Suzan ILCAN

SUZAN ILCAN is Professor and University Research Chair in the Department of Sociology and Legal Studies at the University of Waterloo and Balsillie School of International Affairs. She received her PhD in Sociology from Carleton University. Before joining the University of Waterloo in 2011, she held a Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) from 2002-2011.

Suzan’s research focuses on critical migration and border studies, with emphasis on precarity, migratory journeys, humanitarian aid, asylum-seekers and refugees, community-building, and citizenship and social justice. Her recent publications highlight the diverse ways displaced people seeking protection negotiate state borders and the affective atmospheres of borders, experience and counter precarious situations, remake “home” away from home, and engage in resettlement and women-led community-building initiatives. Her current and previous funded research projects focus on the MENA region, Europe, and Canada. She is principal investigator of a SSHRC-funded project on asylum, border, and resettlement practices in Cyprus.