“Counter-Geographies of the Balkan Route:” Lecture at the National Technical University of Athens, School of Architecture

On May 27,  Professor Claudio Minca and Dr  Valeria Raimondi presented invited lectures on “Counter-Geographies of the Balkan Route” to graduate students at the School of Architecture, National Technical University of Athens. Claudio and Valeria were introduced by Professor Penny (Panagiota) Koutrolikou, Professor in the School of Architecture and the Director of the Planning Methodology and Spatial Regulation Lab. 

Claudio introduced TheGame project and discussed how “counter-geographies” are understood within the project, as both the geographies produced by refugees through informal, spatial practices, and as geographical representations that diverge from dominant ways of representing migration. He presented preliminary findings on the diverse sites, rhythms, and spaces of im/mobilities within the migratory corridor and reflected on how to study these changing and in/visible geographies. Valeria presented on meanings of and approaches to counter-mapping as a methodology, and its relevance to researching a migratory route, and difficult-to-access sites within a route. 

The lectures were followed by questions by students, who were particularly interested in methodological and ethical considerations of research with refugees and migrants.