There is currently a record number of people who have been forcibly displaced: 1 in every 95 people in the world have had to flee in search of safety for themselves and their families. There are many reasons why people may be forced to leave their homes, including conflict, discrimination, persecution, extreme poverty, and environmental disasters. Forced migrants often face many risks as they move in search of safety or better opportunities, including violence, food insecurity, and limited or no access to health services or education.
Forced migration is a complex issue which we believe can be best understood by taking an interdisciplinary approach. This is why the Forced Migration Research Network is made up of scholars based predominantly in the Faculty of Arts, Design and Architecture at UNSW who work across the social sciences, including history, philosophy, media and film studies, cultural studies, education, and social psychology. We partner with civil society organisations, service providers, government bodies and international actors to undertake our research, policy, training, and advocacy activities.
Our objectives include:
UNSW now offers the Sanctuary Scholarship for People Seeking Asylum and Refugees with Temporary Protection and the Welcome Scholarship for Students from Refugee Backgrounds. Please direct any questions about these scholarships to the UNSW Scholarships team at scholarships@unsw.edu.au.
Interested in learning more about what we do? Follow the links to explore our projects, training kits and advocacy work. Want to get in touch with us or subscribe to our newsletter? Drop us an email at fmrn@unsw.edu.au.
The FMRSN is a network of higher degree research students (HDR) undertaking research in forced migration at UNSW. Established in 2020, the FMRSN aims to foster outstanding and original PhD research and provide postgraduate students associated with the UNSW Forced Migration Research Network to have a forum to engage with each other. The FMRSN is open for all UNSW postgraduate students involved in forced migration research across various research disciplines. FMRSN offers monthly meetings, several networking opportunities with senior academics and workshops relevant to PhD research.
Co-Convenors
Ruth Horsfall
Title of PhD thesis: Exploring the impact on wellbeing of beginners acting classes for young women with refugee backgrounds in Western Sydney
Supervisors: Dr Caroline Wake, Associate Professor Caroline Lenette
Simon Metcalfe
Title of PhD thesis: Affective Dimensions of Border Regimes: Australia’s violent border policies towards people seeking asylum via boat
Supervisors: Dr Maree Higgins, Dr Yao-Tai Li and Associate Professor Helen Pringle
Anja Wendt
Title of PhD thesis: The Relationship between Volunteers and the Refugee Settlement Sector in Australia
Supervisors: Dr Linda Bartolomei and Dr Susanne Schmeidl
Current members
Carly Hawkins
Title of PhD thesis: Nauru: The impact of immigration detention on the education of refugee children
Supervisors: Dr Hazel Blunden, Associate Professor Caroline Lenette, and Dr Sarah Mares
Tim McLennan
Title of PhD thesis: Evaluating equity practices for Students from Refugee Backgrounds in Aotearoa and Australian Higher Education institutions
Supervisors: Associate Professor Sally Baker and Dr Rose Amazan
Urvashi Jalali
Title of PhD thesis: A Search for Home in Exile - Placemaking as an evocative concept through the Cornerstones of Identity, Belonging, Rootedness Memory, Materiality, and Beyond in the Aftermath of a Forced Uprooting
Supervisors: Associate Prof Dijana Alic and Dr David Sanderson
Anna Xavier
Title of PhD thesis: Breaking Barriers or Building Walls: An Investigation into The Role of Education in the Integration of Refugee-Background Students in Regional NSW
Supervisors: Associate Professor Sally Baker, Professor Sue Starfield and Dr Rose Amazan
Mohammad Mehdi Hassan
Title of PhD thesis: Addressing the structural barriers to employment of refugees in construction
Supervisors: Dr Ahmed WA Hammad, Dr Cynthia Wang, Professor Martin Loosemore, Dr Daniel Chamberlain, and Professor Robyn Keast
Natasha Yacoub
Title of PhD thesis: Gendering the criteria for voluntary repatriation of refugees and internally displaced persons
Supervisors: Professor Jane McAdam and Associate Professor Christine Forster
Xiaxia Zhang
Title of PhD thesis: Translating Minor Melancholia: Weird English and Hybrid Languages in the Fiction of Brian Castro
Supervisors: Professor Elizabeth McMahon, Professor Brigitta Olubas, and Associate Professor Fiona Morrison
Alumni
Diana Kreemers
Project title: Institutional listening to minority voices: representation, recognition, and refugee media
Supervisors: Associate Professor Tanja Dreher, Professor Ramaswami Harindranath, and Dr Linda Bartolomei
Zoe Bell
Title of PhD thesis: Refugee Protection and Statelessness: The lived experience of the Rohingya Community in Australia
Supervisors: Prof Claudia Tazreiter, Dr Susanne Schmeidl