Writing British Asian Birmingham
Friday 8 February 2008, The Nishkam Civic Association, 6 Soho Road,
Birmingham, B21 9BH

10.00 – 10.30:                     Arrival and Refreshments

10.30 – 10.45:                     Introduction and Welcome:
Sean McLoughlin (AHRC Network, ‘Writing Asian Cities’/Department of Theology, University of Leeds)
Dilbagh Dhami (Strategic Director, Nishkam Civic Association)

10.45 – 11.45:                     Historical Patterns and Processes:
Symposium Keynote: John Rex (Professor Emeritus of Sociology) Urban Systems, Social Theory and Ethnicity: Post-War Restructuring and South Asians in Birmingham
Malcolm Dick (University of Birmingham) Communities and Individuals: South Asians in Birmingham during the Twentieth Century
Chair: Richard Gale (University of Birmingham)

11.45 – 13.00:                     Working Relations and Urban Change:
Sarah Dar (Sociology Department, University of Warwick) Campaigning for Social Justice: The IWA and the Archives
Shira Johal (President, Birmingham and Sandwell IWA) Personal Reflections on the IWA
Monder Ram (Strategy and Management, De Montfort University) Post-Industrial Labour-Market Participation and Ethnic Entrepreneurship in Birmingham: A Personal View
Chair: Richard Gale (University of Birmingham)            

13.00 – 14.00:                     Lunch – (vegetarian buffet at the NCA)

14.00 – 15.00:                     Politics In and Beyond the Local State:
Salma Yaqoob (Respect Party Councillor, Birmingham Sparkbrook) The Politics of Community in Birmingham
Shahid Butt (Birmingham) What I Saw, What I Heard, What I Felt: The Real Story
Chair: Therese O’Toole (University of Birmingham)

15.00 – 16.00:                     Urban Aesthetics: Sites and Sounds of the City:
Noha Nasser (Birmingham City University) British South Asian Cityscapes: The Case of Birmingham
Rajinder Dudrah (University of Manchester) A Birmingham Soundscape: British Bhangra Music

16.00 – 16.30:                     Tea and Coffee

16.30 – 17.30:                     Simon Redgrave (Punch Records) ‘From Soho Road to the Punjab’ Exhibition
Jag Kumar (Birmingham) Performing Bhangra
Chair: Rajinder Dudrah (University of Manchester)

17.30 – 18.00:                     Plenary and Close