![]() The action of OC takes place in a dynamic space of refuge, such that Oedipus’ relations to others in the space changes as he moves through Colonus. ![]() ![]() There are few tragedies that capture the hardship of social exclusion and the struggle to find a dignified place of rest, both central to the refugee experience, as profoundly as OC. In my paper, I use text-based research on the Sophoclean tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus (OC), and field research in Athens to investigate the ways in which a space of refuge inflects the experiences of both refugee and host and serves as a nexus for the evolving relationship between them. Two conclusions in particular from my field research have informed my perspective: first, I found that the relationship between refugees and host citizens is one of experimentation and evolution second, I saw how the particular space of refuge can play a mediating role between refugees and host community. ![]() The experience of engaging with ancient literary episodes of negotiation and supplication at the same time as I was listening to the stories of refugees seeking asylum in modern Athens prompted me to consider how the relationship between refugees and the host community is shaped by the space of their encounter. ![]() While volunteering and conducting political science research in refugee spaces in Athens, Greece during the summers of 20, I was also studying ancient Greek tragedy as part of a Classics study-abroad program. ![]()
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