From underground rap to tribute song: politics and labour migration in Nepal and the Philippines
The first seminar considers two countries with significant labour out-migration populations: Nepal and the Philippines. The role of performance and popular culture in the politics around immigration is evident in both. The new prime minister of Nepal is a rapper-turned-politician, voted in following historic youth-led protests. In the Philippines, songs and voice have played an overt role in the narratives surrounding labour out-migration since its institutionalisation under the first Marcos regime.
COMPAS Seminar Series Michaelmas Term 2026
Theme: 'Migration, Performance, and Policy'
This interdisciplinary study series and study day explores the nexus between migration policy and performance. The series invites social scientists and humanities scholars who want to think together, beyond the questions and methods that dominate their own fields. The series focuses on two big questions: What can performance and performativity teach us about migration policies? What do migration policies teach us about performance in public and political discourse?
These seminars will take place at 3.45pm on Thursdays of Weeks 1, 3, and 5. Online and in person as listed.
Seminars 1 & 3 in this series are hybrid.
To join via Zoom, please use the registration link.
This study series is a collaboration between the University of Oxford’s TORCH Performance Research Hub, the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS), and the Faculty of Music.