Dr. Emily K. Frazier

Biography

Dr. Emily Frazier is an assistant professor of human geography in the School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability at Missouri State University.

Frazier's research focuses on U.S. refugee resettlement, the work of resettling organizations and the experiences of newcomers in non-traditional destinations in the U.S. Midwest and South. She has conducted fieldwork research in resettlement sites across Missouri, Iowa, Kentucky and Tennessee. Her work also addresses the intersections of immigration and American religion through a focus on faith-based humanitarianism and resettlement.

Details

Education

• PhD, Geography, 2019, The University of Tennessee – Knoxville
• BA, International Studies and Cultural Affairs, 2015, Arkansas Tech University

Teaching

• GRY 100 World Regional Geography
• GRY 108 Principles of Sustainability
• GRY 779 Qualitative Research Methods in Geography
• GRY 495 Undergraduate Research Experience

Professional experience

• Cultural Geography section editor, Geography Compass
• Board member of the Feminist Geographies, Qualitative Research, and Cultural Geography Specialty Groups of the AAG
• Public Religion Research Institute Public Fellow
• Russell Sage Foundation Pipeline Scholar
• Social Science Research Council RSDR Program Fellow
• Member of the American Association of Geographers

Selected Academic Publications

• Frazier, E. 2024. Unsettling U.S. Refugee Resettlement: Shifts in National Policy and Local Integration Practice in the Trump Era. Journal of Immigrant and Refugee Studies. Published online 8 March. https://doi.org/10.1080/15562948.2024.2324314.
• Frazier, E. 2022. Understanding ‘faith’ in faith-based organizations: refugee resettlement work as religious practice. Social & Cultural Geography. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2021.1910992
• Frazier, E. & M. van Riemsdijk. 2021. When ‘Self-Sufficiency’ Is Not Sufficient: Refugee Integration Discourses of US Resettlement Actors and the Offer of Refuge. Journal of Refugee Studies, 34:3, 3113 - 3130. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feaa119
• Frazier, E. 2020. When fieldwork 'fails': Participatory Visual Methods And Fieldwork Encounters With Resettled Refugees. Geographical Review, 110: 1-2, 133-144. Special Issue on Geographic Fieldwork in the 21st Century. DOI 10.1111/gere.12344

Research and professional interests

• Cultural and political geography
• Migration, refugees and displacement
• Borders, place and identity
• Geographies of (un)welcome and belonging
• Building sustainable communities
• Religion and civil society

Selected Media Engagement & Public Facing Scholarship

• Authored invited essay, “How Trump appeals to Evangelical Americans on Immigration.” PRRI Spotlight Analysis. February 7. https://www.prri.org/spotlight/how-trump-appeals-to-evangelical-americans-on-immigration/
• Co-authored guest editorial with Genevieve Stark*, “No, refugee resettlement isn’t a threat to Missourians.” In the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 8. https://www.stltoday.com/opinion/column/frazier-and-stark-no-refugee-resettlement-isnt-a-threat-to-missourians/article_94595968-93bd-11ee-8116-a3513432842b.html
• Authored invited essay, “Welcoming the stranger at home.” In The Immanent Frame. November 9. https://tif.ssrc.org/2023/11/09/welcoming-the-stranger-at-home/
• Interviewed and quoted in “Refugees came to Noel for opportunity. Tyson’s plant closure leaves their futures uncertain.” In the Missouri Independent, authored by Clara Bates. October 27, 2023. https://missouriindependent.com/2023/10/27/refugees-face-uncertain-future-as-missouri-tyson-plant-shutters/
• Co-authored article with Pablo Bose, “The federal government turns to local communities to help refugees settle into the US, but community-based programs bring both possibilities and challenges.” In The Conversation US. August 30, 2023. https://theconversation.com/the-federal-government-turns-to-local-communities-to-help-refugees-settle-into-the-us-but-community-based-programs-bring-both-possibilities-and-challenges-206982
• Co-authored perspective article with Laura E. Alexander, “Welcome Corps, the newest idea in refugee resettlement, has deep roots: The new program might strengthen personal connections to refugees, but history shows there are potential downsides, as well.” In The Washington Post. March 15, 2023. https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2023/03/15/welcome-corps-newest-idea-refugee-resettlement-has-deep-roots/
• Authored perspective article, “Geopolitics, not humanitarianism, has long guided U.S. refugee policy: Why the U.S. readily welcomes some refugees, but not others.” In The Washington Post. October 12, 2022. https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/10/12/biden-refugee-policy-politics-humanitarianism/

Awards and honors

Area of expertise

Media appearances

Gainesville organization welcomes refugee families amid concerns from residents
WUFT-FM
07/19/2024
Human geography expert Dr. Emily Frazier addresses how to help refugee families integrate into the community.

Welcome Corps is the Newest Idea for Welcoming Refugees, but it Has a Long History
The Washington Post
03/15/2023
Human geography expert Dr. Emily Frazier writes about the "Welcome Corps" program.

Geopolitics, not humanitarianism, has long guided U.S. refugee policy
The Washington Post
10/12/2022
Human geography expert Dr. Emily Frazier writes about the United States' refugee policy.