Comics & Knowledge Mobilization in Migration Studies
with María Cervantes-Macías & Sofi Donner
Thursday, Nov. 27th @ 12:30 PM, Zoom
Register here
This session explores how comics can serve as a powerful tool for knowledge mobilization in migration studies. Featuring CMS Postdoctoral Research Fellow María Cervantes-Macías and visual facilitator Sofi Donner, the event highlights their collaboration in translating María’s dissertation research on immigrant platform workers into accessible visual narratives. Together, they discuss how drawing, shared mapping, and comics-based storytelling can illuminate complex experiences of mobility, labour, and belonging, expanding the reach and impact of migration scholarship.
María Cervantes-Macías is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Migration Studies and an Affiliate Member of the Department of Geography at the University of British Columbia. Her research explores how migration and digital labour are transforming Canadian cities, focusing on the everyday experiences of immigrant workers in the platform economy. She is also a Non-Resident Fellow at the U.S.–Mexico Center at the University of California, San Diego, and a former Fox International Fellow at Yale University. Through her work, María examines how borders, technology, and inequality shape who gets to move, work, and belong across North America.
Sofi Donner is a visual facilitator and educator from Uruguay. She helps teams and organizations communicate ideas more clearly through drawing, shared mapping, and collaborative visual tools. Her work focuses on making conversations easier to follow, so that people can understand each other, make decisions together, and move forward with a shared sense of direction. Sofi has worked with public institutions, NGOs, and international organizations across Latin America, creating visual summaries, participatory workshops, and learning experiences. She also teaches visual thinking at the Universidad Católica del Uruguay, where she encourages students to use drawing as a practical tool for communication, clarity, collaboration, and creative exploration.