University of Nebraska-Lincoln experts from a variety of disciplines – political science, psychology and communication studies among them – can offer deep insights on the process of assimilation into majority culture by immigrants and minorities.
Bio
Sergio Wals, assistant professor of political science, focuses on topics related to race and ethnicity in the United States and Latin America. His current projects aim to better understand the processes by which immigrants import their “political suitcases.” His work attempts to explain how immigrants pre-migration political predispositions and experiences affect their political assimilation, attitudes and behaviors once in the United States.
Bio
Cynthia Willis-Esqueda studies the effects of race and ethnicity, with bias and issues of assimilation and acculturation a part of the mix. She teaches a class on the psychology of immigration, which touches upon all aspects of immigration and acculturation. (Updated March 2025.)
Bio
Dr. Jordan Soliz is a professor who studies communication and intergroup processes primarily in family and personal relationships. Current projects focus on communication in multiethnic-racial families, interfaith families, and grandparent-grandchild relationships with a goal toward understanding communicative dynamics associated with individual well-being and relational-family solidarity. He also investigates processes and outcomes of intergroup contact and intergroup dialogue as well as communication processes that minimize outgroup attitudes (e.g., ageism) and/or buffer effects of discrimination.