Presentations
and Publications
Impactful Publications
Co-writing and co-presentations with marginalised communities
Publications
Click icon above to see the whole Special Issue or see individual articles note here:
Kaur, K. (2021). "Editorial: Action Research and Academic Skills: Co-Creating with Refugee Women and Introducing the Writers." Displaced Voices: A Journal of Migration, Archives and Cultural Heritage 1(2).
Ismail, N. and K. Kaur (2021). "Health Inequities with Somali Women in Kuala Lumpur." Displaced Voices A Journal of Migration, Archives and Cultural Heritage 1(2).
Sultana, A. and K. Kaur (2021). "Lived Experiences of a Rohingya Journalist." Displaced Voices: A Journal of Migration, Archives and Cultural Heritage 1(2).
Husain, S., S. Shakirah and K. Kaur (2021). "Syedah’s Journey: From Child Marriage to Activist." Displaced Voices A Journal of Migration, Archives and Cultural Heritage 1(2).
Ally, P. and K. Kaur (2021). "Trauma and Criticality: How Stories Raise Our Consciousness and Can Heal Our Past." Displaced Voices: A Journal of Migration, Archives and Cultural Heritage 1(2).
Upcoming Publications
Upcoming Publications
M. Al-Hajjar, K. Kaur, and M. J. Recalde-Vela (2024) "Confronting coloniality and restoring adab in the academy ." Routledge Handbook of Decolonization Forthcoming book chapter
H. Al-Akkra and K.Kaur (2024) The Endless Limbo of Education Activism: Border Regimes in Refugee Community Learning Centres in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, British Educational Research Association Journal (status: accepted abstract and an invitation to submit to journal)
K.Kaur (unknown) Memories and Trauma in Fieldwork: violence and epistemic agency (status: rewriting chapter from PhD thesis as an article for submission)
Presentations
Reimagining rights as moving from violence to voice
21st May 2024
I presented in a research seminar in the University of Antwerp. In this presentation, I explored the challenges of forced migrants living in the borderscape. I then explored the potential for new imaginaries on rights from the vernaculars of forced migrants and their desires for social change.
What can an autonomy of migration approach offer to research at the intersection of law and migration studies?
1st March 2024
In preparation for my PhD defence at the University of Oslo and Tilburg University, I was asked to prepare an additional trial lecture to assess my ability to take in new information and present as a public lecture. This topic was not related to my joint doctorate in law and development but had some thematic overlap. The specific topic was provided by the jury 10 days prior. This lecture serves as a pivotal step in my PhD journey, determining my progression to the defence.
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Trial Lecture topic which provided: "What can an autonomy of migration (AoM) approach offer to research at the intersection of law and migration studies?" AoM can enrich our understanding of migration by focusing the gaze on migrants' agency rather than legal and political structures. Migration is viewed as a complex phenomenon intertwined with systems of violence and injustice, and see those who migrate as potential actors of social change.
Co-Acting with Refugee Women
16th April 2021
Presented in Webinar Seminar Series organised by the Gender Studies Programme, Universiti Malaya and the CHCI Global Humanities Institute 2020-2021: Migration, Global Logistics and Unequal Citizens.
Jointly presented with Naima Ismail on the topic of co-action with researchers. We discussed how can we move from extractive academic research to one that is collaborative with researchers and refugee participants co-acting. We shared our experience as collaborators in my doctoral research and in the Special Issue for Displaced Voices: In their own Voices and reflected on lessons learned in this process. Naima highlighted "How not to waste refugee women's time with pointless research; let's get to the point', followed by myself speaking on 'Bringing meaning into co-action'.
