Open Collections

'Indo-Canadian experience' : a performance of voices of a socialization process of a 'brown' man in Canada

University of British Columbia

This critical, creative, nonfiction text captures what it means to be a ‘brown’ man in ‘Canadian’ society; many of ‘us’ find ‘our’ socialization process traumatic, leading to alienation, low self-esteem, internalized racism, anger, crime and even outright violence. The complex nuances of ‘Sikh’ racialization are revealed by creating a bricolage of literary styles and forms. I employ bricolage because a multivariate approach enables me to better explore and reveal the complexities, nuances and contradictions of being a ‘brown’ man. My personal experiences of racialization are embedded throughout these works of poetry, prose and creative non-fiction. This collection of texts examines the shortcomings of ‘Canadian’ multiculturalism and their impacts on the socialization of ‘Indo-Canadian’ men by focusing on themes of racism, history, violence, immigrant labour, internalized racism and racial profiling. In doing so, this research focuses on two inter-related questions: 1. “What kinds of discursive and structural dimensions of ‘multicultural’ Canada maintain cultural stereotypes and forms of racism that I have experienced personally?” 2. “How can I better understand and come to terms with my alienation as an ‘Indo-Canadian’ male in relation to how ‘brown’ violence has been constructed by the media and in turn understood by the general public?” This thesis encourages the reader to acknowledge and examine his/her (mis)perceptions of ‘Sikhs,’ and in turn, to acknowledge and examine how his/her actions and inactions contribute to the sociological challenges that confront ‘Indo-Canadian’ men.

Text

2010-08-05

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/27096

Society, Culture and Politics in Education

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/