Principal Investigator: Dr. Yasmine Shamma (University of Reading)

Co investigators: Professor Suzan Ilcan (University of Waterloo), and Professor Vicki Squire (University of Warwick).

Research Assistant and Conference Coordinator: Dr. Helen Underhill h.p.v.underhill@reading.ac.uk

Project Overview:

This project centres on the homes that have been lost and found by refugees of the recent Syrian crisis.

Experiences of urban life are negotiated in particularly complex ways by refugees moving across regions and nations in pursuit of home. In these movements, they expand the dimensions of home. How do these mobile dimensions constitute programs of making and remaking home, while also underscoring testimonies of migration, displacement and resettlement?

Incorporating a digital archive, an international conference, and a resulting edited collection of essays, this research will situate the contemporary refugee's pursuit as part of a larger 20th century project of post-camp migration and re-settlement. The digital archive will represent different disciplinary approaches, revisiting archived materials while hosting new materials. As this project's main focus, the archive will enhance international understanding of the contemporary Syrian refugee crisis while encouraging policy makers to rethink policy reform, within the UK and beyond.

Funded by the British Academy's "Tackling the UKs International Challenges" grant scheme until July 2020.

Digital Archive of Refugee Stories Now Live

'The Making Home Away  digital archive is now available to access at https://makinghomeaway.com/ - a growing resource with an interactive map featuring stories of homes lost and remade by refugees across Jordan, Canada, and various locations in Europe.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information contact makinghomeaway@gmail.com

Organized by Dr Yasmine Shamma (University of Reading).

Professor Suzan Ilcan (University of Waterloo), and Professor Vicki Squire (University of Warwick).

Hosted by the University of Reading. Funded by the British Academy.