Centre for Education and International Development
Abstract
This paper reviews some theoretical ideas about how refugees are positioned within social, psychological and humanitarian debates and then, discusses the concept of ‘refugee academics’ with references to the struggles of Syrian scholars who are living in exile. Drawing upon one Syrian academic’s experiences of displacement and academic life in exile, it argues that the social and political constructs of ‘refugeeness’ and depiction of these academics as victims or societal threats as refugees need to be transformed into narratives of human acceptance, opportunities of coproduction of knowledge, academic diversity and mutual benefits
