Doctoral Dissertation Research: Fostering Belonging and Assimilation Among recently Arrived Refugees

The challenge of how to support refugee assimilation in their adopted countries is a global one. The United States, in particular, is the adopted home of a large number of refugees and immigrants from all over the world. This doctoral dissertation project examines how refugees from war-torn regions arrive, assimilate, and contribute to U.S. society and develops an understanding of refugee assimilation that is generalizable to other refugee destination contexts. The research broadens an understanding of strategies refugees develop to create a sense of belonging and trust in host societies, the impact of the resettlement process on refugee integration and assimilation, and the transnational impact of refugees in influencing political change and peace in their home societies. Research findings inform the international community, the United Nations, other international organizations, and U.S. policy makers to facilitate refugee resettlement and the immigration and assimilation process. The dissertation research project trains a graduate student in methods of scientific data collection and analysis and builds capacity for future scientific research of a researcher from an underserved background. To study the demographic and social transitions that accompany refugee resettlement and to measure the social and economic factors that impact community participation and assimilation into host societies, the researchers engage qualitative research methods of semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and online ethnography. Findings from this research contribute to debates on transnationalism, the anthropology of migration, and refugee studies. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.