New Books in Sociology Dominic Davies and Candida Rifkind, "Graphic Refuge: Visuality and Mobility in Refugee Comics" (Wilfrid Laurier UP, 2025)
Sep 17, 2025
Dominic Davies, a Reader in English with expertise in postcolonial studies, and Candida Rifkind, a Professor of English specializing in life writing, delve into the rich realm of refugee comics. They discuss how these graphic narratives illuminate the complexities of displacement and challenge conventional perceptions of refugees. Key topics include the innovative storytelling techniques that evoke empathy, the representation of second-generation refugee experiences, and the comics' power to redefine identity and reveal the interplay of trauma and resilience in the face of adversity.
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A Dialogic Coauthoring Method
- Davies and Rifkind used a collaborative method where each wrote alternating chapters and then co‑authored introduction and conclusion.
- This dialogic approach let them combine interdisciplinary perspectives without erasing distinct voices.
Camp Details Protect And Thickly Contextualize
- Candida describes Olivier Kugler masking identities in camp drawings to protect subjects while thickening context with detailed domestic scenes.
- Leila Abdel-Razak frames panels with Palestinian embroidery to embed cultural memory into camp narratives.
Comics As Slow, Reflexive Journalism
- Comics operate as 'slow journalism' that shows not only events but how journalists, narrators, and visual systems frame refugee stories.
- This reflexivity lets comics reveal biases and the mechanics of spectacle rather than only presenting new facts.
