Navigating Precarious Terrains: Reconceptualizing Refugee-Youth Settlement

Caitlin Nunn; Sandra M. Gifford; Celia McMichael; Ignacio Correa-Velez

doi:10.7202/1043062ar

Navigating Precarious Terrains: Reconceptualizing Refugee-Youth Settlement

Authors

Caitlin Nunn School of Applied Social Sciences, Durham University
Sandra M. Gifford Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of Technology
Celia McMichael School of Geography, University of Melbourne
Ignacio Correa-Velez Queensland University of Technology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7202/1043062ar

Keywords:

Australia, refugees, settlement, youth, social navigation, Good Starts study, longitudinal study

Abstract

Settlement is widely understood as the final stage of the refugee journey: a durable solution to forced displacement and a stable environment in which former refugees can rebuild their lives. However, settlement is shaped by rapidly changing socio-political forces producing contingent, unpredictable, and even hostile environments. This article draws upon Vigh’s concept of social navigation to reconceptualize settlement as a continuation of a fraught journey in which refugee settlers must continually seek new strategies to pursue viable futures. We illustrate with an in-depth case study of the settlement journey of one refugee-background young man over his first eight years in Melbourne, Australia.

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Author Biographies

Caitlin Nunn, School of Applied Social Sciences, Durham University

Caitlin Nunn is an assistant professor (research) in the School of Applied Social Sciences at Durham University. The author may be contacted at caitlin.nunn@durham.ac.uk.

Sandra M. Gifford, Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of Technology

Sandra M. Gifford is a professor of anthropology in the Centre for Urban Transitions at Swinburne University of Technology. The author may be contacted at sgifford@swin.edu.au.

Celia McMichael, School of Geography, University of Melbourne

Celia McMichael is a lecturer in the School of Geography at the University of Melbourne. The author may be contacted at celia.mcmichael@unimelb.edu.au.

Ignacio Correa-Velez, Queensland University of Technology

Ignacio Correa-Velez is associate professor of public health at the Queensland University of Technology. The author may be contacted at ignacio.correavelez@qut.edu.au

cover of Refuge general issue 33 no. 2 2017

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Published

2017-11-03

How to Cite

Nunn, C., Gifford, S. M., McMichael, C., & Correa-Velez, I. (2017). Navigating Precarious Terrains: Reconceptualizing Refugee-Youth Settlement. Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 33(2), 45–55. https://doi.org/10.7202/1043062ar

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Issue

Vol. 33 No. 2 (2017): General Issue

Section

Articles

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Refuge authors retain the copyright over their work, and license it to the general public under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License International (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license allows for non-commercial use, reproduction and adaption of the material in any medium or format, with proper attribution. For general information on Creative Commons licences, visit the Creative Commons site. For the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, review the human readable summary.