Hello and Welcome to our podcast series "Identity - Dialogue". I am your host Dr. Nita Chaudhuri. In this podcast series, we will be interviewing leaders in STEM, Global Health, Conflict Resolution and anthropology and young adults on the influence of social media on identity and what it is like to be someone of blended origins. We hope to engage guests and listeners in an in-depth conversation on how we construct both personal and social identities. This is a safe space for you to explore your identity.
What's in a Name ? - The Canadian Chinese Identity
Ellen Lee is a Canadian born designer of Chinese
descent who explores multiple aspects of her identity that she has created from a blank page as a piece of art. She tells us that the Canadian Ellen afforded her the freedom to create an identity of what she wants to be while also being able to maintain the Chinese person (Kit Yee) because it is what people see on the outside. As an athlete and artist among many aspects of her identity she struggled with traditional Chinese expectations of being a serious person. As an artist who expresses feelings and spirituality she is considered vulnerable meaning less chances of her survival. For Ellen, fortunately, being Canadian as an identity gives her the flexibility and hope to be who she really wants to be.
27 Dec 2023
Identité - Que signifie être français dans une culture en constante évolution ?
Nahile est une jeune professionnelle d'origine française et marocaine qui, selon elle, ne peut être quantifiée en tant qu'identité unique, mais plutôt en tant que pluralité et ensemble. Pour elle, être français est un ensemble de sentiments, d'émotions, de souvenirs et d'attachement aux valeurs françaises de liberté, d'égalité, de fraternité et de laïcité qu'elle espère voir s'appliquer à tous les Français en dépit de leurs différentes origines. Elle dit cependant que cet espoir n'a pas été complètement réalisé étant donné l'hypocrisie qui existe dans la société française. Contrairement à des pays comme les États-Unis où l'ethnicité et la race sont reconnues, ce n'est pas le cas en France. Il en résulte que les inégalités sont cachées. Selon Nahile, la peur de l'autre en France n'est pas basée sur la réalité mais sur une peur hypothétique de l'inconnu et du changement brutal. Les Français d'origine différente ont vécu dans la peur réelle de la violence émotionnelle et physique de la part de la société, des médias et de la police. Cela crée une véritable tristesse pour ces personnes qui considèrent la France comme leur patrie. Le changement, dit-elle, fait naturellement partie de l'évolution d'une société, tout comme l'identité française, et il est possible d'en discuter réellement avec tout le monde.
5 Dec 2023
Identité composite - Empreinte familiale et homosexualité
Marc, étudiant en histoire de l'art à Paris, parle de l'évolution de sa compréhension de son identité en tant qu'homosexuel issu d'une famille bourgeoise conservatrice française. Alors que la famille bourgeoise conservatrice insiste sur certains codes qui peuvent être associés aux privilèges et à l'intolérance, l'identité de Marc a tiré le meilleur parti de l'amour et de l'acceptation de la famille dans ce contexte. Il explique également qu'il est réducteur de considérer l'homosexualité comme une identité en soi, car l'identité d'une personne est bien plus vaste que ce seul identifiant, et avertit que cela conduit à mettre tous les homosexuels dans une boîte, alors que leurs identités sont aussi variées et complexes qu'il y a de personnes. Marc suggère que le fait d'assumer son identité dans toute sa complexité permet de ne pas exclure les autres dans leur parcours.
23 Nov 2023
Identity - Being Human amid Conflict and Polarisation
Alexander is a Russian, Israeli, Italian national who identifies above all as a human among all humans having the privilege to be a father. He is also Jewish and an atheist which for him is not a contradiction. He explores how speaking and living in the script of various languages allows him to assume various aspects of those identities enabling him to not be afraid of the other. He tells us how coming from two countries that are at war is a painful experience as all human life be it friend or enemy is unique. He posits that populism, post-truth, and polarization have created extremes where people’s identities have become entrenched creating conflict which has been exacerbated by the media. He believes that it is not necessarily because of one’s identity that the other must be a foe. In fact, he believes he has a greater understanding of people coming from the middle east because it is a part of him. Through his involvement in the peace movement, he discovered that identity tags often create false perceptions of people and the only way to get over differences is to dialogue to understand the other fully as another human.
