Paperwork Selves and Arab Refugee Girls’ Experiences of Resettlement in Tennessee

in Girlhood Studies
Author:
Ida Fadzillah Leggett Associate Professor, Middle Tennessee State University, USA ida.leggett@mtsu.edu

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Abstract

For refugees, the experience of displacement does not always end with resettlement. Multidisciplinary research with educators and refugee students at a Tennessee high school demonstrates how some school personnel prioritized the alienating concept of so-called paperwork selves when talking about their refugee students, highlighting exotic stereotypes of innocence, ignorance, and a lack of educational history. I focus here on educators’ perceptions of Arabic-speaking refugee girl students, and contrast these with the girls’ own words about their experiences and self-understanding. The girls’ narratives demonstrate their keen sense of identity as young women connected to real places, remembered histories, and imaginaries of a future as transnational young women with global possibilities.

Contributor Notes

Ida Fadzillah Leggett (ORCID: 0000-0003-3565-1172) is an associate professor of Anthropology at Middle Tennessee State University. Her scholarly interests include girl cultures, refugee youth, childhood futures, and humanistic approaches to writing. Email: ida.leggett@mtsu.edu

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