This advanced research seminar will examine the intersection of cultural identities, capital flows, and citizenship in contemporary immigrant communities. Readings will use the lens of local communities in New York to capture cross-border processes that are reconfiguring the global order. We will pay special attention to the ways in which cultural and political identity and history are renegotiated through the use of urban space. The main task of the seminar is for participants to develop and carry out ethnographic research projects in local immigrant communities. This class is the fourth within the Ex-City Initiative, a series of seminars and projects on the city as an experimental space of cross-territorial flows. The class has a threefold purpose: to familiarize students with urban ethnography as both a practical approach and as a form of knowledge production aimed at grasping global processes in urban settings; to give students hands-on experience through the development and carrying-out of an independent field research project; and to explore in some depth three themes among the many: cultural identity, urban enclaves, and economic tactics and practices. We will read ethnographic works on South Asian youth culture, Chinatown’s changing form, and the economy of West African street vendors, in addition to shorter pieces on related subjects.