A discourse analysis of how refugee volunteers talk about themselves and their experiences of volunteering.

Prof Doc Thesis


Yap, Su Yin 2009. A discourse analysis of how refugee volunteers talk about themselves and their experiences of volunteering. Prof Doc Thesis University of East London School of Psychology
AuthorsYap, Su Yin
TypeProf Doc Thesis
Abstract

This research sought to explore the experiences of refugees who work as volunteers
assisting other refugees. It was interested in how this group talk about themselves
and their volunteer roles in light of the dominant discourses about refugees. A
Foucauldian Discourse Analytic approach was adopted in order to explore how
refugees construct themselves as both refugees and volunteers, the discourses they
drew on, and how this impacted on the possible ways-of-being open to refugees.
The results show that participants both reproduced and resisted dominant
discourses about refugees. An economic discourse in relation to refugees was most
dominant, with refugees constructed as bogus, lazy, a drain on the economy, and as
financially indebted to the State. In relation to volunteering, a meta discourse of
good citizen was identified, with volunteering constructed as a technology of self, a
way of transforming the refugee into a 'good citizen'. Subjugated constructions of
volunteering as a way of coping and as social change were identified. The findings
of the research are discussed in relation to implications for clinical practice and
future research.

Year2009
Publication dates
Print11 May 2009
Publication process dates
Deposited19 Jun 2014
Additional information

This thesis supplied via ROAR to UEL-registered users is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, and duplication of any part of the material is not permitted, except for your personal use for the purposes of non-commercial research and private study in electronic or print form. You must obtain permission from the copyright-holder for any other use. Electronic or print copies may not be offered, for sale or otherwise, to anyone. No quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement.

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