Poster Title
P-02 Three Syrian Voices: Dismantling “Otherness” Perceptions by Collecting and Crafting First-Person Narratives
Abstract
The proliferation of anti-refugee rhetoric through repeated use of “Islamic State,” “terrorism,” and similar language reinforces perceptions of “otherness” toward marginalized, asylum-seeking Syrians, whose individual voices are rarely if ever heard by Western populations. In the fall of 2017 while working for 8 weeks in a school for Syrian refugees in the SDA Middle East North Africa Union, I interviewed three young Syrian volunteers. The resulting works of creative nonfiction grew out of an effort to understand, appreciate, and share experiences of individual Syrians with an audience socially predisposed to ascribe an overarching identity to all people of this demographic.
Start Date
3-2-2018 2:30 PM
P-02 Three Syrian Voices: Dismantling “Otherness” Perceptions by Collecting and Crafting First-Person Narratives
The proliferation of anti-refugee rhetoric through repeated use of “Islamic State,” “terrorism,” and similar language reinforces perceptions of “otherness” toward marginalized, asylum-seeking Syrians, whose individual voices are rarely if ever heard by Western populations. In the fall of 2017 while working for 8 weeks in a school for Syrian refugees in the SDA Middle East North Africa Union, I interviewed three young Syrian volunteers. The resulting works of creative nonfiction grew out of an effort to understand, appreciate, and share experiences of individual Syrians with an audience socially predisposed to ascribe an overarching identity to all people of this demographic.
Acknowledgments
Primary: Dr. Sonia Badenas; Secondary: Dr. Beverly Matiko.
J. N. Andrews Honors Program.