Dr. Sanders is a recent PhD graduate of the School of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Arizona. Her 2020 dissertation is titled "Politics of Care and Reverberations of Trauma: Syrian Refugees in Izmir, Turkey." Her dissertation explores a broad framework of international, national, and local institutions including care and assistance sectors (health care and humanitarian aid), the labor market, and urban settlement that are part of the interface between Syrians and the Turkish state. It connects Syrian affects and emotions to the institutions that regulate their everyday lives through multiple interventions. Currently Mija is working on a book based on her dissertation. She earned her B.A. from Portland State University in International Studies focused on the Middle East, with a Minor in Turkish language, and a Turkish Studies Certificate. Mija Sanders' work with Syrian refugees in Turkey examines the ways in which they make meaning of their newfound life worlds in Turkish society, including the gendered nuances of Syrian experiences with Turkish medical institutions and international aid organizations, and life in Turkish neighborhoods. These reflect Syrian anxieties about medical discourses and metaphors of violence used to interpret discriminatory practices on various social levels. She speaks Turkish, Arabic and Kurdish, and volunteers mentoring refugee youth. Currently she works in the tech industry as a User Experience Researcher.

Anthropology

Turkish Studies

Turkish

Gender/Women's Studies

Kurdish Studies

Turkey

All Middle East

Kurdistan

Syrian Refugees In Turkey

Turkish (advanced)

Kurdish (elementary)