1st Edition
Cultures in Refuge Seeking Sanctuary in Modern Australia
New formulations of globalisation have radically altered how people conceptualize the movement of people, ideas and capital throughout the globe, with questions of securitisation and transnational sentiment re-shaping long-standing Western concepts of asylum and human rights. Questioning the manner in which the reception of sanctuary in modern Australia changes migrants' sense of belonging, this interdisciplinary volume focuses on the disjuncture between receiving sanctuary and feeling secure in one's self and community. With emphasis on the formation and expression of migrant and refugee cultures, the book deliberately blurs the distinction between migrants and refugees, in order to engage more directly with the subjectivities of lived experience and social networks. Presenting research from the fields of sociology, media studies, politics, international relations and history, Cultures in Refuge places explores the manner in which notions of asylum and refuge affect the processes of articulating and negotiating identities.
Biography
Dr Anna Hayes is Lecturer in International Relations and a researcher at the Public Memory Research Centre at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. She is co-editor of Migration and Insecurity: Citizenship and Social Inclusion in a Transnational Era. Robert Mason is Lecturer in History and a researcher at the Public Memory Research Centre at the University of Southern Queensland, Australia. He is co-editor of Migration and Insecurity: Citizenship and Social Inclusion in a Transnational Era.
’By challenging the construct of Australia as a sanctuary for migrants and refugees, this outstanding collection re-conceptualises how the experience of migrants in Australia is understood. Cultures in Refuge interrogates and challenges assumptions about Australia’s multi-cultural rhetoric and policy. The limits of the imagined national community are exposed here with complexity, incisive commentary and a compelling narrative.’ Joy Damousi, University of Melbourne, Australia ’Cultures in Refuge draws our attention to the historical baggage carried both by individual migrants and by Australian society at large. I recommend this collection warmly to all those interested in making sense of this baggage also as something other than a burden.’ Klaus Neumann, The Swinburne Institute for Social Research, Australia 'Cultures in Refuge is a nuanced and informative addition to the growing literature on humanitarianism and exclusion narratives in recent Australian history. ... Cultures in Refuge is an important contribution to the relatively new (in Australia) field of refugee and displacement studies. The contributors examine select episodes in the contested politics of sanctuary and also humanise it beyond the sensationalist headlines. The topic range of the book is a major strength that also gives pause for further questioning and analysis. ... The collection's attention to individual voices personifies the experience of the home-seeker, the term Hamid Naficy used to describe displacement journeys as performances of homelessness, and the unmaking and remaking of identity in refuge homelands.' Australian Historical Studies
