Anthropology professor Amanda Poole presented a paper at the ReBuild (Refugee Education: Building Durable Futures) Conference, hosted by the Peace Research Institute Oslo, Norway. The paper, titled "Teleological Violence: Disjuncture between Refugee Aspirations and Structural Constraints on Progress among Eritrean Refugees in Ethiopia," was co-written with Jennifer Riggan, professor of international studies at Arcadia University.

The conference was originally planned for May 2020 in Norway, but was adapted to a virtual format and is taking place weekly during the month of October 2020.

The Peace Research Institute Oslo is a research center focused on the conditions for peaceful relations between states, groups, and people. The topic of the ReBuild conference examines the role of education in situations of conflict and displacement, focusing on issues facing refugees who are incorporated into the education systems of hosting states. The central question of the conference is, "How do different models of education contribute to building durable futures for individual refugees and for their local and transnational communities?"

Poole's paper, presented on October 8, drew from her research in Ethiopia on refugee education and secondary migration. Telelogical violence refers to the harm that can be caused by the teleological (progress-focused) nature of schooling when it confronts the realities of profound barriers facing refugees that are unable to work legally, move freely, or control their time in meaningful ways.

Department of Anthropology