That refugeeness is a socially constructed subjectivity produced by immigration and refugee policy is the main argument of this thesis. Departing from the functionalist approach characterizing previous work on migrants, refugees in this study are defined as developing a particular migrant subjectivity, characterized by uprootedness and the crossing of borders. As well, this study argues that refugeeness is an addition to the general refugee experience. Immigration and refugee policy at the international and Canadian levels is defined as the main discourse in the production of refugeeness . How this state intersects with individual refugees' lives is the focus of this study which seeks to analyze the impact of immigration and refugee policy on refugee claimants in Canada. Deconstruction of immigration and refugee policy discourse provides core elements in understanding the construction of the refugee as an object defined by international law. Further, it is shown that increasingly restrictive policies, arising out of western nations' concerns over sovereignty of their borders have had an impact on the migratory trajectory of refugee claimants and on their pre-refugee subjectivities. It is argued that the process constituting the refugee claimant subjectivity is one of otherization where refugees are dispossessed of their pre-migratory subjectivity, creating a profound rupture with their past and present subjectivities. A qualitative approach is used to determine the subjective experience of claimants in Canada as it relates to three major areas of their lives: work, family and state which constitute the core areas of study in the construction of the refugee claimant subjectivity, as conceptualized by a materialist theoretical model. Conclusions raise issues for policy practices and social work practice.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.36628 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Lacroix, Marie. |
| Contributors | Nichols, Barbara (advisor), Firbank, Oscar (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Doctor of Philosophy (School of Social Work.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001746309, proquestno: NQ64595, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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