Recent restrictions on arrivals in the United States have raised questions about the nature of refugee issues.  Some people argue that refugees threaten the American way of life, while others maintain that assisting refugees is a democratic imperative and humanitarian obligation. While this debate rages nationally and globally, it is also taking place here in Wisconsin.  In her talk, Dr. Claudena Skran, West Professor of Economics and Social Science at Lawrence University, will explore five myths about the current migration crisis.  Her talk will also highlight how concerned individuals and groups should respond to refugees.

Professor Claudena Skran teaches about refugees, human rights, and international politics at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI.  Skran earned her doctorate at Oxford University and is the author of The Refugee Problem in Interwar Europe:  The Emergence of a Regime.  Prof. Skran has spent most of her academic career studying refugees, and has written about refugees from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.  She is also the founder of KidsGive, a scholarship organization for children in Sierra Leone, a country which has experienced massive population displacement.