Action Research
7th March 2019
Presented ‘New methods in Law and Development: Action Research in KL, Malaysia’ in North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa
Solidarity and Voice
14th February 2017
Presented ‘Solidarity and Voice; Wij Zijn Hier’ in Solidarity in a workshop titled ‘Notions of Solidarity in and beyond Law and Development’ in University of Duesto, Bilbao, Spain
Concept Mapping for Qualitative Data Analysis
November 2014
Presented Master's dissertation data analysis processes using concept mapping and thematic analysis of ethnographic interviews at the 2nd International Symposium on New Speakers In A Multilingual Europe: Opportunities And Challenges in Barcelona, Spain
Academic Culture and Participatory Learning in EAP contexts
18th June 2014
Presented initial data from research project From China to the UK; Changing Academic Culture at Wuzi University (Birmingham
City University’s partner) in Beijing, China. We held an workshop to discuss teaching strategies in large classrooms and lecture rooms and how to engage students.
Spaces for Refugee Inclusion
November 2013
Gave 1-hour lecture on Language and Civil Society Organisations and Spaces for Refugee Inclusion at ECORYS 9-day training for 'Working with refugees and asylum seekers: good European practices for better work' in Venice, Italy. I was funded to attend this workshop and give this presentation.
Imaginaries of Law, Borders and Rights: Forced Migrant Voices of Change
27th March 2024
I presented in the "New Frontiers in Legal Consciousness Studies" panel at the annual Social Legal Studies Association (SLSA) conference. In this presentation, I explored the transformative encounters between legal structures and the lived experiences of forced migrants. I explore how these interactions forge new understandings of law, rights, and borders, spotlighting the potent narratives of change and resilience voiced by marginalized communities. This presentation will dissect the dynamic interplay of legal consciousness and migrant agency, highlighting the innovative pathways to social justice and inclusion.
Researchers in the Field: Memories of Child Sexual Abuse and Trauma
1st December 2022
I was invited to speak at the Den Haag FM radio show Dutch Buzz. During this show I was interviewed by Patricia Cardona (an activist on child sexual abuse prevention) about my own experiences of trauma and memories of child sexual abuse in the field during my PhD.
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Ghost Fleet
13th January 2020
Gave a short presentation and Q&A session on the documentary film Ghost Fleet. Discussed issues of human trafficking and the unseen side of the fisheries industry in South East Asia.
Troublesome Knowledge
13th November 2019
Presented 'Troublesome Knowledge; issues with referencing and plagiarism for exam boards and lecturers' for a teaching day on referencing, at International Institute of Social Studies, Part of Erasmus University Rotterdam
​The referencing questions such as how to deal with plagiarism, how to include activities to better increase student knowledge, and how to improve grading systems.
My presentation titled 'Troublesome Knowledge' centred on an academic literacies approach and drawing on my own experience I highlighted a number of activities and strategies; such using source maps and microtasks to increase student knowledge and deal with their anxieties and insecurities around plagiarism.
Forced Migration and Development
1st December 2015
Presented ‘Malema; forced migration and a legacy of violence and development’ in a Rights, Individuals, Culture and Society (RIKS) seminar, Department of Law, University of Oslo, Norway
Refugee Activism
August 2014
Presented MSSc Research ‘Refugee Activism and Linguistic Capital’ in the 17th Nordic Migration Research (NMR) on Flows, places and boundaries – migratory challenges and new agendas Denmark at the Centre for Advanced Migration Studies, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Forced migrants and Civil Society
6th March 2014
Presented master's research exploring linguistic capital of refugees in civil society organisations in Belfast and Birmingham. Presented as part of the panel on Work and Language in Cost New Speakers Network Working group meeting, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Co-writing and Inclusive Research Outputs
04
Supporting Voices, Narratives and Creativities
Amin Kamrani
20/20 Virtual Gallery
Together with the Living Refugee Archives, I worked with Amin Kamrani to host his 20/20 virtual exhibition last year. I had previously worked with Amin as a translator in my research project in 2018.
This exhibition is an intimate portrayal of life, people and landscapes. 20 copies of 20 photographs. The Living Refugee Archive is hosting the virtual exhibition with an option to buy the limited edition prints. The photos are on sale with 60% of the proceeds to go to refugee and vulnerable communities in Malaysia.
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The 20/20 limited-edition photo print project began in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Malaysia.
