Relevant Coursework
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plain
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2020-05-18T11:13:37-07:00
As we immersed ourselves in this project, we studied and reflected on a diverse array of narratives that enhanced our comprehension of the refugee experience. Narratives like Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini and The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui deepened our understanding of the interaction between literature and the human experience. We learned that our perspective as compilers of information is not the entire truth, but an important stepping stone to get there. Next, we examined the juxtaposition of politics and the refugee experience. Compiling stories of the refugee experience from multiple perspectives, The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives, edited by Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Refugee Tales, edited by David Herd and Anna Pincus, both expose the bitter realities lingering behind current headlines. As we discussed each individual narrative in these collections, we noted that, although individual and unique, they nonetheless had a shared sense of "sameness" with other versions of the refugee experience.
Finally, Loung Ung gave us a poignant glimpse into life as a refugee under the Khmer Rouge in her autobiographical account in First They Killed My Father. This memoir played an essential role in how we understood and approached the journal entries that we edited. Ung’s work helped us further understand the historical and cultural context of the journal entries and appreciate the stories, experiences, and moments of raw emotion included within its pages. Through our engagement with Ung’s experience, we were able to visualize and empathize with the Sisters’ ministry in Cambodia all the more fully.
