Marginalized at the center

How public narratives of suffering perpetuate perceptions of refugees’ helplessness and dependency

Bibliographic Data

ID15538422
AuthorsOtieno Kisiara (0000-0002-8751-0614, Nazareth College, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume12
Issue2
Pages162-171
Publication date2015-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMIGRATION LETTERS (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1741-8984 • E-ISSN: 1741-8992
PublisherDewspublication (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.33182/ml.v12i2.250
OpenAlexW1850070411
LanguageEN
Citations received9

This paper critiques the common practice of people from refugee backgrounds giving presentations and testimonials on their displacement experiences, in college, university, and similar institutional settings. While such speaking events may be framed as opportunities to center refugee voices, this paper argues that the totality of the presentation environments, especially their focus on narratives of suffering, do in fact reinforce the marginal and powerless position with which refugees are associated. To counteract the marginalizing effects of such presentations, the paper suggests alternative ways of presentations that more meaningfully involve refugees in framing and directing such speaking events

Framing (construction · Learned helplessness · Narrative · Perception · Political science · Refugee · Sociology · Education and experiences of immigrants and refugees · Gender Studies · History · Psychology · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access