Middle East Studies

“Brains in Crisis: Stress and Resilience in Syrian Refugee Children”

Friday, April 8 –
Saturday, April 9, 2016

Granoff Center, 154 Angell St. Providence.Friday afternoon / Saturday morning: Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute.

Please note:

This event took place in two venues.

Friday, April 8, all morning, at the Martinos Auditorium, Granoff Center. As of 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 8, and the morning of Saturday, April 9, the conference continued at the Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute.

The theme of this year’s conference revolved around the current Syrian refugee crisis, and in particular its impact on brain development and mental health outcomes in young children. Our Brown-based team of interdisciplinary scholars connects scientists with anthropologists and historians, cognizant that understanding the cultural and historic context of the Middle East is paramount to any intervention success.

We have recently conducted field work on the current stressors faced by families and children in Jordan, and in particular at the Zaatari refugee camp. Our goal was to dedicate this conference to supporting their missions with the best and most cutting-edge science on the role of environmental influences on brain development and pathology, and how best to buffer these stressors in the broad service of protecting healthy brain development in this generation of children. We hope that in connecting the service providers directly with the science of stress, and in particular how best to buffer its effects, we are offering an invaluable service to a global crisis.

Engaged Scholarship
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