The Mediterranean has been a hub of mobility since the dawn of human history. This workshop explores its role in connecting and dividing empires, nations, lands, and people from the 15th century to the present. Moving beyond views of the region as merely a conflict zone, a policed border, or a site of tragedy, we highlight the many forms of crossing—by merchants, travellers, migrants, and refugees, as well as through the circulation of ideas and practices. Join us in rethinking this unique and deeply interconnected part of the world.
Starting with a keynote lecture by Professor Emerita Luisa Passerini, we are invited to explore different tropes and narratives from Ulysses and Dante to artworks and testimonies of contemporary migration from Africa and Middle East to Europe. Afterwards, the documentary Arkadasloch, screened in the presence of its director, Dr. Nilay Kilinc, will take us to a journey to Antalya, Turkey, where we follow the daily life and dilemmas of a second-generation Gastarbeiter who took the decision to return to his parents’ homeland.
The next day kicks off with a panel on religion and multiethnicity. Istanbul and Odessa are presented as cities with a rich multiconfessional background, while Sufis as a scapegoated ‘Other’. Seeking refuge, escaping intolerance, expulsion and persecution was equally valid in early modern times as it was in the early 19th century and as it is true today in many areas around the Mediterranean. The second panel revolves around heritage and memory, showcasing how Mediterranean hubs, function as palimpsests, erasing or preserving parts of their multilayered and multiethnic pasts. From urban planning to the lived experience of the cities’ neighborhoods, traces of the past heritage are still visible today. The enactment of memory in public debates aims to show that memory is constantly renegotiated, mindful of what is opportune in the actual sociopolitical context. Finally, the talk ‘MUCEM a museum of/for the Mediterranean?’ will interrogate the role of museums in safeguarding cultural heritage, considering also how they contextualize their collections in the postcolonial moment.
