The state of “legal limbo” is a term invented by legal anthropologist Heath Cabot, which identifies “precarious position between undocumented, paperless illegality, and “refugee” status” of an individual (175). In Bodies of Silence and Resilience: Writing Marginality Natalie Zervou explores the relationship between the concept of Greek national identity as “an appropriation of ancient Greek glorifies ideas” and the marginalization process in the country. Accordingly to the scholar, the reason why under-represented communities such as, for instance, homeless people and immigrants are being marginalized in Greece lies in the nation’s “anxiety to preserve a continuous sense of national unity and purity” (175).
As it is clear from Cabot’s paper since Greece established its independence in 1832 the aforementioned process has started. With the recent influx of immigrants, we can remark a great reflection of the current events implemented in the world of art. For instance, Cabot gives an example of choreographers that paid attention to the refugee influx problem by raising people’s awareness within Audition Bacchae choreographed by Konstantinos Michos and Quiet Voice performance staged by Ermira Goro. However, perhaps the most significant of all creative projects that voice issues immigrants face with is Bodies of Resilience film by Jill Woodward featured dance choreographer Despina Stamos. As the author of the paper notes, the part of the film that is called “fear of fascism” uncovers the most problematic aspect that people with legal limbo status face. The work raises the issues of violence caused by extremists that are not ready to accept interculturality that start to grow in Greece. What is particularly interesting in that case is extremists adherence to the idea of Greek pure nation that excludes people with legal limbo, for those in that context are being considered so-called “the others”.
The reason why this piece about aforementioned issue connects to our class topic is obvious, what more intriguing is people’s reflection on refugee crisis implemented in artistic forms. To bring attention to the process of marginalizing in Greece, artists come up with various creative projects. In their attempt to call the society for altering the idea of cultural purity, they create powerful products that eventually become prominent, and thus are promising to make a big impact(176).
Hi Anastasiia,
You begin by identifying your keyword, “legal limbo” and then giving a great definition of what the term meant by the scholar who popularized it. In a keyword essay, the expectation is to take the work and explain how it operates in the text – so in particular why Zervou utilizes the term. If the EFFECT – meaning what happens to refugess – is that they find themselves in legal limbo – meaning without legal recourse to migrate or find some relief through the national or international course systems then what could be the cause of that condition? Zervou hypothesizes that the structure of nationalism enforces this condition of legal limbo and marginalizes the refugees who are stuck in a place without modes of recourse. She also talks about how a different narrative could get citizens to push for different policies regarding refugees if they understood their plight in relation to “Greekness” which admits the idea that at some point, their families were also migrants of sorts. So then she talks about how dance can envision this status and evoke empathy and undermine narratives of nationalism that are used by the far right to exclude people who have fled from violence and have landed on Greek soil. What you need to do is carry the reason you single out your keywork throughout your essay, explaining how it is a critical notion to understanding the text you read. Also, don’t use the word “aforementioned” – instead refer directly to the concept you want to identify.