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About the lecture


This talk centres on a long-term refugee in Greece who decided to return to his home country in the face of severe illness. I ask what his illness and treatment in Greece, and ultimately his return, reveal about protection regimes: as he sought care, respite from pain, and a good—or at least dignified—death. His return enabled him to be among family again, in once-familiar places, and to be laid to rest among ancestors. Yet rather than reading his return as a form of closure or resolution, I probe its afterlives: the frayed, tangled, still-unfurling edges of the story, which speak to the ongoing nature of displacement.

About the speaker

Heath CabotHeath Cabot teaches anthropology at the University of Pittsburgh and is currently a visiting fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology. She is the author of On the Doorstep of Europe: Asylum and Citizenship in Greece (Penn Press 2014). She is currently working on a book on grass-roots healthcare initiatives in Greece. 

Video

This lecture is now available to watch on YouTube

Lecture poster (A4, pdf)

Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture

The Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture is named in honour of Dr Barbara Harrell-Bond, the founding Director of the Refugee Studies Centre. It is held each year in Michaelmas term.

Annual Elizabeth Colson Lecture

The Annual Elizabeth Colson Lecture is held in Trinity term. It is named after Professor Elizabeth Colson, a renowned anthropologist.

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Each term the RSC holds a series of public seminars, held on Wednesday evenings at Queen Elizabeth House. Click here for details of forthcoming seminars.

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A celebration of the life of David Turton

Saturday, 20 July 2024, 2pm to 3pm @ The Crypt Cafe, St Peters Church, Northchurch Terrace, London N1 4DA