Research: Telling migrant stories through graphic narratives
Investigating how comics can be used to tell the personal and community stories of British Bangladeshi women in Manchester.
Research summary
Project summary
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February 2017 to January 2018
This project with Diversity Matters North West saw women from the British Bangladeshi community in Hyde, Greater Manchester explore their own life stories and the narratives of their communities.
They took part in workshops on life history, cross-cultural storytelling and digital skills, and visited Manchester Museum, the Whitworth Art Gallery and Manchester Met’s special collections.
The women developed communication, digital and creative skills, as well as the confidence to use an online comics generator to tell their own story using photographs, drawings and text.
Their comics highlighted the emotions associated with migration in an immediate and relatable way. And they were shared with groups including at WOW (Women of the World) and Dhaka Lit Fest (with the support of the British Council, Bangladesh).
Events were also organised to celebrate the work, locally and nationally, including at:
- Oldham libraries, as part of Oldham Comic Con - with creative workshops in KARVAN (a travelling caravan created by Emma Dawson-Varughese) for visitors, creating pinboards and comic strips
- Rochdale Literature and Ideas Festival
- the Lakes International Comic Art Festival
The research team also ran sessions in local schools and public events at Manchester Met.
The project widened representations of migrant heritage, which is helping to raise awareness, change attitudes and behaviours, and ultimately improve understanding and cohesion.
Quote from participant
I’ve enjoyed telling my story. It’s helped me to remember my background and given me an opportunity to talk about the past.
Research outputs
Research outputs
Academic papers
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S. McNicol (2018). Telling migrant women’s life stories as comics. Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics. 9(4), pp.279-292.
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S. McNicol (2019). Using participant-created comics as a research method. Qualitative Research Journal. 19(3), pp.236-247.
Other resources
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Graphic Lives: Telling Bangladeshi migrant women’s stories through graphic narratives project report
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Summaries of the women’s stories and comics created by the participants
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A teaching pack with instructions for how to run the activities and make the comics
Research team
Funding
With funding from
National Lottery Heritage Fund
Contact
Contact us
For general enquiries about the Education and Social Research Institute’s youth and community group, you can contact research lead Prof Gabrielle Ivinson.
