Just Reflections

Y-Dang Troeung’s Legacy for Critical Refugee Studies in Canada

Authors

  • Anh Ngo Wilfrid Laurier University
  • Thy Phu University of Toronto Scarborough
  • Gada Mahrouse Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14288/cl.vi261.199524

Abstract

For the Critical Refugee and Migration Studies Network of Canada (CRMS), Y-Dang Troeung was more than a colleague. Those of us in CRMS who knew her considered Y-Dang a dear friend and gained inspiration from her work, engaging with it for more than a decade, from its early stages to its bittersweet and poignant culmination in the forms of Refugee Lifeworlds: The Afterlife of the Cold War in Cambodia and her posthumous memoir, Landbridge: [life in fragments]. In this critical reflection, three co-founders of CRMS reflect on the legacy that Y-Dang leaves for critical refugee studies. This conversation highlights the unique lessons her work offers for reimagining our spaces for a compassionate mode of critical inquiry that cultivates curiosity and supports growth and care.

Author Biographies

Anh Ngo, Wilfrid Laurier University

Anh Ngo (she/her) is an associate professor at the Faculty of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University. She is a migrant settler by way of Vietnam and is working to reconnect with and reclaim knowledges from her ancestors and the lands that have sustained them. Her scholarship focuses on the well-being of migrant and refugee peoples through the lens of critical refugee and migration studies, and critical social work. 

Thy Phu, University of Toronto Scarborough

Thy Phu is a distinguished professor of race, diaspora, and visual justice at the University of Toronto. She is the author and co-editor of five books, most recently, Warring Visions: Photography and Vietnam and Cold War Camera. 

Gada Mahrouse, Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia University

Gada Mahrouse is an associate professor at the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia University (Montreal) where she teaches and researches in the areas of critical race studies, cultural studies, social justice pedagogies, and transnational feminist and postcolonial theories. Motivated by a long-standing interest in social justice, Dr. Mahrouse’s research seeks to identify and challenge inequalities. 

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Published

Dec. 17, 2025 (UTC)

How to Cite

Ngo, Anh, et al. “Just Reflections: Y-Dang Troeung’s Legacy for Critical Refugee Studies in Canada”. Canadian Literature: A Quarterly of Criticism and Review, no. 261, Dec. 2025, pp. 93-103, doi:10.14288/cl.vi261.199524.

Issue

No. 261 (2025): Swirling into a Field of Life: Works in Conversation with Y-Dang Troeung

Section

[gather]