Nineteenth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

The establishment of the Albanian state brings a lot of turmoil to Greek-Albanian relations, as the northern part of Epirus is annexed after long term disputes in Albania. The Greeks living in northern Epirus are trapped in Albania and are forced to adapt to the new conditions. Despite the declarations of the Albanian state, the Greek National Minority (GNM) is deprived from its political, religious, and educational freedom and rights (Τσιτσελίκης & Χριστόπουλος, 2003). In the educational sector, the Greek National Minority continues to face serious problems today experiencing a liminal status after a century of its official recognition. The purpose of this study is to reflect on the liminal status experienced by the GNM using the concept of heterotopias (Foucault, 1986). A bibliographic review will be combined with a thorough content analysis of anecdotal data elicited by the GNM educational stakeholders. The GNM stakeholders experience a sense of liminality as they have been trying for decades to integrate and build a sense of liminal belonging. Anecdotal data indicates that Greek minority members in Albania feel a double exclusion as they feel they do not belong neither “here” (Albania) nor “there” (Greece) but somewhere in between (Turner, 1969). The GNM members build their own “other” places, so they can be fully accepted and integrated. These places can be disturbing, intense, incompatible, contradictory, or transforming. Heterotopias are worlds within worlds, mirroring and yet upsetting what is outside. Heterotopias can act as locations for struggle and resistance to oppressed subjectivity.