February 2023 MBR The Social Issues Shelf

The Social Issues Shelf

Refugees, Refuge, and Human Displacement
Ignacio Lopez-Calvo, editor
Marjorie Agosin, editor
Anthem Press
www.anthempress.com
9781839982484, $125.00, HC, 260pp

https://www.amazon.com/Refugees-Displacement-Studies-American-Literature/dp/1839982489

Synopsis: Every American is a descendant of either a Native American, and enslaved person, an immigrant, or a refugee. Collaboratively compiled and co-edited by Ignacio Lopez-Calva and Marjorie Agosin, "Refugees, Refuge, and Human Displacement" is devoted to that fourth category.

The essays comprising "Refugees, Refuge, and Human Displacement" study the concept of refuge as well as historical forced displacement and statelessness, trying to provide potential lasting solutions to the many problems associated with this situation. This volume is not only timely but expansive, as it moves from the pressing crisis of refugees to the crisis of humanity that seeks to find refuge.

From refugees to asylum seekers, from climate change to war, from historical uprootedness and displacement to today's crisis of refugeeism, these topics are mobilizing humanities scholars to think about refugees with a new sense of urgency. "Refugees, Refuge, and Human Displacement" demonstrates how interdisciplinary cultural approaches grounded in the humanities can transform refugee conversations so often dominated by political science, economics, and other disciplines. In doing so, the collection sets up far more inclusive refugee discussions and urges humanities thinkers to respond by taking the lead in the face of environmental and sociopolitical uncertainties.

Critique: A timely contribution to our national discussion concerning the admission of refugees into the United States of America, "Refugees, Refuge, and Human Displacement" is comprised of an informative Introduction followed by thirteen erudite and informative essays by contributors with expertise in their areas of study, deftly organized into four major sections (Humanity and Human Displacement; Seeking Refuge; Acts of Creating Refuge; Approaches to Constructing Refuge). While available in a digital book format (Kindle, $35.20) for personal reading lists for students, academia, political activists, governmental policy makers, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject, "Refugees, Refuge, and Human Displacement" is particularly recommended for professional and academic library Immigration Policy & Studies collections and supplemental curriculum lists.

Editorial Note #1: Marjorie Agosin (https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/marjorie-agosin) is a poet and human rights activist with a long career dedicated to the themes of social justice.

Editorial Note #2: Ignacio Lopez-Calvo is UC Merced Presidential Endowed Chair in the humanities and professor of Latin American literature. He is the author of eight monographs. (https://www.ucmerced.edu/content/ignacio-l%C3%B3pez-calvo)

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