Asylum and Belonging through Collective Playwriting: "How much home does a person need?"

This book explores the notion of home in the wake of the refugee crisis, and how creative practices and collective writing with refugees and asylum seekers can help reimagine home and belonging. It draws from existential and political philosophy, narratology, performance studies, and anthropology to develop a theoretical framework around home and argues that theatre studies is uniquely positioned to understand the performative and storied aspects of seeking asylum and the compromises of belonging made through the asylum process.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 03 June 2023
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

This captivating book delves into the profound concept of home in the aftermath of the so-called refugee crisis, seeking to reimagine and redefine notions of belonging and identity through the powerful medium of creative practices and collective writing with refugees and asylum seekers. In the words of Giorgio Agamben, the refugee emerges as "the figure of our time," prompting this study to center its exploration on those who endure the ruptures and disruptions of home. Instead of treating the refugee solely as a conceptual construct, this research prioritizes the lived experiences and artistic expressions of individuals seeking asylum in Denmark and the United Kingdom. By drawing from a diverse array of disciplines such as existential and political philosophy, narratology, performance studies, and anthropology, the study constructs a comprehensive theoretical framework that sheds light on the multifaceted nature of home. Moreover, it makes a compelling argument that theatre studies possesses a unique vantage point to comprehend the performative and storied dimensions of seeking asylum, as well as the complex compromises of belonging that arise throughout the asylum process.

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The book explores the notion of home in the wake of the so-called refugee crisis, and asks how home and belonging can be rethought through the act of creative practices and collective writing with refugees and asylum seekers. Where Giorgio Agamben calls the refugee 'the figure of our time, this study places the question of home among those who experience its ruptures. Veering away from treating the refugee as a conceptual figure, the lived experiences and creative expressions of seeking asylum in Denmark and the United Kingdom are explored instead.

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The study produces a theoretical framework around home by drawing from a cross-disciplinary field of existential and political philosophy, narratology, performance studies, and anthropology. Moreover, it argues that theatre studies is uniquely positioned to understand the performative and storied aspects of seeking asylum and the compromises of belonging made through the asylum process.

Weight: 458g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031248078
Edition number: 1st ed. 2023