Michael Murphy
Mike is a DPhil candidate in Migration Studies at the University of Oxford and the current OUEC Chairman. His research explores the impacts of extreme migration on personal identity, examining themes such as identity construction, transnationalism, and storytelling. His interests span migration, space and refugee studies, crisis and disaster, and experimental methodologies. Michael is particularly drawn to the interplay between borders, folklore, and rituals in shaping human experiences of displacement.
Profile
I am an anthropologist, migration researcher, and DPhil candidate in migration studies at the University of Oxford. My work focuses on comprehending the ways that extreme journeys change people's concepts of who they are and how they relate to others. I am currently researching how journeys into space may shape astronaut identities.
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Previously, I have worked on the US-Mexico border and in the UK with refugee and unhoused communities. Much of my work over the COVID-19 pandemic was done remotely with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh; Syrian, Iraqi, Afghani, Somali, Sudanese, and Palestinian refugees in Jordan; and Afghani, Mexican, and Honduran refugees in the United States.
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I am fascinated by the stories that take place on journeys. In academia and in public media, attention tends to focus on why migrants leave their original communities (willingly or unwillingly) and how well they adapt to the communities they settle into. While these are important considerations, my work centers on "the route" that migrants move along as a productive space. Identities, relationships, and world views are all fluid along the route, as they are influenced by rapidly changing encounters. Migration routes are made up of all kinds of different people pinging off of each other, and in the process, routes make people too. Because migration can span anywhere from weeks to generations, the liminal space of the route becomes an incredibly generative site.
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My questions of precarity, journeys, crises, and self-construction come from my own early experiences of being homeless, as well as nearly a decade of nomadic living.
Qualifications
​Outdoor first aid
UK Summer mountain leadership
National Navigation Awards Scheme - Silver Award
Research ethics (Oxford, UCL, UCSD)
Education
Current studies I DPhil in Migration Studies. University of Oxford.
2022 | MSc in Migration Studies. University of Oxford. Merit.
2021 | BA in Sociocultural Anthropology. University of California - San Diego. Summa Cum Laude.​
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Space Health Research: Meili-II - Analogue Astronaut (Medical Officer & AT Specialist)
Asclepios V - Mission Control Team
Space Health Research: Meili-I - Mission Control Field Team
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Speaking
Analog Astronaut Conference 2025 speaker
European Low Gravity Research Association 2024 Speaker
Royal Geographical Society EXPLORE 2023 Speaker
University of Oxford COMPAS Center
University of Oxford Anthropology Department
University of California - San Diego Undergraduate Research Council -- Keynote Speaker
Volunteer
Chairman. Oxford University Exploration Club.
English Language Partner. Jesuit World Learning Center
Immigration Assistant. International Rescue Committee
Orientation Volunteer. Museum of Us (formerly Museum of Man)​
Contact
Currently looking for opportunities in expeditions, research, partnerships, and outdoor guiding.