Researcher

Sarah Vancluysen

Research Expertise:My research interest lies in the field of (forced) migration studies, conflict, transnationalism and the relationship between these forms of mobility and development. In November 2021, I obtained my PhD in Development Studies at the Institute of Development Policy (University of Antwerp). In my PhD project, 'Continuity and Connectedness: Everyday Experiences of South Sudanese Refugees in Uganda', I studied the presence of South Sudanese refugees in northern Uganda. In doing so, I especially developed an interest into the continued (transnational) mobility of refugees. In my post-doctoral research, my interest mostly goes to displaced transnational families. In my FWO post-doc mandate, that starts in October 2022 ('Crossing Borders, Connecting Families. Return Decision-Making In South Sudanese Transnational Family Networks', I will analyze the return decision-making strategies of displaced South Sudanese families. This will be done through a multi-sited ethnography at three locations, namely Kampala (Uganda), Adjumani (Uganda) and Juba (South Sudan).

Disciplines:Ethnicity and migration studies, Social and cultural anthropology, Migration

Research techniques:My post-doctoral research project has a multi-sited ethnographic approach. To develop a holistic understanding of the transnational social fields that are created, negotiated and maintained (or not) by refugees and wider families, my project combines multiple qualitative research methods at three research sites (Kampala, Adjumani, Juba). This includes auto-ethnography by a limited number of refugees, in-depth interviews, life stories and observations.

Users of research expertise:Anyone who has an interest in forced migration and development, especially in northern Uganda & South Sudan: policy makers, humanitarian actors, (inter)national media, NGO's, UN agencies, civil society