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Beggars Can't Be Choosers Or the Refugee As a Moral Agent? Pamela Cartier Allen

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Beggars Can't Be Choosers Or the Refugee As a Moral Agent? Pamela Cartier Allen Duquesne University Duquesne Scholarship Collection Electronic Theses and Dissertations Spring 2011 Beggars Can't Be Choosers or the Refugee as a Moral Agent? Pamela Cartier Allen Follow this and additional works at: https://dsc.duq.edu/etd Recommended Citation Allen, P. (2011). Beggars Can't Be Choosers or the Refugee as a Moral Agent? (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/268 This Immediate Access is brought to you for free and open access by Duquesne Scholarship Collection. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Duquesne Scholarship Collection. For more information, please contact [email protected]. BEGGARS CAN'T BE CHOOSERS OR THE REFUGEE AS A MORAL AGENT? A Dissertation Submitted to the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts Duquesne University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Pamela Cartier Allen May 2011 Copyright by Pamela Cartier Allen 2011 BEGGARS CAN'T BE CHOOSERS OR THE REFUGEE AS A MORAL AGENT? By Pamela Cartier Allen Approved 24 March 2011 ______________________________ ________________________________ Gerard Magill, Ph.D. Henk ten Have, M.D., Ph.D. Vernon F. Gallagher Chair Director, Center for Healthcare Ethics for the Integration of Science, Theology, (Committee Member) Philosophy and Law (Dissertation Director) ________________________________ ________________________________ Aaron Mackler, Ph. D. Henk ten Have, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor, Theology Professor, Center for Healthcare Ethics (Committee Member) (Committee Member) ________________________________ Christopher M. Duncan, Ph.D. Dean, McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts iii ABSTRACT BEGGARS CAN'T BE CHOOSERS OR THE REUFGEE AS A MORAL AGENT? By Pamela Cartier Allen May 2011 Dissertation supervised by Gerard Magill, Ph.D. This project considers the ways in which the dominant discourse on refugees might reinforce the negative impacts or limit the positive impacts of aid. Care for refugees is a difficult task that takes place in a discourse that begins with numerical calculi, a language that expresses ambivalence about our obligations for this category of persons, fear of their collective identity, and a deep ceded notion of refugees as an object of concern, a worthy cause, a growing problem, and a burden that must be shared. What we choose to do for and about refugees emerge from our present awareness (knowledge) as a process of deliberation predisposed and reinforced by the circulating and authoritative dominant discourse that has defined refugees and their relationship with iv larger society. Any attempts to affect the discourse on refugees therefore must begin with the re-evaluating what has gone before. The theoretical and analytical tools for the task of problematizing the dominant discourse on refugees were: 1) Analysis of the contemporary discourses on refugees, 2) Foucault's archeology and genealogy of discourse, 3) Mauss' theory of gift-exchange in the third party setting, 4) Goffman's total institution theory on stigma and identity, and 5) moral perceptions created by a discourse based on agency, reciprocity, solidarity, and hope. Discursive analysis affirms that the dominant discourse has historically been absent the refugee voice and lacking the agency to affect contingent changes in his or her life. It was shown that our reservoir of knowledge about refugees has been deposited in multiple layers of meaning, metaphor, media depictions, statistics, institutional dogma, and a political/ organizational superstructure. The dominant discourse on refugees was then challenged with a more inclusive approach that includes the themes of agency, reciprocity, solidarity, and hope giving primacy to the human connection between the refugee and aid rendered as a means of improving the care and outcome for refugees. This project embraces the idea that the words we choose in dialogue about others, distant or near, can bring either hope or complacency, mercy or empty justice, compassion or apathy, life or death. We are called on to choose life. v DEDICATION To My Heavenly Father Alone the Glory To Bryant and Carol for all the Love. To My Beloved Forever vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Reflection upon the themes expressed in this thesis has proceeded over time and in various contexts, gathering a number of debts which require acknowledgement. The names are joined here at the opening and will be addressed individually. Dr. James P. Bailey; Dr. Gerard Magill, Dr. Aaron Mackler; Dr. Adam Sohnen, Dr. Paul Lauritzen; Angela Fleming; Glory Smith; Aimee Zeller; and Dr. Jeffrey Allen With Gratitude and Appreciation Dr. James P. Bailey formulated and directed an early version of this argument. Dr. James Bailey read and critiqued a substantial number of subsequent drafts of the manuscript. Dr. James Bailey was the force behind reaching approval for the proposal and gathering of committee members. Dr. James Bailey was also instrumental in my being the recipient of The 2007-2008 McAnulty Dissertation Fellowship Award for this Dissertation. Much gratitude is due to Dr. Bailey and I am honored to have had his friendship and attentiveness. Dr. Gerard Magill, directed the final years of this dissertation. Dr. Magill, however, was much more than a dissertation director. Dr. Magill revived motivation and purpose that brought this work to fruition. Dr. Aaron Mackler receives a most important thank you for his meticulous attention to detail and suggestions the for inclusion of concepts and references that added both depth and richness of background for the support of this thesis argument. Dr. Aaron Mackler endured the full length of the seven years of commentary, critique, and reading. When Dr. Mackler was unable to read, he directed Aimee Zeller to read the chapters to him so that he might fully engage with my writing. It is a testament to Dr. vii Mackler's commitment to excellence and an unwavering dedication to provide a light for his students. Dr. Adam Sohnen is an unforgettable and most gracious member of those who brought me forward. Dr. Adam Sohnen allowed me to shadow him in his clinical work, all the while not leaving me in the darkness, but showing me a light of service. I grew in kindness and faith under his care and I am grateful. Dr. Paul Lauritzen, before there was a dissertation, saw something of value in me and chose to direct me toward the Ph.D. program. Thank you to Dr. Lauritzen for opening the door to a path for me to travel upon. Angela Fleming was vital to the research for this examination. Angela and the Inter-Library Loan staff worked relentlessly in obtaining the references requested and took care that they were delivered to me at my distant location. A big thanks to them. Glory Smith was, until just lately, only a voice that encouraged and calmed; informed and taught; listened and prayed; and was there every time I needed her. Thank you Glory for allowing yourself to be a connection and a force of encouragement. It meant the world to me. Dr Jeffrey Allen, my beloved, my husband, and my friend is a true exemplar of patience, listening, and other virtues discussed in this project. I prefer not to ask him whether it takes more patience to cope with me or with my frequently recalcitrant computer. In any case, my gratitude to him is incalculable as he assisted with proof- reading and formatting, placement of images, and hours upon hours of revisions, as well as meals and comfort at the end of each day. viii Finally, I must acknowledge the members of the McAnulty Fellowship Dissertation Committee for their consideration and award which enable me to have the leisure to imagine and to write. Thank you. It must be acknowledge the permissions for many of the photographic images that were used by this author in order to illustrate the topic. My teachers, stood in the background and provided a sense of direction concerning what fundamental issues might invite further exploration. As they certainly did, I have (in my own way) honed my own course. I am grateful to them for providing such fitting examples of scholarly enterprise. I must express my gratitude and appreciation once again to all. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Dedication .......................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgement ............................................................................................................ vii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xvi CHAPTER 1 DISCURSIVE CONSTRUCTION OF THE REFUGEE Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1 1.1. Contemporary Discourses about Refugees ...................................................................3 1.1A.The Katrina Disaster Discourse ......................................................................3 1.1B. Discourses of the Media ...............................................................................10 1.1C. Buzz Words in Discourse .............................................................................26 1.1D. Donation Discourses: The Live-Aid Message .............................................28 1.2. International
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