Warriors and invaders? Nativism, photography and Greek-German encounters in the Greek crisis

Pitt Rivers Museum Research Seminar in Visual, Material and Museum Anthropology

Michaelmas Term 2017

Fridays, 1pm-2.30pm, Lecture Theatre, Pitt Rivers Museum (entry off Robinson Close)

Convened by Marcus Banks.

This presentation explores Greek political imagination during the so-called crisis, particularly in relation to Germany, which has been the object of public suspicion with reference to its role in Greece’s post-2010 bailout program and associated austerity measures. The talk explores the role of nativism, i.e. the fantasy of vernacular Greekness opposing European/German tutelage, in daily encounters and political conceptions. It particularly looks at the ways in which the visual history of nativism complicates its promises of breaking with foreign guardianship. Moreover, the presentation explores Greek-German social relations in a part of Greece (western highland Crete), seen as an emblem of nativity by both Greeks and Germans. The talk focuses on photography and material culture in understanding the relationship between Cretan locals and German tourists before and during the crisis.