VAAP partners with UVM Historians to prep evidence
VAAP is grateful for Dr. Sarah Osten, a historian at the University of Vermont, who has launched a service-learning upper-class course titled the "Asylum Case Research Seminar." The competitive by-invitation seminar will meet Mondays this spring and is aimed at providing practical support to Vermont’s asylum seekers through partnerships with VAAP and our former fiscal sponsor, the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASPVT). This course integrates experiential education with academic research to address real-world needs.
Course Highlights:
Focus: Students conduct tailored research on country conditions to support individual asylum cases or broader generalizable contexts relevant to Latin American asylum seekers.
Deliverables:
Annotated indices of sources, including academic, journalistic, governmental, and NGO reports.
Research categorized by specific types of persecution (e.g., gang violence in Mexico, ethnic persecution in Guatemala).
Collaboration: Students work directly with VAAP and CASPVT directors to adapt their research projects to meet community needs.
Service-Learning Framework: Students dedicate 8-10 hours weekly to collaborative and independent research, combining in-class time, weekly readings, and casework.
Final Project: An 8-10 page research document reflecting on or expanding the semester’s work, designed to support VAAP and CASPVT or contribute to future iterations of the course.
This initiative fosters collaboration between UVM, VAAP, and CASPVT, creating a pipeline for informed and evidence-based asylum casework while offering students hands-on experience with legal and humanitarian advocacy.
