Research on Indochinese Refugees' Narratives and Memories of Their Experiences in the U.S.

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 18K18267
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 80010:Area studies-related
• Research Institution: Kyoritsu Women's University (2021); Ohtsuki City College (2018-2020)
• Principal Investigator: Sahara Ayako 共立女子大学, 国際学部, 准教授 (70708528)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: アメリカ合衆国 / 難民 / ベトナム

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The study analyzed the oral histories and resettlement backgrounds of the Indochina refugees, mainly Vietnamese refugees, to understand how they remembered and recorded their own experiences. They resettled in the United States, through English education and job training in their host community. Through these experiences, refugees were forced to confront downward mobility, and many have formed individual memories of war and migration as they rebuilt their lives.

Free Research Field

アメリカ研究

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、「インドシナ難民は『難民体験』をどのように語り、記憶してきたのか、そしてその記憶がアメリカ社会について何を表しているのか」という学術的問いのもと、救済の客体として捉えられてきた難民の主体性を問い直し、ベトナム難民をその中心としたインドシナ難民がどのように彼ら自身の体験を記憶・記録してきたのかについて分析し、移民・難民研究の系譜において新たな事例を提供した。