(Re)Imagining the Indian Ocean World: A Symposium on Literature and Culture
October 24-25, 2023
9:00am – 6:00pm
Conference Centre and Boardroom, Cedar Building, KPU Surrey Campus
This event is available both in-person and online. Online access links will be sent to registered participants. Registration is required.
For further details, please contact Dr. Asma Sayed: asma.sayed@kpu.ca
Keynote Address by M. G. Vassanji: Worlds Looking Out: Porbandar and Dar
Abstract
Kathiyawad and Kutch on the west coast of Gujarat, peeping out into the Indian Ocean from the subcontinent as it were, have always had eyes on the world. Trade between Gujarat and the Swahili coast of East Africa has been ancient. It easily preceded European colonization of the region, which later encouraged immigration into it. I will look at this phenomenon in terms of history and cultural exchange and the formation of a distinct Afro Asian identity in modern times. I will then briefly consider the reverse emigration from East Africa into Gujarat.
Speaker Bio
M. G. Vassanji is one of Canada’s finest and most celebrated writers. He is the author of ten novels, three short story collections, two travelogues, a biography, and numerous articles. He has twice won the Giller Prize as well as the Governor-General’s Award – two of Canada’s top literary awards.