HWS News
7 April 2025 Defining Home
During the Anderton Forum for Global Engagement, Northwestern University Professor of Political Science Wendy Pearlman explored how Syrian refugees view belonging.
At a packed house for the recent Anderton Forum for Global Engagement, Middle East political scientist and author Wendy Pearlman explored the questions, “What is home? And what does home mean to you?” through the perspectives of Syrian Civil War refugees—a central theme of her latest book The Home I Work to Make.
In The Home I Work to Make, Pearlman draws from interviews with more than 500 refugees who fled Syria following the Arab Spring protests in 2012 and the subsequent war against former President Bashar al-Assad. Their stories reveal the challenges of displacement, their journeys to countries across the globe and their efforts to rebuild a sense of home far from their place of birth.
“People have experienced tremendous loss and trauma,” Pearlman told students, faculty and staff gathered in Froelich Hall. “They’ve experienced brutal violence. But there’s hope in every single interview I’ve done. The fact they can even reflect and tell their story is a sign of resilience and perseverance and hope that telling their stories can change something for themselves or others. That’s incredibly inspiring.”
During the Forum, she shared the perspectives of four individuals from her book, each offering a unique understanding of home. For Insaf, who resides in LeMans, France, home means freedom from fear. Hani, living in Chicago, Illinois, grapples with guilt over leaving his past behind but sees home as a collection of experiences and memories. Medea, based in Istanbul, Turkey, defines home as a place where one can thrive and grow into “a bigger person.” Meanwhile Nour, living in Aarhus, Denmark, sees home as both a present reality and a connection to the past, rooted within herself and shaped by the meaning she derives from life’s journey.
“The refugees have taught me that people’s experiences don’t disappear when they leave their homes,” said Pearlman. “It’s easy to just focus on refugees as being just refugees, as if their lives begin when they cross a border. But people’s experiences don’t disappear. They shape every aspect of who they are.”
Following Pearlman’s presentation, President Mark D. Gearan moderated a Q&A session, delving into how the interviews have impacted her, the insight she has gained, and the broader meaning of belonging on a college campus. She also addressed audience questions on topics such as the tensions between those who stayed in Syria and those who fled, the definition of homeland and the process of fostering inclusion.
While Introducing Pearlman, Associate Professor of French, Francophone and Italian Studies Courtney Wells highlighted the significance of her work, stating that her timely exploration of belonging, identity and community amid the ongoing displacement of Syrians worldwide “challenges us as intellectuals and citizens to see that at the heart of the academic enterprise, what brings us all together in this community we’ve built is understanding and engagement.”
Professor of International Relations Stacey Philbrick Yadav, the chair of the Anderton Forum, also provided an introduction, highlighting Pearlman's ability to give sympathetic meaning to her research.
Leading up to Pearlman’s visit, a range of curricular and co-curricular initiatives provided opportunities for the HWS community to engage deeply with her work. The Home I Worked to Make was incorporated into courses in the Department of International Relations, while faculty in the Departments of Religious Studies and Educational Studies received faculty development grants from the Anderton Forum to develop curricula around the book’s themes. Additionally, the Institute for Global Studies, with support from the Office of Academic and Faculty Affairs, sponsored a faculty and staff reading group focused on the book. The International Relations Department organized a film screening and discussion examining the drivers of migration and the impact of U.S. border policies.
The author of five books, Pearlman is Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University, where she holds the Crown Professorship of Middle East Studies and serves as the Interim Director of the Middle East and North Africa Studies Program. She earned a Ph.D. from Harvard University, an MA from Georgetown University and a BA from Brown University. Her research focuses on the comparative politics of the Middle East, social movements, political violence, refugees and migration, emotions and mobilization and the Arab Israeli conflict.
Former Trustee James F. Anderton IV ’65, who attended the talk, established the speaker series in 2022. The Anderton Forum for Global Engagement brings leading experts to campus to share their insights and experiences on pressing global issues. The forum works to foster meaningful dialogue and intellectual exchange, inspiring the HWS community to broaden their perspectives on international relations. Past keynote speakers have included former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and international peacebuilding practitioner Séverine Autesserre.
Top: President Mark D. Gearan joins Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University and author Wendy Pearlman during this year’s Anderton Forum for Global Engagement.
