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About the speaker

Niro Kandasamy is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne in the School of Historical and Philosophical Studies. Her thesis explores the childhood memories of Sri Lankan Tamils resettled in Australia during the late twentieth century. She draws on oral history interviews with Tamil people resettled in Sydney and Melbourne to show how memories of war and resettlement reveal expressions of resistance and agency that can challenge official narratives of the past and help to better understand everyday experiences of forced migration.

Niro holds an undergraduate degree in Social Research and Policy (Honours Class 1) from the University of New South Wales. She is also a research assistant in the field of disability studies, focusing on Tamil women’s disability experiences in rural Sri Lanka. Her research interests include youth studies, oral history and gender, welfare service delivery, post-war and reconciliation.

Contact

For any enquiries about this event, please contact Susanna Power at vfp@qeh.ox.ac.uk.

Annual Elizabeth Colson Lecture

The Annual Elizabeth Colson Lecture is held in Trinity term. It is named after Professor Elizabeth Colson, a renowned anthropologist.

Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture

The Annual Harrell-Bond Lecture is named in honour of Dr Barbara Harrell-Bond, the founding Director of the Refugee Studies Centre. It is held each year in Michaelmas term.

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Forthcoming events

A short history of the Gaza Strip

Wednesday, 15 October 2025, 5pm to 6pm @ Seminar Room 1, Oxford Department of International Development, 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB

Displacement, solidarity, counter-government

Wednesday, 22 October 2025, 5pm to 6pm @ Seminar Room 1, Oxford Department of International Development, 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB

Human rights elites at the United Nations: Felix Ermacora and the first human rights fact finding missions (1967-1993)

Wednesday, 29 October 2025, 5pm to 6pm @ Seminar Room 1, Oxford Department of International Development, 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB

Migration and displacement: My grandmother, Lausanne, and some lessons for the present

Wednesday, 05 November 2025, 5.15pm to 6.15pm @ Mary Ogilvie Lecture Theatre, St Anne's College, 56 Woodstock Rd, Oxford OX2 6HS

Cities of refuge in an age of displacements

Wednesday, 12 November 2025, 5pm to 6pm @ Seminar Room 1, Oxford Department of International Development, 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB

Law unbound? Asylum and migration law in the UK post-Brexit

Tuesday, 18 November 2025, 5pm to 6pm @ Seminar Room, European Studies Centre, 70 Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6HR