The SASI partnered with the Association of Critical Heritage Studies – Canada, the University of Alberta Kule Institute for Advanced Studies and Northumbria University to present a symposium entitled “Constructing Heritage in Canada’s South Asian Diasporas.” The June 16th symposium, which was attended by almost 50 people, featured panelists: Dr Satwinder Kaur Bains, University of the Fraser Valley; Dr Srilata Ravi, University of Alberta; Itrath Sayed, Simon Fraser University; Kathleen Boodhai, Northumbria University and was moderated by Dr. Shabnam Inanloo Dailoo, Athabasca University and Dr. Susan Ashley, Northumbria University.
This symposium examined the construction and performance of cultural heritage in South Asian diaspora communities in Canada. Panelists brought critical perspectives on how and why ‘heritage’ is important in grassroots settings, and whose heritage is omitted from the Canadian historical record.