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Working on this project to host the gallery and organise the webshop, was an important part of how I view my role as a researcher. Researchers and activists cannot give a voice. But we can act to provide space for and support new voices, narratives and creativities. Amin's work highlights what it means to be a migrant, living and working across borders, in both contexts of plenty and of lack. Without ever victimising the people in his photos, placing a simple focus on their lived realities, hopes and dreams. ​
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Click the image to read the Special Issue
 Mediterranean Sunset_ |  New moon |
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 The road and fog |  The path |
 Copy of I watched the rain all evening |  Bird anthem |
 Blue in Green |  858114_90c36740d32e4880b4c9b96e5760b52f~ |
 in absence of the sun - photo credit Ami |  Screenshot 2021-01-28 163405 |
 Blue Antalya |  Beyond the seas |
Click the image to see the LRA's website
Between 2020- 2021 I worked with a team of refugees, photographer and Living Refugee Archives on a Photo Voices in Kuala Lumpur project. Ultimately, due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in Malaysia, we changed this from a Photovoice to a co-written Special Issue: In their Own Voices with the Journal of Displaced Voices. This special issue is a collection of papers written by and with refugee women based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The photography elements we were chosen by participants where possible to find ways to represent spaces, actions or portraits of refugees in ways that worked against the victimhood narratives.
Click the image to see the LRA's website
03
Special Issue: In Their Own Voices
Drawing on PAR values, I co-wrote with my participants and taught them academic skills to help them articulate their own experiences. As a team, we worked together to explore the best way to utilise the Living Refugee Archives as a supportive platform for the voices of the refugee participants.
This [special issue has been] a journey of storytelling through which an alternative archive for marginalised narratives can be created. Through community participation we open the door to challenge traditional notions of archival structures and documentation, hoping to constitute a living history of refugeehood.
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Paul Dudman, Living Archives Built with Communities
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Click the image to read the Special Issue
02
Continued Dialogues
As part of a series of 4 short web sessions related to Sustainability Dialogues in 2019, I organised a dialogue on Action Research with Refugees in Kuala Lumpur web event. Here I reconnected with my participants to discuss what participation and action research mean for them. We discussed how researchers and practitioners may be able to be more inclusive. After the dialogue, we had a Q&A from other practitioners in the field of sustainability more generally. The outcome of this dialogue was to stress community inclusion in all aspects of research: allowing space for making decisions and taking initiative in what might best impact their lives. Ultimately, we returned to notions of participation and inclusive when connecting with refugee voices.
You can hear the dialogue at the following link.
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Video Link: Sustainability Action Dialogue: Action Research with Refugees
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In the video, we have hidden the images of the people who spoke about their experiences of asylum. For this reason, there is no visual from the actual session in the recording only the slides of the talk and a photovoice I previously conducted in the Netherlands.
01
Research Communication: Working with Photovoices
Forced migrants are not able to control how they are represented by journalists nor by researchers. They have little control of their own image. The idea of photovoice is to allow some of that control back and can enhance community-based participatory research.
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However, capturing photo voices is not simply handing over a camera and asking participants to take photos. Participants get together and discuss the topics that matter to them, and reflect their own reality within the research themes. The outputs can be discussed with the community and disseminated as appropriate - through a gallery show, at an academic conference, or online. Communities are able to take ownership of their image and outputs of research, as well as document their lived realities.
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In previous projects and my own research, photovoice has provided a way to connect with communities and discover how they themselves would like to be represented, show their lived experiences and speak directly on the changes they wish to have in their lives.
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With storytelling at the centre of the process, the role of the research is that of listener and facilitator, simply providing a safe space for dialogue. Photovoice is used at all levels as a technique for sharing stories, for development, raising critical awareness, advocacy or part of monitoring aspects of a project.
Exhibited in Valorising Voices; Refugee Lives and Voices Exhibition,
In September 2017 at the COST Action IS1306 conference New Speakers in A Multilingual Europe: Policies and Practices in Coimbra University, Portugal
I was a dentist in my country, I now use a toothbrush to clean electronics in this country
Syrian Refugee
from Valorising Voices Photo Exhibition Coimbra University
