Muslim Syrian Adolescent Women Refugees' Resettlement Experiences in the U.S.: A Critical Narrative Analysis

The purpose of this critical narrative analysis is to explore, situate, and interpret Muslim Syrian adolescent refugees' resettlement experiences in their new host society, i.e., the United States. Bourdieu's theory of practice, specifically the concepts of habitus/field, symbolic violence, cultural capital, and agency, are used as a theoretical lens that guide this study and provide an insightful explanation of refugees' resettlement experiences. In-depth open-ended interviews and field notes are the main data collection tools used to answer the following research questions: RQ 1: How do Muslim Syrian adolescent women refugees frame their resettlement experiences in the United States? RQ a) How do Muslim Syrian adolescent women refugees frame their future on the cusp of being adult especially with the current political climate that is characterized with anti- refugees and anti-Muslim rhetoric? RQ b) To what extent do Muslim Syrian adolescent women refugees enact their agency and express their cultural capital? Findings reveal that Muslim Syrian adolescent women refugees share similar aspects of other refugee populations' resettlement experiences such as their struggle for and suffering of power dispersion. However, findings of this study also show that Muslim Syrian adolescent women refugees have a unique resettlement venue specifically in regard to their habitus and field.