G.P. Poelen (Iris)

I am a human geographer/anthropologist with a specialisation in migration studies. In my PhD project, I conduct actor-oriented qualitative research into the ways in which Syrian and Eritrean female refugees try to build new homes in the Dutch context. I investigate how these women try to bridge the distance between their lived experiences and ideal homes in their ‘homemaking processes’ and what obstacles they encounter in doing so. I study the impact of European immigration legislation and Dutch integration policy on building a sense of home, as well as the effects of (transnational) social relationships on this process.