By Lovneet Aujla, UBC ’19
ASIA 475, Documenting Punjabi Canada, is a unique opportunity for students at UBC to engage with the history of Punjabi Canada, and the many stories of Punjabi Canadians. In exploring written work, archives, documentaries, and oral histories students in ASIA 475 are able to foster a rich understanding of Punjabi Canadian history and its role in the formation of the Punjabi community. Initiated by Dr. Murphy to grow the Punjabi Studies program at UBC, ASIA 475 blends traditional teaching, oral history techniques, and documentary film to encourage the learning and collection of Punjabi Canadian history. Documenting Punjabi Canada has been offered multiple times, first in 2015W by Dr. Anne Murphy, and later in 2017W and 2018W by documentary filmmaker and UBC Asian Studies PhD candidate Ajay Bhardwaj. More than just a course, Documenting Punjab Canada is a chance to appreciate and contribute to the breadth of Punjabi Canadian history.
Although all the projects from the W2018 class were worthy of mention, a few examples provide a sense of the breadth and depth of the projects. One such project explored the reality of Punjabis in Ice Hockey from both the male and female perspective. Emily and Nick, the two students who completed the project, interviewed two Punjabi Canadian ice hockey players at UBC, and in doing so successfully explored the intersections of hockey and Punjabi identity. This project is unique because it approached Punjabi Canadian history by subverting the standard narrative for an aspect of mainstream Canadian culture, ice hockey. The project employs hockey as a looking-glass for Canadian multiculturalism and the insertion of the Punjabi voice. Hockey was and remains a social phenomena in Canada and in this regard Nick and Emily’s project was relatable. Hockey for a lot of Punjabis is inaccessible, but as this student project demonstrates there are efforts being made by Punjabi Canadians to break this barrier.
Another example is Rhea and Palvi’s project which explored a rather sensitive topic, Punjabiness and the LGBQT2+ identity. I would say that one of the goals of ASIA 475 is to address gaps in Punjabi Canadian history and one such gap has been the silence surrounding gay Punjabis in Canada. This project does a phenomenal job of exploring how gay Punjabis navigate their identity in a community that sometimes does not fully understand what it means to be non-conforming. This project documents stories of adversity and strength. In doing so, it creates a subversive narrative that challenges the heteronormativity present in the Punjabi community. This project is an excellent example of how oral history can fulfil both a documenting purpose, but also a social purpose in that it serves to address gaps in history.
ASIA 475, documenting Punjabi Canada, is an incredibly important class. It allows students to breathe life into history in ways that would not be traditionally possible. ASIA 475 is a course dedicated to the documentation and dissemination of Punjabi Canadian history but it is also much more than that. ASIA 475 is a mode of expression, a tool for engagement with the community and above all Documenting Punjabi Canada is a way of furthering the Punjabi Studies program at UBC. It is a critical and involved course that respects a diversity of experiences, background and ultimately embraces student creativity. ASIA 475 truly allows students to appreciate Punjabi Canadian history, but simultaneously involves them in the process of documenting said history.
Being the teaching assistant for the 2018W session was truly a privilege, and it was especially rewarding to see all of the student projects come to fruition. ASIA 475 is the practice of everything I have learnt in my undergraduate studies. To have had the opportunity to help other students channel their passion for Punjabi Studies was honestly a privilege.
