Part of the Department of History's 2016-2017 lecture series, Canada 150: Confederation in Question
This is a free event and is open to the general public.
RSVP to the panel discussion November 16, 2016
ABSTRACT
Super- flashy? Super- loud? Aggressively insular berry -farming illiterates?
These and many other deprecating cultural stereotypes have come to stand as a lazy shorthand for the Punjabi-Canadian diaspora. As Canada steps into a century and a half of nationhood, a more subtle, sensitive introspection about 'Canadianness' has been gaining momentum within political and popular discourses. Unpacking the experience of hyphenated identities such as Indo-Canadian and BC-Punjabi is critical to the process of understanding forces that anchor the modern Canadian nation state. The diverse lived experiences and legacies of BC's Punjabi migrants is a bittersweet story of survival, adaptation, idiosyncrasies and innovation whose impulses resonate globally.
In this panel discussion SFU historian, professor Bidisha Ray, discusses the curious adventures of being Punjabi in BC with Dr. Balbir Gurm, scholar and eminent Punjabi activist, Mo Dhaliwal, award-winning entrepreuner and Punjabi cultural visionary, and Shushma Datt, legendary journalist, media personality and household name.