Professor Sebastian receives Humanities Division Impact Leaders Scheme award

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Professor Samantha Sebastian

Professor Samantha Sebastian is one of two recipients of the Humanities Division Impact Leaders Scheme 2024/25 for her project 'Voicing Global Labour Migration: The Songworlds and Livelihoods of Overseas Filipino Workers'. The scheme supports University postholders who want their research and expertise to make a difference in the world outside of academia. Professor Sebastian has also received funding for this project from the John Fell Fund, financed by Oxford University Press, which fosters creativity and a proactive approach to research opportunities.

'Voicing Global Labour Migration' concerns the dependence on international labour mobility in industries such as health and aged care, domestic work, and seafaring. It examines how those who work in these settings use their voices to perform care, service, sacrifice and excellence, as well as resilience, advocacy, and protest. Overseas Filipino Workers' experiences are framed by narratives which characterise them as either national heroes or exploited victims.  Combining participatory research methods with multi-sited ethnography, Professor Sebastian is partnering with civil sector organisations to explore how these narratives are reinscribed and resisted by migrant workers' everyday, testimonial and commemorative engagements with songs and singing.