亚色视频

Senior Lecturer听in听Applied Social Studies

I am Senior Lecturer in Applied Social Studies and course coordinator of the MA International Social Welfare and Social Development.

I have a background in refugee protection, refugee and migrant rights advocacy, and humanitarian assistance. I have worked with NGOs and the UNHCR in South Africa, Angola, Ecuador and Portugal. Prior to joining the 亚色视频 in 2019, I was Programme Director of two MSc Programmes focused on Peacebuilding and Post-conflict Reconstruction at Durham University.

I conduct research in two interrelated areas:

Firstly, I am interested in exploring experiences of (forced) migration. I have previously investigated the experiences of undocumented young migrants in Cape Town (South Africa) through a theatre-based methodology. This research resulted in four publications, providing in-depth insights into undocumented young migrants鈥� everyday lives and agency and on the benefits and challenges of using theatre as a research method in migration studies. I also study how migrants are affected by urban change. Specifically, I have looked at how the emerging tourism sector in Johannesburg (South Africa) is intertwined with processes of urban regeneration and gentrification. Using walking tours as a case study, my research showed that walking tour operators promote a particular type of urban development that draws on Western notions of hip urban lifestyles and pan-African aesthetics. The results of this research were published in a free access article with Global Policy. Currently, I research (forced) migrants鈥� experiences of losing loved ones far away and how social support mechanisms that address loss and grief in the context of (forced) migration can be enhanced through social science/social work insights.

Secondly, I am interested in exploring the use and the role of arts and activism in eliciting insights into migrants鈥� experiences. For this purpose, I draw on arts-based research methods in my own work. In a recent project I investigate how museum activism can contribute to creating memories about contemporary forced migration. I used the online exhibition 鈥�Arriving: Life after Forced Migration鈥� by the Marienfelde Refugee Center Museum in Berlin as a case study to explore which forms of memory the exhibition creates, how and to which end. The online exhibition can be accessed here: . In another ongoing project I interrogate the aesthetics, ethics and politics surrounding the itinerant puppet performance festival Little Amal.

I am also part of the Community Targeted Outreach Programmes (CTOP) which belongs to Pillar 1: Talk, Listen, Change Workforce Research under the leadership of Prof. Nasreen Ali. This project forms part of the BLMK Integrated Research & Innovation Hub and seeks to tackle inequalities within the health and social care workforce.

I was awarded the 鈥楽taff Member of the Year 2023鈥� Award by the Student Union, 亚色视频.

Other References

• Twitter

Qualifications

• PhD Politics, Centre for Applied Human Rights, University of York, UK
• MA International Humanitarian Action, Uppsala University, Sweden
• BA Cultural Studies, European University Viadrina, Germany
• PG Dip in Academic Practice, 亚色视频, UK
• I also spent time at the following universities: Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogot谩, Colombia), Universidad de Deusto (Bilbao, Spain), University of the Western Cape (Cape Town, South Africa), University of Cape Town (South Africa)

Teaching Role

• Humanitarian Aid, NGOs and Social Welfare in Disasters
• International Social Welfare and Social Development
• PG Dissertation in Applied Social Sciences
• Refugees, Displacement and the Politics of Migration
• Art, Activism and Social Change
• I previously taught Peacebuilding, Post-conflict Reconstruction and Conflict Analysis at Durham University

Research Interests

• Experiences of (forced) migration
• Migration, arts and activism
• Arts-based research practices
• Qualitative research ethics
• Critical humanitarianism

Recent Research Projects

• Loss and grief in the context of (forced) migration
• Forced migration, museum and memory activism in contemporary Germany
• Research ethics in migration studies
• Walking tours, insecurity and urban regeneration in Johannesburg
• Theatre-Based Migration Research with Undocumented Youth in South Africa (see interview about this research at )

External Roles

• I am convenor of the 亚色视频 Forced Migration Research Cluster

Publications

• Opfermann, L. S. (2022). Ethics as a Moral Duty: Proposing an Integrated Ethics Framework for Migration Research. Journal of Human Rights Practice. Article available :
• Opfermann, L. S. (2021) (with Bakonyi, J., Kappler, S., Nag, E. M.) Precarity, Mobility and the City: Introduction to the Special Issue. Global Policy. . Article available .
• Opfermann, Lena S. (2020): Walking in Jozi: Guided Tours, Insecurity and Urban Regeneration in Inner City Johannesburg. Global Policy, Special Issue on Precarity, Mobility and the City. DOI: . Article available .
• Opfermann, Lena S. (2019): 鈥業f you can't beat them, be them!鈥� 鈥� everyday experiences and 鈥榩erformative agency鈥� among undocumented migrant youth in South Africa, Children's Geographies,
• Opfermann, Lena S. (2019): Language, trust and transformation: exploring theatre as a research method with migrant youth, International Journal of Social Research Methodology,
• Opfermann, Lena S. (2015): 鈥淭esting the 鈥榯riple imperative鈥�: A drama-based exploration of migrant children鈥檚 views鈥�, Transnational Social Review, 5 (3), 224-240, DOI:
• Opfermann, Lena (2016): 鈥淛ust show them that we have feelings.鈥� 鈥� Reflections on the representation of migrant children鈥檚 stories, DTC Matters No 15. July,

Contact Details

E: lena.opfermann@beds.ac.uk