicts, and the consequent overall impact on citizenship rights and privileges. The American empire has always been justified with the notion of Manifest Destiny, but for the most part it has flourished and has been sustained in denial as the powers exercised to manipulate markets and political leadership in various countries were clandestine rather than overt. Historically, with each territorial acquisition, the power of the state has grown not only outward but also inward, changing many citizenship rights, simultaneously expanding some and contracting others, all the while maintaining the logical inconsistencies in American values on both the domestic and global fronts.
The social rights of citizenship are a relatively modern characteristic, serving as a core of the... more The social rights of citizenship are a relatively modern characteristic, serving as a core of the socialist model of the state and a crucial component of the welfare state, both of which were assembled in the nineteenth century. The most prominent modern theorist of citizenship, T.H. Marshall, perceived the rights of citizens as a cumulative progression and categorized citizenship rights in the three broad categories of civil, political and social rights. Marshall’s framework broadly reflects the evolution of citizenship rights in post-World War II Europe. The United States has followed a different trajectory where civil, political and social rights have historically been tied to racial and ethnic barriers that have needed to be legally dismantled to realize the claim toward a universal citizenship model. Developing countries, which have often experienced a history of colonial oppression and political conflict in addition
to unstable economies, have also hardly adhered to the ideal thematic progression. Socialist countries have often granted some level of social rights while largely curtailing civil and political rights. The current transformation of the global economy – namely, the domination of the neoliberal paradigm that demands cheap labourers who are often migrants and creates unprecedented numbers of refugees living in conditions of crisis – has added serious challenges to the notion of the social rights of citizens. The social rights of citizens all over the world, even in countries with established welfare programmes, seem to be in flux and in constant perilous
negotiations with market forces. The COVID-19 pandemic has added further urgency to the question of whether social rights can be established as human rights everywhere in the world.
Bangladesh stepped into 2008 under emergency rule, suspended political activity,
and a military-... more Bangladesh stepped into 2008 under emergency rule, suspended political activity,
and a military-supported caretaker government (CG), after a 16-year interlude
of a two-party dominated democratic system. After a long two years,
the CG has started releasing key political leaders as a step toward holding
elections in December. The Bangladeshi people are waiting to see whether
this interruption of democracy will remain only temporary.
The Bible states that God made the world in six days and took rest on the seventh day. Was it to ... more The Bible states that God made the world in six days and took rest on the seventh day. Was it to recuperate from the hard work? Was it to relax and admire the creation? Was taking that break necessary? Was it only for pleasure? If we take a close look at Western (Christian) societies where “Sunday” was a holy day (non-working day) and how it is now regarded as the day of recreation (holiday) as well as for catching up with lost work, or for some people simply a day of work, we get a glimpse into the evolving meaning of leisure. This chapter traces the transformation in our understanding of leisure and how it has influenced our notion of who deserves leisure under the socioeconomic arrangements of the twenty-first century. Against this backdrop, it analyzes how pandemic leisure is being constructed as a new form of cultural capital, undermining several sectors of labour and prioritising mostly technology-oriented sectors in the traumatic unfolding of the global COVID-19 crisis.
The Paradox of Citizenship in American Politics, 2017
This chapter explores the expansion of the state’s power with the advent of higher states of tech... more This chapter explores the expansion of the state’s power with the advent of higher states of technology, and how this power is being used to control citizens. The argument of having to choose between civil liberties and safety typically empowers the state, but the same tools that undermine civil liberties can also be employed against the state to make it more accountable. Most state intrusions have become pervasive because of the nature of recent technological innovations, which enable the collection, storage, and use of a humongous range of data with relative ease and cost. Instead of making the state more accountable and transparent, these advanced techniques of discipline and control have curtailed much of the freedom and autonomy of citizens.
This study, carried out during the second half of 1995, investigated the predisposing factors lea... more This study, carried out during the second half of 1995, investigated the predisposing factors leading to marital disruption and its consequences on the lives of women in Matlab, a rural area of Bangladesh. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Data were generated from detailed case studies and quantitative surveys of a small number of maritally-disrupted women. Additional data were used from the ongoing demographic surveillance system of ICDDR,B: Centre for Health and Population Research. The findings revealed that divorced and abandoned women and their children were extremely vulnerable, both socially and economically. Various factors that influence marital disruption were identified, the most important ones being: aspects determining the process of marriage, various family problems due to non-fulfillment of demand for dowry, mutual distrust, extramarital relationships, quality of sexual life, educa-tion of women, and other behavioural characteristics of individuals....
The Introduction explains the basic premise of the book that the evolution of American citizenshi... more The Introduction explains the basic premise of the book that the evolution of American citizenship consists in its paradoxes and anomalies rather than in coherent narratives of the ideological, racial, legal, or political dimensions of citizenship. The five paradigms selected for this purpose—national identity, state expansion, global status, immigration, and state power—and their interconnections and overlaps are discussed in detail. Each of these paradigms contains its own dimensions of rhetoric versus reality and subsequent paradoxes. This book is about the production, meanings, and implications of these processes, as it aims to uncover and capture the porous and hidden contours of citizenship in America.
This chapter is the analysis of the concept of citizenship through the evolution of immigration l... more This chapter is the analysis of the concept of citizenship through the evolution of immigration legislation and the subsequent implications of various pieces of legislation. Historically, naturalization laws in America have tended to be racist, while immigration more or less allowed people to come in when their labor was being sought. The immigrant’s rites of passage to American society have always been fraught with discrimination, the immigrant having to suffer many ironies before receiving ultimate social approval. Such paradoxes of citizenship continue amid present challenges of terrorism, muddying concerns about who is entitled to the privileges of citizenship. The use of immigration policy as a political tool has always dominated real policy over ideology or economic interests.
