Citizenship, refugees, and the state: Bosnians, Southern Sudanese, and social service organizations in Fargo, North Dakota

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dc.contributor.authorErickson, Jennifer Lynn, 1974-
dc.date.accessioned2011-06-09T22:32:54Z
dc.date.available2011-06-09T22:32:54Z
dc.date.issued2010-09
dc.descriptionxvi, 360 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.en_US
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation is a comparative, ethnographic study of Southern Sudanese and Bosnian refugees and social service organizations in Fargo, North Dakota. I examine how refugee resettlement staff, welfare workers, and volunteers attempted to transform refugee clients into "worthy" citizens through neoliberal policies aimed at making them economically self-sufficient and independent from the state. Refugees' engagement with resettlement and welfare agencies and volunteers depended on their positioning in social hierarchies in their home countries and in the United States. Refugees had widely variable political, educational, cultural, and employment histories, but many had survived war and/or forced migration and had contact with many of the same institutions and employers. Bosnians in Fargo were either white, ethnic Muslims (Bosniaks), or Roma (Gypsies), who had a darker skin color and were stigmatized by Bosniaks. By interrogating intersections of race, class, gender, and culture, I explain why social service providers and the wider public deemed Bosnian Roma as some of the least "worthy" citizens in Fargo and black, Christian Southern Sudanese as some of the worthiest citizens. In so doing, I highlight the important roles of religion, hard work, education, and civic duty as characteristics of "good" citizens in Fargo. The dissertation is based on a year of ethnographic research in Fargo (2007-08). It also builds on previous research with Roma in Bosnia (1998-2000) and employment with a resettlement agency in South Dakota (2001-2002). I relate this analysis to anthropological theories of the state with a particular focus on refugee resettlement in the context of the neoliberal welfare state. Following Harrell- Bond's argument that refugees are often portrayed as mere "recipients of aid," I argue for a more nuanced understanding of refugees as active citizens in Fargo. I view refugee resettlement organizations, welfare agencies, and volunteers as powerful actors in shaping refugees' lives, but I also take into account the ways in which refugees in turn shaped these actors. I show how refugee resettlement called into question hegemonic forms of citizenship in the relatively culturally and racially homogenous city of Fargo.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipCommittee in charge: Carol Silverman, Chairperson, Anthropology; Sandra Morgen, Member, Anthropology; Lynn Stephen, Member, Anthropology; Susan Hardwick, Outside Member, Geographyen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1794/11225
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Oregonen_US
dc.relation.ispartofseriesUniversity of Oregon theses, Dept. of Anthropology, Ph. D., 2010;
dc.subjectCitizenshipen_US
dc.subjectBosnia and Herzegovinaen_US
dc.subjectRefugeesen_US
dc.subjectSudanen_US
dc.subjectWelfareen_US
dc.subjectFargo (N.D.)en_US
dc.subjectBosniansen_US
dc.subjectSudaneseen_US
dc.subjectSocial service organizationsen_US
dc.subjectCultural anthropologyen_US
dc.subjectSocial worken_US
dc.subjectEthnic studiesen_US
dc.titleCitizenship, refugees, and the state: Bosnians, Southern Sudanese, and social service organizations in Fargo, North Dakotaen_US
dc.title.alternativeBosnians, Southern Sudanese, and social service organizations in Fargo, North Dakotaen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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