REEEC Noontime Scholars Lecture: Fethi Keles, "Unsettled and Resettled: Experiences of Bosnian Diaspora in the United States."
- Event Type
- Lecture
- Sponsor
- REEEC
- Location
- 306 Coble Hall (801 S. Wright St., Champaign, IL 61820)
- Date
- Nov 7, 2025 12:00 pm
- Speaker
- Fethi Keles (Instructor, Department of Anthropology, Syracuse University)
- Cost
- Free and open to the public.
- Contact
- REEEC
- reec@illinois.edu
- Views
- 93
- Originating Calendar
- Russian, E. European & Eurasian Center: Speakers
Based on findings of a long-term ethnographic study of the integration and other experiences of Bosnians resettled as refugees to two urban environments in the north of New York State, this talk will suggest taking a long-term perspective in studying refugee integration. While the labels "pre-resettlement" and "post-resettlement" offer analytical convenience when examining this topic, it is helpful to recognize that the integrating individuals may not necessarily be operating on a logic that divides their lives in a "before-and-after" manner. Accordingly, the talk will invite attention to the ways in which integration experiences may exhibit a nonlinear or cyclical character. Factors such as difficulties of exit from the origin country and transit through subsequent countries later on may impact individual or collective decision-making in areas of, for instance, home buying in the permanent resettlement country. Likewise, the availability of transferable pre-migration soft & hard skills and capital may lead to variations in naturalization decisions, entrepreneurial activities, and community building initiatives of refugees who may otherwise be similarly positioned in terms of ethno-national-religious backgrounds, reasons for displacement, and types of assistance received, among other attributes.
Fethi Keles, PT Instructor, Department of Anthropology, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University