Student profiles
Milcah Joweria Lalam
Email: Milcah.lalam@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk
Thesis Title
Institution
Supervisors
Dr Alison Jeffers
Prof. Tanja Müller
Research Summary
My doctoral research examines how Acholi performance forms—specifically ododo (storytelling) and tukko (dramatic texts) —function as living archives that preserve, transmit, and shape public understanding of restorative justice. Focusing on 1972 to 2012, a period shaped by political violence, civil war, displacement, return and rebuilding, the study analyses theatrical practices that carried lived experiences, confronted silences and marginalisation and intergenerational archiving of memory and cultural knowledge in post-conflict Northern Uganda.
Rather than documenting ododo and tukko as performance forms for their own sake and framing them as instruments of reconciliation, this study positions them as dynamic, embodied practices that offer platforms for the amplification of voices often excluded from dominant accounts—particularly women, children, and young people. By analysing these performances as living archives—flexible, participatory, and deeply rooted in oral tradition—the research highlights their role in interrogating how performance curates’ history and frames justice—highlighting narrative agency, survivor testimony, and community response through plays and storytelling.
Grounded in interdisciplinary frameworks from performance studies, theories and restorative justice concepts, the study situates tukko and ododo within global debates on accountability, reparation, and truth-telling for serious crimes. By tracing how theatrical works engage with intergenerational transmission and communal reflections, the research offers a model for integrating restorative justice into broader archival and justice frameworks, one that centres marginalised voices and respects the distinct cultural contexts from which these practices emerge.
Research Interests
Performance as historical archive, restorative Justice and alternatives to retributive justice, and inclusive narratives and cultural preservation.
Publications
coming soon