We are delighted to share the latest publication by Migration Research Group member Nikola Lero, titled 鈥Benefits, Challenges, and Steps Forward on Using Poetry Workshops in Interdisciplinary Migration Research: Reflections from the Field and Methodological Insights鈥, published in the journal Societies as part of the special issue on Doing and Critically Evaluating Participatory Action Research in Migration Studies. You can .
Co-authored with Jasmin Donli膰 (University of Klagenfurt) and Marjan Marjanovi膰 (University College London), the article offers a rich methodological reflection on the use of poetry workshops as a research tool in migration studies. Drawing on over 50 workshops conducted across the Bosnian/Yugoslav, U.S., and U.K. diaspora contexts, the authors explore poetry workshops not only as participatory spaces of empowerment but also as sites of epistemic transformation.
By engaging with lived experience, narrative memory, and spatial belonging, this work advances an interdisciplinary argument for using creative methods to explore the complex textures of migrant life. The paper critically engages with the ethical and practical dimensions of participatory research and invites migration scholars to rethink the extractive tendencies of arts-based methods.
Nikola鈥檚 PhD research at the University of 葫芦影业, supported by the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in New Horizons in Borders and Bordering, focuses on transgenerational homing, everyday bordering, and creative engagement with the Yugoslav-Serb diaspora in London. This publication further extends his ongoing commitment to decolonial, participatory, and arts-based approaches in migration research.
If you would like to connect with Nikola to discuss this work further or explore collaboration, feel free to reach out at nlero1(a)sheffield.ac.uk.