Becoming a Graduate in a Refugee Camp: Exploring Identity Positioning Through Higher Education

Abstract

This article discusses the use of multiple identities in narratives by refugees engaged in higher education paths at Kakuma camp (Kenya). Following the Positioning theory, we explored identity displays in narratives collected through semi-structured interviews. The analysis deepens 5 narratives which had been considered exemplary to showcase the transformative valence of higher education. Different identity positioning was analyzed looking at before and after graduation as a crucial episode. Results showed three different narratives, and a range of diverse identity positions: the first narrative is about becoming a community leader, which responds to the very aim of the diploma course; the second narrative is about becoming successful, prevalently as professionals and as community members; and the third one concerns women perspective about an emancipatory and empowering educational path that challenges the status quo. This study contributes to the analysis of refugees’ identities from a critical perspective that challenges stereotyped notions by showing the use of narratives to mobilize and display multi-faceted selves.