From Iranian classical music to Bad Bunny: resistance and global cultures in France, Canada and the
The presenters will consider music performances in three countries: Canada, France, and the US. Persian classical music and Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl reveal how cultural forms are resistant to and yet shaped by domestic immigration policies, crossing yet reifying international borders. The session highlights the interdependencies between sending-transit-receiving countries, inviting interrogation of the series’ framework in anticipation of the culminating study day to follow.
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.