Singapore Inc. and Vancouverism: Hazards of Modelling City Growth
Wednesday, 16 November 2016 | 11am to 12:30pm | Room 141, Health, Nursing & Environmental Studies Building (HNES), Keele Campus
Charles Greenberg, Capilano University

Over the past decade there has been a growing understanding that both Singapore and Vancouver are successful models of urban growth. While there is no denying the ‘livability’ of these cities, there may be risk and vulnerabilities associated with the perceived success. The presentation, drawing on these two urban role models, attempts to map the hazards and intrinsic costs of performative success, which may include inequality, affordability and discrimination.

Professor Greenberg completed his PhD in urban and cultural geography and Asian studies at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He taught geography at the University of Sydney for five years and has been a faculty member of Capilano University and UBC since 1990. He teaches a wide range of courses including human geography, urban studies, environmental geography, ecotourism, and Asian Studies. His current sabbatical year is dedicated to writing a book called ‘Reading Canada’.

This event is co-presented by the Faculty of Environmental Studies and the York Centre for Asian Research.

The Incorporation of South Asian Minorities in Canada and the United States
Wednesday, 16 November 2016 | Noon to 2pm | Room 303, Third Floor, Founders College
Prema Kurien, Syracuse University

My presentation will draw on ongoing research to examine two minority religious groups of South Asian origin (Hindus and Sikhs) that have broadly similar patterns of migration to Canada and the United States and have close ties with their compatriots across the border, but yet manifest divergent activism profiles around North American as well as homeland issues. My presentation will examine how different opportunity structures (both national and local), and differences in the characteristics of the groups, shape how they frame their grievances and mobilize. It also aims to uncover the factors that influence the form that their mobilization takes, specifically, whether it is "ethnic," "racial" or "religious." Focusing on Hindu and Sikh communities and advocacy organizations serving these groups in Toronto, Vancouver, New York/New Jersey, and northern California, this project is being conducted both through interviews and analysis of available information about the organizations.
 
Prema Kurien is Professor of Sociology and Robert McClure Faculty Scholar, as well as the founding director of the Asian/Asian American Studies program at Syracuse University. She is the author of two award-winning books, Kaleidoscopic Ethnicity: International Migration and the Reconstruction of Community Identities in India, and A Place at the Multicultural Table: The Development of an American Hinduism and over forty articles and book chapters. Her third book, Ethnic Church Meets Mega Church: Indian American Christianity in Motion is forthcoming in 2017. She is currently working on her next book, “Race, Religion, and Citizenship: Indian American Political Advocacy,” and on a research project, The Political Incorporation of Religious Minorities in Canada and the United States.

This event is presented as part of the Sikh Forum at York University with the support of the York Centre for Asian Research and Founders College.