Graduation Year

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Degree Granting Department

Sociology

Major Professor

Alejandro Marquez, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Nik Lampe, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Jamie Sommer, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Molly Fee, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Kevin Yelvington, Ph.D.

Keywords

Syrian refugees, gender roles, spirituality, resettlement, forced migration, sociology of emotions

Abstract

In this dissertation I explore the social dimensions of trauma and resilience among Syrian refugees resettled in the United States. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus group data collected at a resettlement center in Tampa, Florida, I aim to understand how displacement reshapes identity, disrupts traditional gender roles, changes social bonds, and how healing occurs within one’s community. I frame my work within Social Identity Theory, Identity Theory, and the sociology of trauma. My research highlights the gendered expressions of trauma, the transformation of masculinity under forced migration, and the role of spirituality in community healing.

This project includes three standalone articles. The first article, The Gendered Pathways of Trauma, analyzes how Syrian refugee women process emotional pain differently based on shifting gender roles and identity verification challenges during resettlement. The second, Beyond the Stereotype, questions common narratives and misconceptions about refugee masculinity, showing how men navigate the collapse and reconstruction of identity during socio-economic disempowerment. The third article, Healing in Community, explores how collective trauma is addressed through faith-based practices, community, and culturally grounded coping strategies, challenging the limitations of Western therapeutic models in refugee care.

Together, these articles aim to provide a multi-layered understanding of trauma not only as an individual experience, but as a socially rooted phenomenon that intersects with gender, religion, culture, family, and policy. This dissertation contributes to the fields of sociology, migration studies, and trauma research by promoting more culturally sensitive, community-centered approaches to refugee resettlement and mental health support. I emphasize that healing and resilience are not only about survival but about individual’s reclaiming their narrative agency, people within society bearing witness to trauma and trauma expression, rebuilding community and cohesion, and preserving the dignity of displaced communities.

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