Refracting Pacific Canada

Refracting Pacific Canada: New Directions in Research on Citizenship, Race and Migration

Refracting Pacific Canada will launch a year-long series of events at UBC in 2007 marking the 100th anniversary of the 1907 Vancouver Anti-Asian Riots, the 60th anniversary of the Canadian Citizenship Act, the 40th anniversary of the Canadian Immigration Act, and the 10th anniversary of the reversion of Hong Kong's sovereignty from Britain to the People's Republic of China. Like a prism, these moments refract the history of Canada's ties to the Pacific world.

We are inviting internationally recognized scholars to discuss the relationship between Asia and the Americas. In addition, we hope this event will provide an opportunity for invited guests to dialogue and network with Canadian scholars working on race, globalization, and comparative studies.

The conference will open with a public lecture and reception on Thursday, March 15, with plenary panels on Friday, March 16, and a series of small workshops on Saturday, March 17, and the morning of Sunday, March 18. Special Issues of B.C. Studies and Amerasia Journal will focus on some of the themes of the conference.

Thursday March 15: Public Lecture and Reception

3:00 – 5:00 PM
Pre-conference Seminar: "Against Diaspora: The Sinophone as Places of Cultural Production"

A Colloquium with Shu-mei Shih (UCLA)
Discussant: Christopher Lee (UBC)

Case Room, Liu Centre for the Study of Global Issues

Faculty and graduate students interested in attending this event are encouraged to contact Chris Lee (leechr@interchange.ubc.ca) in advance to obtain a copy of Prof. Shih's paper.

5:30 – 7:30
Public Lecture: "A Century of Change: 1907, 1947, 1967, 1997"
Introduction: Henry Yu (UBC)
Patricia E. Roy (University of Victoria)

Asian Centre Auditorium

Discussion Panel:
Lisa Mar (University of Maryland, College-Park)
Midge Ayukawa (PhD, University of Victoria)
Harbhajan Gill (Komagata Maru Heritage Foundation)

7:30 – 9:00 PM
UBC Faculty of Arts Community Reception
Asian Centre Atrium