This chapter explores the impact of global relations and competition on American citizenship. Ame... more This chapter explores the impact of global relations and competition on American citizenship. American citizenship has consolidated much of its meaning from the clashes on the global stage, including the more recent advent of terrorism. Trade relations with countries all over the world and the success of American goods in securing world markets have paved the way for American hegemony, which in turn has been protected and expanded through military might. Unlike past decades when the expansion of American power was translated into greater citizenship rights, such as the GI Bill or the inclusion of minorities, the American state now seemson a path of reduction of the social rights of citizenship, offering different citizenship privileges for the elite versus the poor.
This chapter traces the paradoxes in American identity, a journey that began with the founding of... more This chapter traces the paradoxes in American identity, a journey that began with the founding of the nation with the dual identities of sanctimonious settlers and prosecutors of the native population. As the founding fathers were rummaging through the Greek and Roman political ideologies to construct American nationalism and identity, the American society and marketplace were growing and opening up new spaces for the common people to allow them to be active citizens. The Constitution is the perfect example of containing this paradox—encouraging citizens to be active and yet inserting structural obstacles to participation; championing the high idealism of equality and yet allowing slavery; and promoting individualism and yet retaining communitarian principles intact.
This chapter depicts the transformation of the American state, its territorial expansion, and its... more This chapter depicts the transformation of the American state, its territorial expansion, and its imperial conflicts, and the consequent overall impact on citizenship rights and privileges. The American empire has always been justified with the notion of Manifest Destiny, but for the most part it has flourished and has been sustained in denial as the powers exercised to manipulate markets and political leadership in various countries were clandestine rather than overt. Historically, with each territorial acquisition, the power of the state has grown not only outward but also inward, changing many citizenship rights, simultaneously expanding some and contracting others, all the while maintaining the logical inconsistencies in American values on both the domestic and global fronts.
The social rights of citizenship are a relatively modern characteristic, serving as a core of the... more The social rights of citizenship are a relatively modern characteristic, serving as a core of the socialist model of the state and a crucial component of the welfare state, both of which were assembled in the nineteenth century. The most prominent modern theorist of citizenship, T.H. Marshall, perceived the rights of citizens as a cumulative progression and categorized citizenship rights in the three broad categories of civil, political and social rights. Marshall’s framework broadly reflects the evolution of citizenship rights in post-World War II Europe. The United States has followed a different trajectory where civil, political and social rights have historically been tied to racial and ethnic barriers that have needed to be legally dismantled to realize the claim toward a universal citizenship model. Developing countries, which have often experienced a history of colonial oppression and political conflict in addition
to unstable economies, have also hardly adhered to the ideal thematic progression. Socialist countries have often granted some level of social rights while largely curtailing civil and political rights. The current transformation of the global economy – namely, the domination of the neoliberal paradigm that demands cheap labourers who are often migrants and creates unprecedented numbers of refugees living in conditions of crisis – has added serious challenges to the notion of the social rights of citizens. The social rights of citizens all over the world, even in countries with established welfare programmes, seem to be in flux and in constant perilous
negotiations with market forces. The COVID-19 pandemic has added further urgency to the question of whether social rights can be established as human rights everywhere in the world.
Bangladesh stepped into 2008 under emergency rule, suspended political activity,
and a military-... more Bangladesh stepped into 2008 under emergency rule, suspended political activity,
and a military-supported caretaker government (CG), after a 16-year interlude
of a two-party dominated democratic system. After a long two years,
the CG has started releasing key political leaders as a step toward holding
elections in December. The Bangladeshi people are waiting to see whether
this interruption of democracy will remain only temporary.
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to unstable economies, have also hardly adhered to the ideal thematic progression. Socialist countries have often granted some level of social rights while largely curtailing civil and political rights. The current transformation of the global economy – namely, the domination of the neoliberal paradigm that demands cheap labourers who are often migrants and creates unprecedented numbers of refugees living in conditions of crisis – has added serious challenges to the notion of the social rights of citizens. The social rights of citizens all over the world, even in countries with established welfare programmes, seem to be in flux and in constant perilous
negotiations with market forces. The COVID-19 pandemic has added further urgency to the question of whether social rights can be established as human rights everywhere in the world.
and a military-supported caretaker government (CG), after a 16-year interlude
of a two-party dominated democratic system. After a long two years,
the CG has started releasing key political leaders as a step toward holding
elections in December. The Bangladeshi people are waiting to see whether
this interruption of democracy will remain only temporary.
to unstable economies, have also hardly adhered to the ideal thematic progression. Socialist countries have often granted some level of social rights while largely curtailing civil and political rights. The current transformation of the global economy – namely, the domination of the neoliberal paradigm that demands cheap labourers who are often migrants and creates unprecedented numbers of refugees living in conditions of crisis – has added serious challenges to the notion of the social rights of citizens. The social rights of citizens all over the world, even in countries with established welfare programmes, seem to be in flux and in constant perilous
negotiations with market forces. The COVID-19 pandemic has added further urgency to the question of whether social rights can be established as human rights everywhere in the world.
and a military-supported caretaker government (CG), after a 16-year interlude
of a two-party dominated democratic system. After a long two years,
the CG has started releasing key political leaders as a step toward holding
elections in December. The Bangladeshi people are waiting to see whether
this interruption of democracy will remain only temporary.