Lecture series continues with the arrival of Erin Corcoran

It is estimated that 117.2 million people will be forcibly displaced or stateless in 2023, according to The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Many of these people will be classified as refugees and seek asylum. The protection of such refugees is recognized as a fundamental human right under international law. Although the protection of fleeing refugees looks altruistic, in reality, the application process is incredibly complex, according to the director of the Kroc Institute of International Peace Studies, Erin Corcoran. Corcoran has spent her professional career researching how humanitarianism tends to ignore historical context as a possible root cause of the migration of refugees and will be visiting MSU to give a lecture as part of the Shannon Weatherly Lecture Series. 

Corcoran views the problems facing refugee protections with a humanitarian, feminist twist by positing what is needed to eliminate labels that perpetuate dualistic paradigms. "Oftentimes we can label people as victims, Which is pretty flat, so they have to demonstrate they are victims, through awful violence sometimes at the expense of their own sense of self or agency," she said.

"When I was working to get my client's immigration status, oftentimes that meant putting their experiences in a very narrow box in order for them to qualify for protection, which stripped away what it means to be human," Corcoran said. "Refugees are humans with very interesting and complex stories. But lawyers are being forced to fit their client's experiences into the legal definition that would give them the ability to stay in the States. The whole process is dehumanizing and strips them of their agency."

Corcoran first found herself in Montana when she attended a Girl Scout camp and fell in love with the state. However, she started school at Central Michigan University studying earth science before transferring to MSU and taking a class in women in religion with MSU professor Lynda Sexson. Corcoran learned from Sexson that she had a passion for philosophy, women and gender studies, and religious studies. "A lot of my research and work has been about working with very vulnerable populations, but I've also had a lens of looking at systems of power and seeing how they affect the most vulnerable women and children, which can be attributed to my time at MSU," Corcoran said. 

With inspiration from Sexson, Corcoran found herself working with the Women's Center and was part of the group to begin the Take Back the Night March, which works to raise awareness of sexual violence against women. 

Corcoran is a Bobcat at heart and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from MSU in Philosophy, Religious Studies, and Women's and Gender Studies, and she completed her law degree at Georgetown University Law Center. After school, she worked in immigration and refugee law. Corcoran currently serves as a director at the Kroc Institute of International Peace Studies and as a faculty member at the Keough School of Global Affairs at Notre Dame. Through the Shannon Weatherly Lecture Series, Corcoran will be coming to MSU once again to speak about her research.

Shannon Weatherly, founding board member, volunteer, and MSU alumni, was unfortunately killed by a hunter in Yellowstone. In response, her friends and family put together an endowment for a lecture series in her name, as she was a human rights activist with incredible passion. The series was unfortunately disrupted by COVID-19 but is now back with Corcoran's lecture. 

"I am hoping they will be inspired by an MSU alumnus who has experienced the same things they are now and can see where their paths can take them," said the director of the Women's Center, Betsy Danforth. "She is a really funny person and somebody who really cares about what she is researching and speaking on. I hope students will be inspired and find out some interesting viewpoints on the refugee experience and how this country handles refugee law."

Corcoran's lecture, "Reclaiming Agency: A Feminist Critique of Refugee Protection," will be presented on Tuesday, April 18th at 6 p.m. in the Museum of the Rockies' Hager Auditorium and is free and open to the public.