CRITICAL REFUGEE STUDIES
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) defines refugee "as someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence." This definition represents the refugee as a victim, whose statelessness compels the need for resettlement within the nation-state. In the context of Asian America, this narrow construct of the refugee has overlapped with how Asians/Asian Americans have been racialized, gendered, and sexualized in the United States. Consider how newly arrive Asian refugee groups and their experiences have challenged their perceived victimization to challenge how the United States has positioned itself as a benevolent, humanitarian force.
Prerequisites & course information
Requisites: None Course Designation: Core GenEd - Civics & Perspectives Ethnic St - Ethnic Studies Breadth - Humanities Level - Elementary L&S Credit - L&S Liberal Arts and Science Repeatable for Credit: No Learning Outcomes: 1. Define and utilize the framework of critical refugee studies to demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the refugee that considers the larger conditions and violence of colonization, imperialism, and displacement. Audience: Undergraduate 2. Identify how the racialization of the Asian refugees has intersected with the racialization of Asian Americans and shaped the larger landscape of the Asian American experience. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Compare the displacement of Asian refugees in the United States to other displaced communities of color to highlight the larger patterns of displacement, imperialism, and colonialism. Audience: Undergraduate 4. Collaborate with peers in reflecting on the importance of refugee epistemologies and how this knowledge can reshape how we understand refugees in our increasingly diverse society. Audience: Undergraduate Learning Outcomes: 1. Define and utilize the framework of critical refugee studies to demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the refugee that considers the larger conditions and violence of colonization, imperialism, and displacement. Audience: Undergraduate 2. Identify how the racialization of the Asian refugees has intersected with the racialization of Asian Americans and shaped the larger landscape of the Asian American experience. Audience: Undergraduate 3. Compare the displacement of Asian refugees in the United States to other displaced communities of color to highlight the larger patterns of displacement, imperialism, and colonialism. Audience: Undergraduate 4. Collaborate with peers in reflecting on the importance of refugee epistemologies and how this knowledge can reshape how we understand refugees in our increasingly diverse society. Audience: Undergraduate
Sources
- Course catalogue ↗2026-2027