Deliberations on Diaspora

Food is often an overlooked topic by many historians; indeed, for something that we can’t live without, many people take it for granted. Have you ever wondered how your favourite dishes came into being? Or how certain foods and ingredients have moved around the world? This podcast will discuss the history of the South African dish Bunny Chow, and in turn examine the larger picture of food mobility. Bunny Chow, a dish with local form of curry inside carved loaf of bread, is a reflection of transcultural fusion that occurs when a diasporic community meets the host community and its peoples. It is a reflection of necessary measures taken to get around the issues posed during the Apartheid,and also the symbol of solidarity among labourers of Indian and African backgrounds.

This podcast uses the BBC show Love Thy Neighbour to comment on the politicization of race in television. It will examine how the black diaspora in Britain after the end of WW2 and the arrival of the Windrush generation triggered a shift in British television towards racial diversity in sitcoms. Wewill comment on the effects these shows had on the black population and compare them to the popularity of prominent racially diverse shows that air today, such as Blackish and Dear White People. The central question we tackle is if these shows that comment on race are inherently political, and what pressures they face from their audiences. Love Thy Neighbour’s racist rhetoric exemplifies the claim of many showrunners of the 1960s and 70s, that they were using comedy to expose racist rhetoric, but instead ended up appealing to the racism present in society.

*Warning this podcast will contain examples of derogatory and racist language*

“Teaching my Mother How to Give Birth” to explore how diasporic

belonging intersects with her experiences of  gender, race, and

sexuality as a first-generation immigrant from Somalia. We begin with

 an overview of Shire’s personal background with migration and delve

into how these  experiences of becoming a diasporic subject influence

her writing. From there, we  discuss the meaning of diaspora and how we

are able to use this understanding as an  analytical tool for reading

Shire’s work and uncovering her diasporic subjectivity. We  use this

foundation to inform our individual analysis of her poems “Fire,”

“Birds,” and  “Conversations About Home,” and invite listeners to

explore our own personal reactions to these works. In sum, this podcast

explores the gendered nature of diaspora and exposes how Warsan

Shire’struth about the nature of violence in war and her struggles with

assimilation represent a particular articulation of diasporic

experience.

Our podcast discusses Joy Kogawa’s collection of poems from her book “The Splintered Moon.” This episode explores Kogowa’s background and the history of Japanese-Canadian internment in Canada, while ultimately relating these topics to the content of her poems and our interpretations. We analyze four poems int his collection: Righteous Cleansing, I Know Who I Am, Communication, and We Had Not Seen It. In these poems, underlying themes of trauma, racism, and societal exclusion link numerous narratives relating to the larger study of diaspora. We touch on Canada’s hierarchical social system and show how the government reflected these values during Japanese-Canadian internment.Moreover, we examine how Kogowa’s writings serve as a form of activism and positive change moving forward, especially given the Canadian government’s offers of reconciliation in recent decades.