Narrating the Uncanny : inconvenient Encounters with "Strangers Within" during the European "Refugee Crisis"

Kurzfassung/Abstract

From “Welcome Culture” in 2015 to AnkER Centres since 2018. The open borders of Euro­pe, where refugees were welcomed with open arms, seem like a brief interruption of the narrative of the “Fortress Europe” whose identity is by no means only negotiated at its geo­graphical borders. Through a case study of Bavarian AnkER Centres, we follow shifts in the narration of “Europe”. Following Bruno Latour’s outline of an actor-network-theory inspired theoretical analysis, we connect our analysis to theoretical figures of neighbouring disciplines, like Sigmund Freud’s “uncanny”, Julia Kristeva’s “strangers to ourselves” and Emmanuel Lévinas’ “Other”. From that theoretical standpoint on, our analysis reveals the figure of the refugee not only as manifestation of Homo Sacer but also as a “place of negotiation”, through which and in confrontation with Europe’s identity is constantly re-negotiated, shifted and changed.