Antropología, refugio y migraciones forzadas. Una breve historia

Abstract

The relationship between anthropology, Refugee Studies, and Forced Migration Studies is historical. This field of study has registered increasing interest due to on the one hand, the “refugee crisis” in Europe, since 2015 and, on the other hand, the increase of forcibly displaced population across the world. However, until now there has been a significant gap in the development of a state of the art in anthropology in this field in the Spanish language. This article aims to start filling this gap. Thus, a historical overview of Refugee Studies and Forced Migration Studies is presented, focusing on the most relevant concepts and contributions that anthropology has made to these fields. The determining role played by women anthropologists (the majority) in the construction of this field of study is described, beginning with the pioneering and innovative works of Elizabeth Colson, Barbara Harrell-Bond (considered the founder of Refugee Studies) and Liisa Malkki, among others, and ending with the recent debates about the separation or the fusion between Refugee Studies and Forced Migration Studies. Contributions about refuge and forced migration from a gender perspective assume a central element, from exposing the androcentric nature of the 1951 Geneva Convention to the latest lines of research, where Spanish anthropologists are making important contributions.