My research focuses on the staging of past and present cultural encounters between Africa and Europe, as well as the representation and the performance of so-called “African cultures” in and through theatre in France. It will examine the Avignon festivals (the “In” and the Off festival) from 2000 to 2020 and aims to provide insight into the relation between cultural practices, cultural identities and cultural encounters. After being awarded an undergraduate degree and then the Master of International Development, Middle Eastern Studies and Migration by Sciences Po Paris, in 2014, I worked as a junior researcher at Groupe URD, a French think-thank specialised in crisis and post crisis contexts. In 2018, I started a new M.A. at the University Paris Diderot in Sociology and Anthropology, specialised on migrations and ethnic relations. My M.Phil. dissertation deals with travel imaginaries and “migratory creation”. It focuses on migrants who participate to the Ecole des Actes, an association affiliated to the National Dramatic Center of Aubervilliers, a Northern suburb of Paris.

E-mail: nkarroum (at) letras.up.pt