Alexander Roedlach, SVD, PhD, (Department of Cultural and Social Studies) co-edited with Andy Nelson (University of North Texas) and Roos Willems (Catholic University of Leuven) The Crux of Refugee Resettlement: Rebuilding Social Networks. The two leading chapters, that provide the conceptual frame for the other 12 chapters, are authored by Creighton faculty and students with their community partners.
The chapter by Rev. Renzo Rosales, SJ, (Department of Cultural and Social Studies, Cultural Anthropology), co-authored with Juana Domingo Andres (Pixan Ixim, Omaha), critiques the refugee concept by highlighting patterns shared by refugees and other migrants, illustrated by the experience of the Maya community in Omaha.
The chapter by Laura Heinemann, PhD, (Department of Cultural and Social Studies, Medical Anthropology), Claire Herzog (YMCA Omaha), Margo Minnich (College of Nursing), Celeste Mitchell (New York Academy of Sciences), Laeth Nasir (CU School of Medicine), Alexander Roedlach (CU Cultural and Social Studies, Medical Anthropology), Chaitri Desai (CU BA in Medical Anthropology, CU School of Medicine), and Melanie Kim (CU BA in Medical Anthropology, Osteopathy - Des Moines University) applies and discusses the usefulness and the limitations of the social capital concept for describing and explaining success and failure in refugee resettlement, illustrated by an analysis of the experience of Karenni and Bhutanese refugees in Omaha. The research on which this chapter is based was initiated with support by a Dr. George F. Haddix President’s Faculty Research Fund Award, in the Interdisciplinary Team category.
The two chapters, and the book as a whole, represent the interdisciplinary, collaborative, and applied approach of Creighton’s anthropologists, both faculty and students. The two endorsements on the back cover are not from anthropologists, underscoring the value of this approach. Jeff Crisp worked for many years with the UNHCR and has recently expressed criticism of the organization because it does not use this approach. Alan LeBaron is a historian, who recognizes the importance and potential of the anthropological lens.