3 Nov 2023
Identity- What can it mean to be a Woman from the Middle East
Lamia is a professional woman living in the UK, born in the UAE carrying a Jordanian passport with roots in Palestine and Syria. She tells us about her rich heritage coming from Levantine as a woman but also the complicated nature of borders, passports and identity. She tells us what it means to be Palestinian and the story of what she has been told of where she is from and her ability to live amongst everyone in peace.
25 Jul 2023
Identity - Gender, Sexuality and Community Connections
Winnie and Manisha are young professionals who discuss their journey of exploring gender concluding that living in the absence of gender and a non-binary world gives them freedom and a safe space to live their authentic selves where the queer community has given them an anchor to express themselves and a feeling of belonging. They explore definitions and the role of language in understanding how gender binaries create biases that exclude people in everyday life, research, and access to
adequate health care. Finally, they send an important message to those who are on their gender discovery to stay positive and for those of us who are trying to understand these new ways of being to listen and learn.
4 Jul 2023
Identity - Global Conflict
Dr. Susan Perry, a Professor at the American University of Paris and Director of Graduate Studies in International Affairs and Human Rights, discusses the role identity plays in global conflict drawing examples from global conflicts and the Ukrainian conflict in particular. She speaks about how the NATO alliance identity plays a role in the conflict and how a dynamic definition of identity can contribute to resolving conflict while providing us with some tools to work with.
6 Jun 2023
Identity - Through the Anthropological lens
Dr. Shukti Chaudhuri -Brill is a linguistic anthropologist who has worked extensively with the Roma and immigrant communities in Europe. She provides us with an understanding of identity from an anthropological perspective drawing on the notions of ascribed and versus achieved identities. Identity she says is at one
moment ascribed to us at birth and yet another is constantly being created and performed. The role of groups and communities in defining ourselves to either confirm or challenge our sense of identity is also discussed.
www.saffronglobalhealth.com
contact: nita.chaudhuri@saffronglobalhealth.com
17 May 2023
Identity - Not letting skin colour define you
Flora Kakanou is a French young professional of Cameroonian descent who studied science and is currently a business consultant in pharma. She believes that taking control of your identity is a mindset that gives the opportunity to others to learn from your experience and how that lets one not be defined by skin colour but as a whole person who can surpass any obstacles.
2 May 2023
Identity - Jewish Sephardic Identity through a Post-Colonial Lens
Anaelle grew up in France and studied Postcolonial theory in the United Kindgom. She devoted her time to researching her family's Jewish heritage and memories from the Middle East. She aimed for these memories to be integrated into the wider and local post-colonial imaginaries. She hopes to better understand herself in relation to her own perspectives through this research. In this podcast, she takes you through the geopolitics of the Middle East, Western Politics and the role of Colonialism in the history of Sephardi Jews who lived in Spain and Portugal until the 15th century upon which they were expelled during the Spanish Inquisition and fled to North Africa, the Middle East, the Balkans and Turkey and now can be found all over the world.
18 Apr 2023
Identity - Reclaiming Indigenous Canadian Identity
John Moses is an Indigenous Canadian and member of the Delaware and Upper Mohawk bands from the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and Director of Repatriation and Indigenous Relations at the Canadian Museum of History. He speaks to us about reclaiming today’s indigenous identity the historical nature and legal relevance of the term “Indian” under Canadian administrative frameworks, the matrilineal nature of some bands, systems of spirituality mixing Christian and indigenous traditional practices and the austere and harrowing conditions of residential schools that generations of his family have endured.
He stresses the importance of re-claiming the rich indigenous culture and heritage under the basic premise that, just as natural resources have been extracted from within Indigenous traditional territories for exploitation by Western markets, and children were removed from Indigenous families and communities for assimilation in residential schools, so too were cultural and heritage resources were removed to museums. It is indigenous leaders that must bring their perspectives, expertise, and agency to reclaiming these resources and indigenous identity as a whole.
