ABSTRACT
The relationship between migration, trauma, and empire is often depicted through the stories of vulnerable migrants. In this paper, however, we explore the implications of taking seriously an analytic of refusal, as developed by Indigenous scholars. We argue that taking refusal seriously reframes the form and content of feminist migration research, bringing sustained attention to the structures of domination underpinning practices of migration and social science research focused on migration. By decentering the commonplace form of the ethnographic encounter, we explore what it means to circle around stories of pain and highlight instead the structures of domination that produce pain. We conclude that while refusing may involve failing the imperial demands of the Western academy, it can also be generative, allowing us to draw new connections and to rethink the nature of “successful” academic research.
