Settlement, treatment and employment of French-speaking Belgian refugees in France, the Netherlands, England and Scotland

Description

As part of the ‘Uncovering civilian war trauma among female Belgian refugees in Scotland during the First World War’ workshop series, the Centre de Recherches Francophones Belges at the University of Edinburgh will welcome Dr Christophe Declercq (University College London), who will give a talk entitled: 'Settlement, treatment and employment of French-speaking Belgian refugees in France, the Netherlands, England and Scotland'

This exciting collaborative venture funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh intends to stimulate research on the timely subject of civilian war trauma via a case study of female Belgian refugees in Scotland during the years 1914 to 1918. Preliminary research shows that among Scotland’s c. 20,000 wartime Belgian refugees were dozens who applied for poor law assistance. Early analysis of these cases indicated 40% of female and 25% of male Belgian refugee applicants were diagnosed as suffering ‘insanity’, yet they presented with symptoms of trauma. The four organised events further examine these findings and offer attendees an insight into a range of topics including the settlement and treatment of Belgian refugees in Scotland and the notion of ‘shell-shock’ in First World War Britain.

Three events have already been held at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, at the University of Stirling and at the University of Strathclyde earlier this year.

More on the project can be found at the Stirling Centre for Scottish Studies.

Period	22 Nov 2017
Event type	Seminar
Location	Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Degree of Recognition	National