'When Behrouz Boochani declared via a Skype call at the launch of his ‘prison memoir’ at the University of New South Wales in August this year that he wanted the work to be read/evaluated as a piece of art, I was internally nodding away. In my academic work for the past five years, I have examined a series of refugee-themed documentaries, and audience responses to them to argue that we need to move beyond the expression of transient empathy to take responsibility for systemic change. A crucial part of this process is recognising the agency of asylum seekers, whether in detention, or on temporary visas in our community, and partnering with them in lobbying for policy overhauls.' (Introduction)
