Photographic Images of Refugee Spatial Encounters: Pedagogy of Displacement

Abstract

This paper examines my effort to document the experiences of a Bhutanese refugee community in a mid-western city of the United States. In particular, the essay looks at housing experiences the community encountered and my efforts to translate the events through photographs. The essay also explores how oppression operates in relation to refugee experiences. Recognizing that knowledge of recent refugees of color has been absent and perhaps may not be addressed in school curriculum in the near future, this photo essay project was created to serve as a curriculum about marginalized communities who are invisible in the curriculum. By using photographs, I explore three concepts that may help us examine the relationship between space and politics: (1) ideal spaces (2) violated spaces (3) damaged spaces. Lastly, by examining refugee experiences, the paper examines pedagogical approaches utilizing photographs to document oppression.

Keywords

• displacement
• oppression
• photographs
• violence
• pedagogy
• curriculum
• refugees
• space
• politics
• migration