A Reflexive View of Refugee Integration and Inclusion: A Case Study of the Mennonite Central Committee and the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program

Luann Good Gingrich; Thea Enns

doi:10.7202/1064816ar

A Reflexive View of Refugee Integration and Inclusion: A Case Study of the Mennonite Central Committee and the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program

Authors

Luann Good Gingrich York University
Thea Enns Centre for Community Based Research

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7202/1064816ar

Keywords:

Mennonite Central Committee, Canada, private sponsorship, refugee sponsorship, social inclusion, social field, habitus

Abstract

Abstract
Through a qualitative case study with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) sponsorship groups and former refugee newcomers, we adopt a reflexive, relational, and systemic lens (Bourdieu) to analyze the institutional and interpersonal relationships in the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Program, and more specifically, the ways in which MCC Ontario’s sponsorship program invigorates or frustrates dynamics of social inclusion. We situate the institutional relations of the PSR Program as nested social fields and sub-fields, revealing complementary and competing systems of capital that direct explicit and implicit visions for “success” in MCC sponsorships. A peculiar Mennonite/MCC social field and structure of capital generates institutional and social tensions, yet an ambivalent disposition or divided habitus presents possibilities for seeing, understanding, and challenging dynamics of social exclusion.

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Author Biographies

Luann Good Gingrich, York University

Luann Good Gingrich is an associate professor and the director of the Global Labour Research Centre at York University. She can be reached at luanngg@yorku.ca.

Thea Enns, Centre for Community Based Research

Thea Enns works in the area of refugee resettlement in Canada. She can be reached at t.s.enns@gmail.com.

cover image of Refuge special issue on private sponsorship

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Published

2019-09-22

How to Cite

Good Gingrich, L., & Enns, T. (2019). A Reflexive View of Refugee Integration and Inclusion: A Case Study of the Mennonite Central Committee and the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 35(2), 9–23. https://doi.org/10.7202/1064816ar

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Issue

Vol. 35 No. 2 (2019): Refugee Sponsorship: Lessons Learned, Ways Forward

Section

Articles

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Refuge authors retain the copyright over their work, and license it to the general public under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License International (CC BY-NC 4.0). This license allows for non-commercial use, reproduction and adaption of the material in any medium or format, with proper attribution. For general information on Creative Commons licences, visit the Creative Commons site. For the CC BY-NC 4.0 license, review the human readable summary.