Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

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Date of Award

1-1-2020

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Conflict Analysis and Resolution

First Advisor

Robin Cooper

Keywords

cultural adaptation; cultural identity; gender roles; generational trauma; refugees; Syrian women

Abstract

As of April 2020, over 13 million Syrians have been displaced or exiled with many taking refuge in countries around the world. It can take more than a generation for refugees to return to their original community, governments and humanitarian organizations have struggled in the meantime to integrate them into their host countries. This qualitative case study research explored how adult refugee Syrian women forced to migrate during their formative years are maintaining, evolving and transmitting their cultural identity in their new host communities of Jordan and Lebanon. Through personal interviews with five subject matter experts from the region with direct, recent experience with refugees, the author evaluated the role of Women in traditional and displaced communities, the influencing factors on the maintenance and transmission of cultural identity, negotiation of identity and gender roles within host communities, and the concept of belonging. The theories of Social Constructivism, Social Identity, Berry’s Model of Acculturation, and the Coordinated Management of Meaning were reviewed and integrated. Through thematic analysis, three primary themes with multiple sub-themes emerged around education, belonging and gender roles. It suggested that Syrian refugee women who negotiate the process of acculturation, maintaining links to affirmative traditions and social roles while re-examining beliefs in conflict with the new community, may help sustain the cultural flame, provide their family with positive group affiliations and reduce generational trauma. A question also surfaced as to whether traditional acculturation models accurately captured the process around forced migration and the adaptation of identity in new communities.

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