Icons, Itinerary, and Identity
Associations of Boundary and Mobility within the Contemporary US Passport
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5716800 |
|---|---|
| Authors | William C Fleming (Georgia State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2014 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 42-62 |
| Publication date | 2014-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Mobilities (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1745-0101 • E-ISSN: 1745-011X |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17450101.2013.800760 |
| OpenAlex | W2013139083 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 16 |
Regulatory shifts in US border policy set in motion through implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative are concurrent with recent formal and functional changes to the US passport. This article examines these modifications interweaving themes of boundary, mobility, and identity. The study focuses on the tripartite means by which the state employs the passport: as the primary affixer of national identity; as a mediator of contact and mobility across national boundaries; and as a mode for the projection of a certain territorial discourse to its citizenry and ‘others.’ These concepts are developed through an analysis of the narrative and iconic representations contained within the new book itself; material sources from government archives; as well as discussions and interviews with US State Department functionaries closely associated with the design and distribution of the new e-passport. Through the latter examination, a view is afforded into the process by which key state documents are crafted and an inherent tension revealed within an agency charged with establishing a particular unifying ‘brand’ for the preeminent instrument of national identification, whilst dutifully acknowledging the diverse constituency of a nation that historically fashions itself as one constructed from the many. In conclusion, the study suggests that the new passport is the handiwork of a plethora of state actors and a servant of many masters, for it is not only a facilitator of mobility and a vouchsafe for the identity of the bearer, but also, a tiny but significant piece of US property, itself an agent of border maintenance and boundary construction that enables the state to lay claim to its citizenry
Aesthetics · Facilitator · Linguistics · Mobilities · Narrative · National identity · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Social science · Sociology · Computer Science · Cross-Border Cooperation and Integration · Gender Studies · Law · Migration, Refugees, and Integration · Rhetoric and Communication Studies
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,3 |
| Citation span | 2016 - 2020 (5) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |