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Article
Derrida's Unconditional Hospitality as the Improbable: An Example of Innovation in Refugee Care
Social Science Quarterly
  • Melissa Kerr Chiovenda, Zayed University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2020
Abstract

© 2020 by the Southwestern Social Science Association Objective: I contend that City Plaza, a refugee-run hotel in Athens, Greece has actually used socialist and anarchist political theories in an innovative way for our current global system by subverting the norms of the nation-state with regard to refugee care. I am framing this argument by considering Derrida's discussion of unconditional and conditional hospitality. Methods: The article is based on ethnographic research carried out in Athens during the summers from 2016–2019. Results: I suggest that in its innovative methods of providing refugee care, City Plaza is highly successful. Conclusion: While Derrida contends that unconditional hospitality, the acceptance and embracing of the stranger without condition or question, is a moral imperative, realistically this is not possible in our current global system. I argue that at City Plaza, the improbable was achieved as a group of activists subverted the dominant system and yielded better results than state governments and international organizations with much greater resources.

Publisher
Wiley
Scopus ID
85097849958
Indexed in Scopus
Yes
Open Access
No
https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12911
Citation Information
Melissa Kerr Chiovenda. "Derrida's Unconditional Hospitality as the Improbable: An Example of Innovation in Refugee Care" Social Science Quarterly Vol. 101 Iss. 7 (2020) p. 2437 - 2449 ISSN: <a href="https://v2.sherpa.ac.uk/id/publication/issn/0038-4941" target="_blank">0038-4941</a>
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/melissa-chiovenda/3/