HIST 380 - Refugees Past and Present: Camps, Survival Strategies, Entrepreneurship

Semester Offered: Fall
1 unit(s)

Refugees and forcibly displaced people throughout history have had to be innovative and resourceful in order to survive and provide for future generations. What might now be called “refugee entrepreneurship” has historically been labeled survival strategies. Historical case studies, theoretical readings, and some policy papers form the background for this research-intensive seminar. Students examine the creation of the Lager and urban refugee communities in post-WWI Europe, and survival strategies in displacement camps during WWII and its aftermath. These historical case studies of survival, preservation of culture, and identity are juxtaposed with more recent examples of displaced populations, in both urban and camp settings.

Student-generated work includes a website of research materials and teaching tools that become part of a digital archive on Forced Migration that the Consortium on Forced Migration, Displacement, and Education (CFMDE) is building. For their final community-engaged learning project, students research entrepreneurship/survival strategies employed by refugees and migrants in Poughkeepsie since WWI, through archival/scholarly research and interviews. Their findings are presented as an exhibition on campus, and also at the Mid-Hudson Heritage Center or the Trolley Barn. Maria Höhn.

Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.

One 2-hour period.

Course Format: INT