Cheryl Yin, assistant professor of anthropology, has received a grant-in-aid award to conduct research in the Immigration History Research Center Archives (IHRCA) at the University of Minnesota Libraries. Yin’s project, “The Relationship between Southeast Asian Refugees and Refugee Sponsors,” examines the pivotal yet largely untold history of refugee sponsorship in the U.S. and seeks to document the complex, precarious, and sometimes ephemeral relationships formed between these strangers.
As she documents the story of refugee sponsorship, Yin will conduct oral history interviews to capture refugees’ and sponsors’ first-hand accounts. To complement these interviews, she will examine archival materials, including case files, records, and letters, as well as pamphlets, photographs, and other data available at IHRCA to learn more about the policies and procedures of refugee agencies and resettlement. Juxtaposing the oral history narratives alongside archival material, Yin will compare personal experiences with documented accounts, identify gaps and contradictions, and investigate reasons for differing accounts across materials and memories.