A free lecture by professor Doris Jakobsh at the University of Winnipeg.
Abstract: Sikhs have had a significant presence on the internet since the 1990s. For the most part, early websites were clearly gendered, focusing on male-focused history, identity and concerns, with some sites including a ‘women’s section’. Early Sikh women’s specific sites were few and included Sikhwomen.com and Sikhwomensalliance.com among others, some of which are virtually inactive today. The scenario has changed considerably with a number of new sites developed by and for women that clearly reflect the needs, practices, concerns and issues surrounding identity of a new generation of highly engaged, reflective Sikh women activists and feminists. Some of these sites also have an active offline presence. This presentation will explore the development of a number of these sites, examining changes in content, presentation and mission between earlier and later websites. How do these online spaces intersect with offline Sikh religious environments and concerns? To what extent do these site engage with and reflect on wider women’s concerns?
Speaker: Doris R. Jakobsh is a Professor and Associate Chair of Graduate Studies in the Department of Religious
Studies at the University of Waterloo. She is the author of Relocating Gender in Sikh History:
Transformation, Meaning, and Identity, OUP (2003, 2005) and Sikhism, University of Hawaii Press (2011).
This public lecture is sponsored by the University of Winnipeg’s Department of Religion & Culture and the India Centre.
