Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Department

History

Additional Departmental Affiliation

Folk Studies and Anthropology

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Bowling Green, Kentucky is a relatively small town comparable to its counterparts across the South. However, Bowling Green has a significant population of refugee inhabitants that have resettled in waves since the late 1970s. This paper describes the lived experience of refugees resettling by analyzing community action and troubles faced while working for independence in their new homes. Some factors explored are access to affordable housing, language barriers, and trouble in education. In addition, this paper contextualizes their lived experiences with other resettlement communities across the United States to understand how Bowling Green fits into patterns of societal xenophobia, racism, and religious prejudice that exist across communities and legal codes for new residents. This paper utilizes newspapers and oral histories, in addition to surveys conducted by other researchers of the resettled population of Bowling Green, to understand those experiences.

Advisor(s) or Committee Chair

Tamara Van Dyken, Ph.D.

Disciplines

Anthropology | History

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