Abstract
· Forced migration categories that determine the legal significance of one’s situation in purportedly universal ways are shaped by history, politics, and culture, and their meaning is defined by their contextual applications.
· Forced migration categories often function as labels, accruing extralegal meaning that relates to peoples’ identities.
· Foregrounding lived experience is a way to understand the culturalproduction of labels.
· Labels determine how a person is treated under Canadian law.
· Labels are shaped not just by law but also discourse. The label “refugee” is an example of how categories can acquire diverse but related meanings culturally, legally, and personally.
· Canada’s Designated Foreign National regime provides a case study in refugee label making, demonstrating the legal, cultural, and discursive operation of the “refugee” label.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Forced Migration In/To Canada |
| Subtitle of host publication | From Colonization to Refugee Resettlement |
| Editors | Christina R. Clark-Kazak |
| Publisher | McGill-Queen's University Press |
| Pages | 58-71 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-0-2280-2218-3 , 978-0-2280-2219-0, 978-0-2280-2350-0 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-0-2280-2217-6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2024 |