Our friends at Oberlin College have organized and invited us to a multi-discipline event to discuss the different meanings and practices of sanctuary from ancient to modern times.

Sanctuary is something that continues to emerge in contemporary discussions around immigration; but as we also know current
invocations of sanctuary and proving refuge to those fleeing state power have deep roots across the globe.

This event will include:

• A discussion of the sanctuary practices in the ancient world (Naomi Campa, Classics)
• A discussion of religion and sanctuary in medieval period (Ellen Wurtzel, History)
• A discussion of Oberlin’s role offering sanctuary and refuge in the 19th century (Meredith Gadsby, Africana Studies)
• A discussion of Japanese internment and responses by Oberlin and others as a form of refuge and sanctuary (Shelley Lee, CAS and History)
• A discussion of contemporary sanctuary movements with roots in the 1980s Central American solidarity and sanctuary movements (Gina Perez, Comparative American Studies)

Parking is available on W. College Street along Tappan Square, or in the lot behind Ben Franklin. The King building is at the SW corner of W. College and North Professor Streets, across from Tappan Square.