Displaced Voices Collective

Displaced Voices Collective – Public Facing Research

Our Postcolonial Mediterranean by Valerie Heilig

Displaced Voices Collective is a student collective developed through research-led teaching. It was co-founded by students from across undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including from the modules Postcolonial Mediterranean and Displacement, Contemporary Cultures, and Literature in Question in 2026. The collective brings together research‑led student work that is public facing, which focuses on postcolonial and partitioned worlds, Mediterranean histories and cultures, displacement, and empire.

Selected projects are curated for public access and showcase student research to wider communities.  Students produce work in a wide range of formats, including podcasts, interviews, websites, long piece of journalism, zines, and events.

The collective prioritises collective enquiry, ethical research practice, collaboration, and critical reflection. It is also committed to community engagement, public outreach, and public awareness of postcolonial histories and displacement.

Student Founders and Editors: Niamh Clarke, Valerie Heilig, Ciara Heslin, Emmet Leen, Zara O’Sullivan, Emma Pezzato, Rachael Kelleher, Isobel Dennehy

Academic Convenor: Bahriye Kemal

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As part of the displaced voices collective, this year the focus was on postcolonial Mediterranean and displacement. The students devised public-facing research projects that were grounded in public and community engagement and raising public awareness on a topic related to Mediterranean Displacements. For the project students worked on their understanding of ‘our Mediterranean’, thinking with multiple alternative ‘Mediterraneans’ through various themes, including: history and effects of colonialism and migration; the lived experiences of different people and places; issues that impact the communities in the Mediterranean; the ways the Mediterranean is perceived by people in Ireland. This thinking was then expanded into various individual project, including: creative zines, website, podcast, oral history interviews, a long piece of journalism  and more.