The 34th Annual Thomas E. Leontis and Anna P. Leontis Memorial Lecture in Modern Greek Studies

April 11, 2024

3:30PM - 5:30PM

Ohio Union - Interfaith Prayer & Reflection Room 1739 N. High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43210 3rd FL 3020C

Add to Calendar 2024-04-11 15:30:00 2024-04-11 17:30:00 The 34th Annual Thomas E. Leontis and Anna P. Leontis Memorial Lecture in Modern Greek Studies The 34th Annual Thomas E. Leontis and Anna P. Leontis Memorial Lecture in Modern Greek Studies"When Welcome Turns to Rejection: Refugees on a Greek Island and the Limits of Hospitality"Neovi M. KarakatsanisIndiana UniversityApril 11, 20243:30PM - 5:30PMOhio Union - Interfaith Prayer & Reflection Room 1739 N. High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43210 3rd FL 3020C The Lecture:The topic will be the reception and experiences of the refugees in the Aegean island of Chios in the broader context of the "European refugee crisis."Abstract: What leads a people nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize because of their compassion and hospitality towards refugees to suddenly turn hostile towards the very people they rescued at sea? By focusing on one of the Greek islands on the frontlines of the “European refugee crisis,” this presentation will discuss the plight of refugees in Chios, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, to illuminate the physical dangers faced by refugees and migrants crossing the Chios Strait, the conditions in refugee camps on the island, including violent clashes between ethnic groups, and the xenophobia of the local population. It will also discuss the compassion fatigue that led Greek islanders who had welcomed the refugees and saved them at sea to grow tired and turn hostile. The presentation will propose several factors that contributed to this transformation in attitude and behavior of the local population, offering possible lessons for other frontlines.The Speaker: Neovi M. Karakatsanis is Chancellor’s Professor of Political Science and Director of the Honors Program at Indiana University South Bend. She is the author of "The Politics of Elite Transformation: The Consolidation of Greek Democracy in Theoretical Perspective" and of "American Foreign Policy towards the Colonels’ Greece: Uncertain Allies and the 1967 Coup d’État" (with Jonathan Swarts). Her research on the migration and refugee phenomenon in Greece has focused on migrant (especially migrant women’s) experiences in the labor market, their participation in the informal economy, the intersectionality of their economic and social exclusion, and the racialized and gendered discrimination they face. More recently she has turned to the refugee crisis in Greece and the use of social media by refugees and migrants to navigate their own, usually clandestine, journeys to Greece from Turkey. Her research on migration has been published in several scholarly peer-reviewed journals and presented in Greece, China, Poland, Australia, and elsewhere. Ohio Union - Interfaith Prayer & Reflection Room 1739 N. High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43210 3rd FL 3020C OSU ASC Drupal 8 ascwebservices@osu.edu America/New_York public

Add to Calendar 2024-04-11 15:30:00 2024-04-11 17:30:00 The 34th Annual Thomas E. Leontis and Anna P. Leontis Memorial Lecture in Modern Greek Studies The 34th Annual Thomas E. Leontis and Anna P. Leontis Memorial Lecture in Modern Greek Studies"When Welcome Turns to Rejection: Refugees on a Greek Island and the Limits of Hospitality"Neovi M. KarakatsanisIndiana UniversityApril 11, 20243:30PM - 5:30PMOhio Union - Interfaith Prayer & Reflection Room 1739 N. High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43210 3rd FL 3020C The Lecture:The topic will be the reception and experiences of the refugees in the Aegean island of Chios in the broader context of the "European refugee crisis."Abstract: What leads a people nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize because of their compassion and hospitality towards refugees to suddenly turn hostile towards the very people they rescued at sea? By focusing on one of the Greek islands on the frontlines of the “European refugee crisis,” this presentation will discuss the plight of refugees in Chios, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, to illuminate the physical dangers faced by refugees and migrants crossing the Chios Strait, the conditions in refugee camps on the island, including violent clashes between ethnic groups, and the xenophobia of the local population. It will also discuss the compassion fatigue that led Greek islanders who had welcomed the refugees and saved them at sea to grow tired and turn hostile. The presentation will propose several factors that contributed to this transformation in attitude and behavior of the local population, offering possible lessons for other frontlines.The Speaker: Neovi M. Karakatsanis is Chancellor’s Professor of Political Science and Director of the Honors Program at Indiana University South Bend. She is the author of "The Politics of Elite Transformation: The Consolidation of Greek Democracy in Theoretical Perspective" and of "American Foreign Policy towards the Colonels’ Greece: Uncertain Allies and the 1967 Coup d’État" (with Jonathan Swarts). Her research on the migration and refugee phenomenon in Greece has focused on migrant (especially migrant women’s) experiences in the labor market, their participation in the informal economy, the intersectionality of their economic and social exclusion, and the racialized and gendered discrimination they face. More recently she has turned to the refugee crisis in Greece and the use of social media by refugees and migrants to navigate their own, usually clandestine, journeys to Greece from Turkey. Her research on migration has been published in several scholarly peer-reviewed journals and presented in Greece, China, Poland, Australia, and elsewhere. Ohio Union - Interfaith Prayer & Reflection Room 1739 N. High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43210 3rd FL 3020C Department of Classics classics@osu.edu America/New_York public

The 34th Annual Thomas E. Leontis and Anna P. Leontis Memorial Lecture in Modern Greek Studies

"When Welcome Turns to Rejection: Refugees on a Greek Island and the Limits of Hospitality"

Neovi M. Karakatsanis
Indiana University

April 11, 2024
3:30PM - 5:30PM
Ohio Union - Interfaith Prayer & Reflection Room 1739 N. High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43210 3rd FL 3020C

The Lecture:

The topic will be the reception and experiences of the refugees in the Aegean island of Chios in the broader context of the "European refugee crisis."

Abstract: What leads a people nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize because of their compassion and hospitality towards refugees to suddenly turn hostile towards the very people they rescued at sea? By focusing on one of the Greek islands on the frontlines of the “European refugee crisis,” this presentation will discuss the plight of refugees in Chios, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea, to illuminate the physical dangers faced by refugees and migrants crossing the Chios Strait, the conditions in refugee camps on the island, including violent clashes between ethnic groups, and the xenophobia of the local population. It will also discuss the compassion fatigue that led Greek islanders who had welcomed the refugees and saved them at sea to grow tired and turn hostile. The presentation will propose several factors that contributed to this transformation in attitude and behavior of the local population, offering possible lessons for other frontlines.

The Speaker: Neovi M. Karakatsanis is Chancellor’s Professor of Political Science and Director of the Honors Program at Indiana University South Bend. She is the author of "The Politics of Elite Transformation: The Consolidation of Greek Democracy in Theoretical Perspective" and of "American Foreign Policy towards the Colonels’ Greece: Uncertain Allies and the 1967 Coup d’État" (with Jonathan Swarts). Her research on the migration and refugee phenomenon in Greece has focused on migrant (especially migrant women’s) experiences in the labor market, their participation in the informal economy, the intersectionality of their economic and social exclusion, and the racialized and gendered discrimination they face. More recently she has turned to the refugee crisis in Greece and the use of social media by refugees and migrants to navigate their own, usually clandestine, journeys to Greece from Turkey. Her research on migration has been published in several scholarly peer-reviewed journals and presented in Greece, China, Poland, Australia, and elsewhere.