Refugees, Race and the Greco-Roman World

Who is a refugee and who gets to decide? How does race impact who is welcomed into a new community and who is turned away? And what does the Greco-Roman world have to do this? This course will explore these questions by surveying different forms of forced displacement in and beyond antiquity through the lens of Critical Race Theory and Critical Refugee Studies. We will examine how forcibly displaced people were portrayed and treated in ancient Greece and Rome and investigate how racialization contributed to xenophobic immigration policies as well as imperial agendas. We will then evaluate the impact of ancient discourses of forced displacement on the modern world, with a focus on American immigration policies. Understanding that refugees are not objects of investigation, but are powerful knowledge producers, we will also engage with works created by refugees throughout the course.