Project

Our project was inspired by the Consortium of Independent Colleges (CIC) “Humanities Research for the Public Good” grant, which has the following goal: “By making visible the significant collections contained in college archives, libraries, and museums, the project aims to show how these raw materials of humanities research can address the concerns and experiences of local communities." We responded by engaging three local communities with one another—Saint Mary’s College students/faculty, South Bend/Michiana residents, and the Congregation of the Sisters the Holy Cross.

The central aim of this project, which emerged both from this grant proposal and as a response to the current global refugee crisis, is to digitize archival material within the Congregation's collection which showcases the sisters' close work with refugees and displaced persons during the American Civil War (1861-65) and the refugee crises in Cambodia (1979-80), Lebanon (1982-83), and El Salvador (1983-86). Our aim is to encourage community discussion on appropriate and viable responses to the ongoing mass displacement of populations worldwide through our project’s collaboration with its two community partners—the History Museum of South Bend and the United Religious Community (URC) in South Bend.

What is displacement?

Displacement is a complicated and multifaceted issue. Forced to flee their homes as a result of war, religion, or politics, those who are displaced face incredibly challenging situations. Not all individuals who were displaced found themselves in refugee camps. As we have learned, some individuals faced a long journey to their new home or were able to travel rather directly. In either case, displacement is deeply personal. Working on this project has allowed us to expand our own definitions of displacement and its implications.

Thinking about displacement beyond its political implications reveals a far more complicated process that significantly impacts individual lives. Displacement in political terms divides people into categories and demands paperwork and passports. For example, different terms that are used to group individuals like "asylum seeker," "refugee", or "illegal alien" carry vastly different implications. Using politically-charged terms limits how we understand and seek to help those individuals who have been displaced.

By rethinking how displacement works and focusing on the individual story, transnational stories of empathy, compassion, hardship, heroism, and survival emerge. Drawing on individual stories helps to illuminate the lasting effects of displacement on individuals, families, cultures and societies. By beginning with the individual, it becomes possible to understand displacement as something that is both deeply personal and universal.

Through this public humanities project, we seek to explore displacement both from the perspective of the sisters themselves and from those who were displaced, thereby moving outside of the politics and focusing on the human experience. Drawing on archival artifacts and documents, we came face to face with the very personal and lasting effects of displacement. We then used these objects and documents to tell a story that resonates across conflicts, regions and eras.

In conjunction with our local partners (the History Museum of South Bend and the United Religious Community), we intend to curate a museum exhibit to engage with our local Michiana community and to raise awareness about the effects of displacement.

Tackling a global problem through a local lens shows the far reaching implications of displacement. Reading and listening to individual stories not only challenges the political definition of displacement, but also reminds us that there are stories to be told and that these stories matter.