Survival and Witness at Europe's Borders: The Afterlives of a Disaster

Friday Research Seminar with Karina Horsti (University of Helsinki).

During the Friday Research Seminar series at the Department of Anthropology, Senior Lecturer Karina Horsti in Cultural Policy at the Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of Jyväskylä will be giving a book talk presenting her book Survival and Witness at Europe's Borders: The Afterlives of a Disaster (2023). The book focuses on one of the most mediatized migrant disasters in Europe—the Lampedusa shipwreck on October 3, 2013. Through this work, Horsti explores the many “afterlives” that emerge from such a disaster, with particular attention to various forms of witnessing and survival. Based on deep engagement with survivors, relatives, and civil society, she develops a concept of survival that is both transformative and productive—emphasizing refugee agency and subjectivity beyond the dominant narratives of the European border. In connection with this research, Horsti has also participated in the collaborative film project Remembering Lampedusa, which “takes up the challenge of listening to the survivors and the family members of victims”. 

The presentation of the book will be followed by a Q & A with author Karina Horsti moderated by Professor Atreyee Sen, CI Matthew Carey of the Advanced ERC grant ANGLE and Associated Professor Anja Simonsen, PI of the ERC funded starting grant SOLID.

The research seminars are free and open to everyone interested.