He leaves us with an important message that, although he is not opposed to the ideas of equity, diversity and inclusion and access in Canada’s cultural mosaic, we must be careful not to include Indigenous peoples of Canada in this framework. If indigenous issues are lumped into a generic discussion of DEI, there is a risk of eroding the unique status of indigenous peoples and situating them as just another tile in Canada’s cultural mosaic.
Find out more at www.saffronglobalhealth.com.
4 Apr 2023
Identity as Women Leaders in STEM and Global Health
Dr. Dominique Charon has had an illustrious career as an epidemiologist, veterinarian in international development and as a leader in STEM and Global Health. She is the outgoing vice president of research and programmes at the International Development Research Centre in Canada. She speaks to us about the importance of having women in decision-making roles and in board rooms but also that it is not enough. She says a diversity of perspectives is important including all of society approach to make good decisions and ask the right questions in STEM and global health problem solving. Dominique also explores the role of a mother as a scientist and how structural changes need to be made in order to support scientific career trajectories in spite of the demands of motherhood.
21 Mar 2023
Identity and the Influence of Social Media
Naviya from Nepal, Fang Fang from Spain and Sara from Ecuador discuss the impact that social media has on identity. Coming from different parts of the planet they show how algorithms shape identity constantly reenforcing images and messages but also how the iterative process of engaging with it influences your sense of power, responsibility and self worth. Although social media can create a sense of community to identify with, it does not represent the actual reality out in the world creating a trap for your identity in the limited reality of SM. We have a love/hate relationship with SM where we try to avoid it but are constantly drawn to it to reenforce our identity and sense of belonging. Naviya, Sara and Fang Fang leave us with an important message which is to constantly explore our larger identity outside of social media as the world is much larger than it.
For information on the "Identity Dialoguing with the Other and Myself" project visit saffronglobalhealth.com (www.saffronglobalhealth.com)or follow instagram- saffronglobalhealth (https://www.instagram.com/saffronglobalhealth/)to leave comments.
7 Mar 2023
Identity - The Third Culture Kid and Expat
Dr. Anna Marie Ball is a Canadian Behavioural Scientist that has had an illustrious career in international development spending much of her time in Africa. She discusses the influence of growing up in Zambia in Africa as a white Canadian third culture kid and later her role as an expat has had on her identity and sense of belonging. She tells us of the realization that she couldn’t be Zambian because in part of her colour and her campaign to understand Canada as the country she was told she was from to understand her identity. Finally, she talks about belonging as not just being from a place but being made up of relations, feelings and experiences.
28 Feb 2023
Identity - Latinx Physician, LGBTQI+ Health Care Advocate and Migrant
Dr. Juan Román Mora is a Latinx Nicaraguan Physician, LGBTQI+ health care advocate and immigrant. He speaks to us about practicing in a heteronormative patriarchal system and how his identity and compassion speaks to communities that are underserved. He also discusses how the migrant identity exposes people to different health risks and how as a migrant physician he can identify the needs of this population. Finally, he impresses the importance of listening to yourself to understand your true identity.
20 Feb 2023
Identity and Blended Origins
Welcome to our podcast on "Identity and Blended Origins." We are speaking today with Devon and Leila who are cousins who between them are of Swiss, Polish, East Indian, Dutch, Russian and Canadian descent carrying Canadian, French and Swiss passports. They speak to us about their experience as blended people and how place, geography, physical appearance and multicultural policies among other factors influence the way they are perceived and how they perceive themselves. Devon and Leila will share their common experiences but also how these experiences differed growing up in Canada, France and the UK and tips on what it really takes to understand their identity. Join us for this in-depth conversation.
20 Feb 2023
What is "Identity Dialogue"
Hello and Welcome to our podcast series "Identity - Dialogue". I am your host Dr. Nita Chaudhuri; Through this series we hope to engage guests and listeners in an in-depth conversation on how we construct both personal and social identities and how these identities are influenced by social media, conflict, geography, gender among others.
In this podcast series, we will be interviewing a variety of individuals including leaders in STEM, Global Health, Conflict Resolution and anthropology as well as with students and young adults on the influence of social media on identity and what it is like to be someone of blended origins.
This is a safe space to discover our identities.
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