An Archaeology of Refugee Resettlement

FAIN: FEL-289676-23

Erin Paige Riggs
Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois (Champaign, IL 61801-3620)

Research and writing leading to a book that examines the urban resettlement and homemaking of Partition refugees in Delhi, India, from 1947 to the present.

Understanding peoples’ conceptions of housing contributes to better understandings of how people conceive of ideological homes and belonging. This project considers how Delhi’s Partition refugees have interacted with resettlement homes from 1947 through the present, dramatically altering and improving them to suit their unique goals and needs. Integrating oral historical, material, and archival evidence collected in the field, my book traces how such individual, household-level actions transformed the city at-scale. The result of this research will be an urban history of post-Partition Delhi told through constellations of diverse data—maps, individuals’ accounts, and images of home spaces. This portrait of Delhi’s built landscape history serves to challenge assumptions about the perpetual aid-dependency of refugee communities, the potential effectiveness of public housing, and the mutability of national belonging.

Media Coverage

NEH, NEA give more than $2 million in grants for humanities and art projects in Illinois (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Kayla Samoy
Publication: Chicago Tribune
Date: 1/10/2023
Abstract: Chicago Tribune article detailing NEH grants awarded in the state for the 2023 year cycle.
URL: https://www.chicagotribune.com/2023/01/10/neh-nea-give-more-than-2-million-in-grants-for-humanities-and-art-projects-in-illinois/

Research Forum: A Contemporary Archaeology of Post-Displacement Resettlement Delhi’s 1947 Partition Refugee Homescapes (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Department of Anthropology
Publication: University of York Research Forum
Date: 11/1/2023
Abstract: Event details: Erin Riggs is a contemporary archaeologist who studies modern-day built landscapes and material culture as a means of considering forced displacement, refugee resettlement, and national belonging in the recent past. In this talk, she will be discussing her new book on this topic.
URL: https://www.york.ac.uk/archaeology/about/events/2023-24/post-displacement-resettlement-research-forum/

Associated Products

A Contemporary Archaeology of Post-Displacement Resettlement Delhi’s 1947 Partition Refugee Homescapes (Book)
Title: A Contemporary Archaeology of Post-Displacement Resettlement Delhi’s 1947 Partition Refugee Homescapes
Author: Erin P Riggs
Abstract: This book explores the archaeology of the 1947 Partition, the largest mass migration in human history, and the resulting resettlement of half a million refugees in Delhi, India’s capital city. Interweaving material analysis with oral history collection and archival sources, this book considers how Delhi’s Partition refugees have interacted with the city's built landscapes through time. It demonstrates how government-built refugee colonies, influenced by both socialist and capitalist design philosophies, provided an effective and adaptable setting for resettlement. In contrast, it illustrates how Delhi’s pre-Partition landscapes—including ‘evacuee properties’ vacated by out-migrating Muslims and sections of the planned, colonial capital—have proven more problematic venues for rehousing. In these contexts, refugee families navigated life within homes shaped by past occupants and colonial-era wealth disparities. The book highlights that despite such difficulties and the unprecedented scale of Partition’s impact on Delhi, refugees have obtained an impressive degree of material success and social acceptance in the city. This example challenges assumptions about the aid-dependency of refugee communities, the potential effectiveness of public housing, and the mutability of national belonging. This interdisciplinary case study will be of interest to scholars in varied fields of study, including archaeology, architectural history, cultural anthropology, human geography, and South Asian studies.
Year: 2024
Primary URL: https://www.routledge.com/A-Contemporary-Archaeology-of-Post-Displacement-Resettlement-Delhis-1947-Partition-Refugee-Homescapes/Riggs/p/book/9781032161167
Primary URL Description: This is the Routledge page describing the book and listing the sale information.
Secondary URL: https://books.google.co.in/books?id=b3z9EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA232&dq=ISBN+A+Contemporary+Archaeology+of+Post-Displacement+Resettlement:+Delhi%E2%80%99s+1947&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjV74_z7OmFAxUEla8BHcXDAK0Q6wF6BAgNEAE#v=onepage&q&f=f
Secondary URL Description: Google book preview of the publication.
Access Model: subscription only
Publisher: Routledge
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 9781003247142
Copy sent to NEH?: No

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