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27 Spaces Of Refuge And Asylum

  • Karen Culcasi
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De Gruyter Handbook of Feminist Political Geography
This chapter is in the book De Gruyter Handbook of Feminist Political Geography

Abstract

Mainstream academic research (including political geography) and mass media news reports about forced displacement typically focus on masculinist topics like the numbers of people displaced, their places of origin and destinations, and casualty statistics. Such work commonly spotlights macro geopolitics of conflict that lead to displacement, the receiving states’ refugee policies, and the effects of incoming refugees on those states. This is important and necessary work, but it typically misses the personal experiences and human side of forced displacement that is characteristic of feminist research. In this chapter, I first discuss how feminist political geography studies the complex and dynamic issues related to forced displacement, which includes refuge and asylum. I underscore its focus on people, bodies, and their experiences with mobility and immobility; and I highlight some key concepts, like imperialism, agency, and embodiment, that are commonly drawn upon. In the second section, I move into a specific discussion of the many spaces of refuge and asylum that people move through and reside in during their displacement journeys and in rebuilding their lives. I emphasize that small-scaled, intimate spaces are central to feminist analyses, spaces which are rarely a concern of traditional political geography or mainstream media. In the third section, I conduct a focused feminist geopolitical analysis of refuge by discussing the lived experiences of two young refugee women I met in Jordan – one Syrian and the other Palestinian. My goal in that section is to illustrate the many spaces of refuge that they experience, and to underscore the direct connections between their daily lives and broader geopolitical conflicts and issues.

Abstract

Mainstream academic research (including political geography) and mass media news reports about forced displacement typically focus on masculinist topics like the numbers of people displaced, their places of origin and destinations, and casualty statistics. Such work commonly spotlights macro geopolitics of conflict that lead to displacement, the receiving states’ refugee policies, and the effects of incoming refugees on those states. This is important and necessary work, but it typically misses the personal experiences and human side of forced displacement that is characteristic of feminist research. In this chapter, I first discuss how feminist political geography studies the complex and dynamic issues related to forced displacement, which includes refuge and asylum. I underscore its focus on people, bodies, and their experiences with mobility and immobility; and I highlight some key concepts, like imperialism, agency, and embodiment, that are commonly drawn upon. In the second section, I move into a specific discussion of the many spaces of refuge and asylum that people move through and reside in during their displacement journeys and in rebuilding their lives. I emphasize that small-scaled, intimate spaces are central to feminist analyses, spaces which are rarely a concern of traditional political geography or mainstream media. In the third section, I conduct a focused feminist geopolitical analysis of refuge by discussing the lived experiences of two young refugee women I met in Jordan – one Syrian and the other Palestinian. My goal in that section is to illustrate the many spaces of refuge that they experience, and to underscore the direct connections between their daily lives and broader geopolitical conflicts and issues.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Acknowledgements
  3. Contents VII
  4. 1 Introduction 1
  5. Part I: Foundations
  6. 2 The Feminist Geography Of Feminist Political Geography 18
  7. 3 Feminist Geopolitics 33
  8. 4 Intimate Geopolitics 51
  9. 5 Nationalism 65
  10. 6 De/coloniality 77
  11. 7 Decolonizing Feminist Geopolitics 89
  12. 8 Trauma 103
  13. 9 Peace 115
  14. Part II: Critical Interventions
  15. 10 Black Futurity 129
  16. 11 Racial Capitalism 141
  17. 12 Populism 153
  18. 13 Electoral Democracy 165
  19. 14 Crip Geographies 177
  20. 15 Queer Geographies 189
  21. 16 Trans Geographies 201
  22. 17 Cuerpo-Territorio 213
  23. 18 Geographies Of Technology 227
  24. 19 More-Than-Human Geographies 239
  25. 20 Austerity 251
  26. 21 Labor 263
  27. 22 Health 275
  28. 23 Environmental Justice 287
  29. Part III: Spaces
  30. 24 Territory 303
  31. 25 The Nation-State 315
  32. 26 The Border 329
  33. 27 Spaces Of Refuge And Asylum 341
  34. 28 The Body 353
  35. 29 Home 367
  36. 30 The Workplace 379
  37. 31 The City 391
  38. 32 The Rural 403
  39. 33 The Ocean 415
  40. 34 The Ship 427
  41. 35 Public Transport 439
  42. 36 Infrastructure 451
  43. 37 The Prison 461
  44. 38 Food 475
  45. Part IV: Methodologies
  46. 39 Postcolonial Positionality 487
  47. 40 Digital Methods And Community-Engaged Research 499
  48. 41 Fieldwork 511
  49. 42 Ethnography 525
  50. 43 Creative Political Geography 537
  51. 44 Mobile Methods 549
  52. 45 Life Histories 563
  53. 46 Black Feminist Literary Methods 575
  54. 47 Historical Approaches 587
  55. List of Contributors 599
  56. Index
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111289274-028

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Acknowledgements
  3. Contents VII
  4. 1 Introduction 1
  5. Part I: Foundations
  6. 2 The Feminist Geography Of Feminist Political Geography 18
  7. 3 Feminist Geopolitics 33
  8. 4 Intimate Geopolitics 51
  9. 5 Nationalism 65
  10. 6 De/coloniality 77
  11. 7 Decolonizing Feminist Geopolitics 89
  12. 8 Trauma 103
  13. 9 Peace 115
  14. Part II: Critical Interventions
  15. 10 Black Futurity 129
  16. 11 Racial Capitalism 141
  17. 12 Populism 153
  18. 13 Electoral Democracy 165
  19. 14 Crip Geographies 177
  20. 15 Queer Geographies 189
  21. 16 Trans Geographies 201
  22. 17 Cuerpo-Territorio 213
  23. 18 Geographies Of Technology 227
  24. 19 More-Than-Human Geographies 239
  25. 20 Austerity 251
  26. 21 Labor 263
  27. 22 Health 275
  28. 23 Environmental Justice 287
  29. Part III: Spaces
  30. 24 Territory 303
  31. 25 The Nation-State 315
  32. 26 The Border 329
  33. 27 Spaces Of Refuge And Asylum 341
  34. 28 The Body 353
  35. 29 Home 367
  36. 30 The Workplace 379
  37. 31 The City 391
  38. 32 The Rural 403
  39. 33 The Ocean 415
  40. 34 The Ship 427
  41. 35 Public Transport 439
  42. 36 Infrastructure 451
  43. 37 The Prison 461
  44. 38 Food 475
  45. Part IV: Methodologies
  46. 39 Postcolonial Positionality 487
  47. 40 Digital Methods And Community-Engaged Research 499
  48. 41 Fieldwork 511
  49. 42 Ethnography 525
  50. 43 Creative Political Geography 537
  51. 44 Mobile Methods 549
  52. 45 Life Histories 563
  53. 46 Black Feminist Literary Methods 575
  54. 47 Historical Approaches 587
  55. List of Contributors 599
  56. Index
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