Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg, Broom Professor of Social Demography and Anthropology
Professor Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg will work with Student Research Partner Jill Yanai ’22 throughout winter and spring terms to prepare for a larger research project. Professor Feldman-Savelsberg is embarking on a collaborative research project with the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT), a non-profit headquartered in Minnesota that provides support for survivors of torture to advance healing and advocates for the protection of asylum seekers and refugees and against the use of torture.
The collaborative project will examine social connectedness and strategies for fostering mental well-being for refugees and victims of torture. Eventually, they hope to expand the project by conducting fieldwork with refugees and victims of torture.
Professor Feldman-Savelsberg’s collaborators at CVT are Research Director Craig Higson-Smith and Jennifer Esala, Research and Evaluation Lead for US Services. With psychology and medical sociology as their respective specialties, collaboration with Professor Feldman-Savelsberg’s expertise in medical anthropology creates a productive interdisciplinary team.
Working during winter and spring terms with Professor Feldman Savelsberg, Yanai will do bibliographic work, abstract writing, and participate in discussions of the project themes. Ultimately, this work will move the project towards a final research design and applications for grants in partnership with the CVT.