Molly Fee

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Biography

My research centers on how marginalized groups interact with the institutions that grant rights and resources. In particular, I study how organizational structure and policies shape the migration and incorporation of refugees in the United States. My dissertation, entitled Resettled & Displaced: Refugee Incorporation in San Diego, CA and Boise, ID, explores how refugees resettled in the U.S. manage the displacing effects of resettlement as they learn to navigate the rules and expectations of a new country. I conducted over 1,000 hours of ethnographic fieldwork at a refugee resettlement agency in each city as well as 102 interviews with refugees and service providers to examine refugee incorporation in contrasting destinations.

Degrees

  • C. Phil., Sociology, UCLA, 2018
  • M.A. Sociology, UCLA, 2016
  • M.A. Cultural Translation, The American University of Paris, 2010
  • M.A. International Affairs, The American University of Paris, 2009
  • B.A. French & International Studies (summa cum laude), Washington University in St. Louis, 2008

Fields of Study

International Migration, Political Sociology, Forced Migration, Refugee Resettlement, Organizations, Qualitative Methods

Publications

Peer Reviewed Publications

Books and Book Chapters

  • Arias, M.B. and M. Fee (Eds.). 2018. Profiles of Dual Language Education in the 21st Century. Clevedon, U.K.: Multilingual Matters.
  • Moore, S.C.K, M. Fee, J. Ee, T.G. Wiley, and M.B. Arias. 2014. “Exploring Bilingualism, Literacy, Employability, and Income Levels among Latinos in the United States.” Pp. 45-78 in The Bilingual Advantage: Language, Literacy, and the Labor Market, edited by R.M. Callahan and P.C. Gándara. Clevedon, U.K.: Multilingual Matters.
  • Fee, M., N. Rhodes, and T.G. Wiley. 2014. “Demographic Realities, Challenges, and Opportunities.” Pp. 6-18 in Handbook of Heritage and Community Languages in the United States: Research, Educational Practice, and Policy, edited by T.G. Wiley, J.K. Peyton, D. Christian, S.C.K. Moore, and N. Liu. New York: Routledge.

Other Publications

  • Fee, M. 2018. “President Trump is Endangering Refugees.” Forced Migration Forum.
  • Sugarman, J., M. Fee, and A. Donovan. April 2015. “Research in Progress: Center for Applied Linguistics.” Language Teaching 48(2):292-297.
  • Fee, M. 2013. “Review of Linguistic Justice: International Law and Language Policy.” Folia Linguistica, 47(2):579-583.
  • Fee, M. 2009. “Cultural Adaptation and Integration for Refugees: A US Perspective.” Cosmopolite 3(1): 55-66.
  • Fee, M., N. Liu, J. Duggan, B. Arias, and T.G. Wiley. 2014. Investigating Language Policies in IB World Schools. The Hague: International Baccalaureate Organization.
  • Wiley, T.G., S.C. Moore, and M. Fee. 2012. A “Languages for Jobs” Initiative. Policy Innovation Memorandum No. 24. Washington, DC: Council on Foreign Relations.

Awards & Grants

  • UCLA Dissertation Year Fellowship, 2020-2021
  • UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy Collaboration Fellowship (with Dr. Claire Higgins, University of New South Wales, Australia), 2019-2020
  • P.E.O. Scholar Award, 2019-2020
  • National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant, 2019-2020
  • UCLA Department of Sociology European Studies Fellowship, 2018-2019
  • UCLA Center for European & Russian Studies Conference Travel Grant, 2018
  • UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy Fellowship, 2017-2018
  • UCLA Center for European & Russian Studies Pre-Dissertation Fellowship, Summer 2016
  • UCLA Graduate Research Mentorship, 2015-2016
  • UCLA Graduate Summer Research Mentorship, Summer 2015
  • National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 2015-2020
  • Center for Applied Linguistics Mission Advancement Award, June 2014
  • Washington University Department of Romance Languages Admussen Prize for Outstanding Senior Honors Thesis in French, May 2008
  • Washington University Department of Romance Languages Rose Markovitz Travel Prize, May 2006

Conference Presentations

(selected)

  • Fee, M. 2019. “Lives on Hold: The Costs of Waiting for Refugee Resettlement.” Paper presented at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 10, New York, NY.
  • Fee, M. 2018. “Becoming a Refugee: The Forced Migration Decision-Making of Iranian Religious Minorities.” Paper presentation at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Fee, M. 2018. “Pre-Resettlement and the Precarity of Waiting in Transit Countries.” Paper presentation at the International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) Conference, Thessaloniki, Greece.
  • Fee. M. 2017. “The Policy and Politics of Refugee Selection.” Paper presentation in the Looking Backward/Facing Forward Luskin Center for History and Policy Workshop Series, December 6, Los Angeles, CA.
  • Fee, M. 2017. “Paper Integration: The Structural Constraints and Consequences of the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program.” Paper presentation at the Refugee & Asylum Policies in an Age of Resurgent Nationalism Conference, December 1, San Diego, CA.
  • Fee, M. 2017. “The Policy and Practice of the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program: Structural Constraints and Consequences.” Roundtable paper presentation at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 12, Montreal, Canada.
  • Fee, M. 2017. “The Policy and Practice of the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program: Structural Constraints and Consequences.” Paper presented at the UC International Migration Conference, May 13, Berkeley, CA.
  • Fee, M. 2017. “The Policy and Practice of the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program: Structural Constraints and Consequences.” Paper presented at the Center for the Study of International Migration’s International Conference on the Refugee Crisis, April 8, Los Angeles, CA.
  • Fee, M. 2016. “The Policy and Practice of the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program: Structural Constraints and Consequences.” Paper presented at the Migrants, Refugees, & Global Justice: Comparative Perspectives in Societies of Migration Conference at Humboldt University, September 8, Berlin, Germany.
  • Fee, M. 2016. “Resettlement Policy and the Wellbeing of Refugees in the U.S.: Are Political and Economic Incorporation Enough?” Paper presentated at the International Sociological Association Forum of Sociology, July 13, Vienna, Austria.

Advisors

  • Roger Waldinger
  • Gail Kligman
  • Ed Walker