Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant: In the Aftermath of Displacement: Producing Vulnerable Livelihoods and Food Insecurity on Mount Elgon, Uganda

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University of Georgia doctoral student, David K. Himmelfarb, under the direction of Dr. J. Peter Brosius, will examine the long-term effects of involuntary displacement on food security. Governments around the world enact projects that displace millions of people each year. It is important for both policy and social science theory to investigate the social dynamics of how men and women construct new livelihoods and lifeways in the face of displacement and resettlement. This research will address two overarching questions: (1) Does forced displacement establish relationships of inequality that constrain displaced people's access to resources and livelihood opportunities? (2) If so, do these inequalities produce vulnerability to seasonal food shortages? The research will be carried out in the Benet Resettlement Area, located on the margins of Mt. Elgon National Park, Uganda. Using a comparative research design and a combination of qualitative ethnographic data and quantitative assessments of food insecurity, the researcher will compare livelihood activities, access to resources, relative food security, and strategies for coping with food insecurity in displaced and non-displaced communities.This research will contribute to social science theory about human social resilience and adaptation by adding a long-term perspective to the study of displacement. The project also will directly aid policy planners in more effectively addressing the impacts of previous policies and designing more socially and economically sensitive resettlement initiatives in the future. The research also will contribute to the education of a social scientist.