Uni-Tübingen

Charles Murata

Research Project 
My research examines figurations and experiences of precariousness among migrant zamazama (informal gold miners) in South Africa, with particular attention to migration, informal mining and labor precarious (working and living). The emphasis extends to how migrants and marginalized informal miners navigate insecurity (political, social and economic) in contexts shaped by historical dispossession, uneven development, and fragile state protections. The project leverage on empirical insights from Zimbabwean and Mozambican informal miners and uses figurational analysis alongside decolonial and critical social theory to understand how precarious lives are produced, managed, and lived in everyday practice. 

 Research Interests

  •  Migration and social protection.

  •  Informal and illegal mining in Southern Africa. 

  • Labor precarity and precarious livelihoods.

  •  Decolonial theory and critical social theory. 

  • Gender, mobility, and the politics of representation. 

  • Climate mobilities. 

  • Figurational sociology and qualitative research methods. 

Conference and Paper Presentations

  • Murata, C. (2025, May 26–27). Transnational social protection and displacement: The role of transnational networks in enhancing access to social protection for refugee families caring for children with disabilities in the Czech Republic [Paper presentation]. IAB-BIB-ECSR International Workshop, Wartime Migration and Integration: Ukrainian Stayers, IDPs and Refugees. Workshop page 

  •  Murata, C. (2025, April 23–25). Beyond economic impact: Examining Chinese immigrants' social integration in South Africa [Paper presentation]. Migrant Asia Conference, Asian Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand. Programme page 

  • Murata, C. (2023, November 28–30). Transnational networks and undocumented migrants: Lived experiences of young Zimbabwean men engaged in unregulated gold mining activities in South Africa [Paper presentation]. EMMIR Conference: Young Africans on the Move, Entebbe, Uganda. LinkedIn post 

  •  Murata, C. (2023, November 17–22). Altered mobilities in climate disasters: Experiences of Cyclone Idai-impacted communities in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe [Paper presentation]. Eighth Annual Research and Orientation Conference and Workshop on Global Protection of Refugees and Migrants, Calcutta Research Group, Kolkata, India.
     

    Teaching

  • Teaching Migration: A Focus on Knowledge Production, University of Oldenburg, one year of teaching experience; continuing in the current academic year. 


     Publications

  • Murata, C., & Murigu, W. W. (2025). Overcoming barriers: Intercultural education and the integration of undocumented Zimbabwean migrant children in South Africa. Journal of African Inclusive Societies, 5(1), 7–27. Article. doi.org/10.59186/SI.BA628DWF 

  • Murata, C. (2024, February 7). Reflective personal encounter as a Zimbabwean Zama-zama in South Africa. Refugee Watch Online. Article 

  • Murata, C. (2024, December 20). Charles Murata on food security in Zimbabwe [Podcast audio]. GlobalLokal. Spotify episode