SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES INSTITUTE
The 5th Annual Symposium – Fall 2021
Building a Diasporic Roadmap through Inquiry and Engagement
South Asia represents the regions of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. More broadly, the historical, political, cultural and linguistic boundaries that constitute the South Asian region are complex and intricate, complicated and intertwined while being vastly heterogeneous. This is further reinforced in the make up and experiences of the Canadian diasporic communities from these regions all across BC and Canada. Included in the complexity of such a large region are “twice and third migrants” from the region who migrate to Canada from other second and third countries.
Since 2017, the South Asian Studies Institute (SASI) has hosted an annual symposium engaging in topics related to South Asian Canadian geo-political spaces, naming, gender, caste, history, and culture. Given the apotheosis of the time we are living in — and with an ongoing commitment to shift and build solidarities amongst our communities, SASI invites you to our fifth annual symposium which looks at building a road map through regional understanding.
The 2021 symposium is organized as a round table discussion where, through conversation we build upon the work of inter-disciplinary academics and other stakeholders in order to create a road map towards furthering current and future research and building partnerships.
We invite your perspectives based on the intersectionality of lived experiences with themes ranging from politics, policy, culture, language, art, aesthetics, activism, heritage, food, clothing, history, society, development, philanthropy, social justice etc. – any and all of the areas of work that drive your passion as it relates to South Asia and the Diaspora.
The questions we aim to explore are:
• What is required to build a robust and forward thinking research road map that reflects South Asian diasporic communities with academics, scholars, researchers, students, activists, cultural historians and interested organizations?
• What foundations need to be built (and how) that help us secure a foothold for further and future research that deepens engagement, builds historical records and enhances diasporic internal and external understandings?
• How do we address issues related to how South Asian Canadian histories have been omitted, erased and neglected by post-secondary, heritage/historic organizations, K-12 education, the GLAM sector etc.?
• How do we design/implement solidarity (as action) for South Asian Canadian research and studies that is inclusive of South Asian Canadian diasporas in BC?
RSVP your attendance at sasi@ufv.ca or call for more information at 604-854-4547.
Fri, Nov 19
9 am-3 pm
SASI Boardroom, Room F125
https://ufv.ca/sasi/recent-programs-and-events/
For more information, contact Sharanjit Sandhra at sharanjit.sandhra@ufv.ca
11/19/2021