Multispecies (Co)migrations Across the Mediterranean and Cyprus: Elif Shafak and Christy Lefteri
Abstract
Drawing on the Overlap (2020) project, this paper examines how overlapping human and non-human migrations shape Mediterranean routes. Analyzing Elif Shafak’s The Island of Missing Trees (2021) and Christy Lefteri’s Songbirds (2021), the study uses a sympoietic framework (Haraway) to parallel gender inequality faced by Asian women workers and minorities with the victimization of songbirds in Cyprus. This intersection challenges borders, citizenship, and rights, focusing on exploitation and trauma. The analysis calls for response-ability toward social and environmental justice through a multidisciplinary approach.
Presentato: 13 Novembre 2024 | Accettato: 27 Giugno 2025 | Lingua: en
Keywords Sympoiesis • Cyprus • Gender • Human-Non-human relationships • Mediterranean Sea • Migrations
Copyright © 2025 Carmen Concilio. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/Tol/2499-5975/2025/01/006