Exiled: Loss and Resilience Among Refugee and Forcibly Displaced Youth and Communities

UCSB Library presents a talk by Maryam Kia-Keating, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education to be followed by a public reception.

Mass migration and forced displacement of communities due to disruptions by violence, climate change, and economic and political instability, have heralded an era of global movement that has reached crisis levels. Approximately half of the world’s refugees are youth under the age of eighteen. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified international human rights treaty in history, guaranteeing children the rights to education, health, protection, dignity, and non-discrimination, along with other basic human rights. Yet, many refugee children and adolescents face statelessness, and are obstructed from access to education. Moreover, they are likely to face multiple and cumulative adversities that can lead to significant and long-term negative outcomes. Dr. Kia-Keating’s talk will draw from the contributions of psychological research in clinical and prevention sciences to the dialogue on refugee and forcibly displaced youth and communities resettled in the United States. She will highlight research on resilience and the benefits of ‘building longer tables, not taller fences.’

Dr. Kia-Keating is an associate professor of clinical psychology at the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education at UCSB, and a licensed clinical psychologist. Her research is supported by the National Institutes of Health. She is on Twitter @drkiakeating

Kia-Keating’s talk is in conjunction with UCSB Reads 2019.

Sponsored by Arts & Lectures, Carsey-Wolf Center, College of Creative Studies, College of Engineering, College of Letters & Science, English Department, Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, Graduate Division, Graduate Student Association, Interdisciplinary Humanities Center, KCSB-FM 91.9, MultiCultural Center, Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor, Sociology Department, UCSB Bookstore, Women, Gender & Sexual Equity Department, and the Writing Program