Neither Here nor There
Moderator Dhooleka Sarhadi Raj

Where is Home? Woodstockites, by their very nature are members of a unique diaspora, at some level perpetual outsiders, not entirely fitting one place or another. This inner turmoil of being a global person – not exactly from here, but not from there either – has been explored by writers such as Jhumpa Lahiri.

This workshop will look at current work of writers exploring the Indian-American experience in the United States, and others of American origin who grew up there, but came back to live here. Two writers – an Indian and an American – who write about moving away or coming home (whatever those terms may mean), serve as base discussions for enrichment by discussions of Woodstockites’ personal contributions.

If you want to do some reading before the reunion,  check here for a short suggested book list.

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Dhooleka Sarhadi Raj is the founding member of WOW (Wife of Woodstock). She holds a PhD in anthropology from the University of Cambridge, previously was a Smuts Fellow at Cambridge, and held a Radcliffe Institute Fellowship at Harvard. Most recently, she was Associate Chair of South Asian studies and taught at Yale. She has published, taught and given talks on topics including immigrant issues, refugees and the South Asian Diaspora around the world .  Dr. Raj’s research addresses cultural change, immigrant family life, and nation state policies towards ethnic minorities.   Her book Where are you from?  Middle Class Migrants in the Modern World (2003, University of California Press) is based on fieldwork with South Asian migrant families in London, England.  Embracing the peripatetic life typical of Woodstock nomads, Ajay (‘82) & Dhooleka live in Manhattan with their two children, and, currently inspired by the little bodies of her daily life, she is exploring writing for children.

Panelists

Margaret Winfield Sullivan ’51, born in China to Presbyterian missionaries, joined Woodstock in her senior year. After attending the College of Wooster and graduating from American University as an English major, she has spent much of her adult life living mainly in Asia and  West Africa. She taught English writing at the University of Indonesia, and served as the Associate Director of the Washington Center of the Asia Society, developing public programs about the politics, economics and culture of Asia. She served on the KWI board, and for the past five years has been the coordinator of the Aceh Lab School Project to build a new high school in Indonesia following the earthquake/tsunami of 2004. Her publications include magazine and newspaper articles. She wrote the prize-winning Can Survive La! Cottage Industries in Highrise Singapore, while a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Studies in Singapore and The Philippines, Pacific Crossroads (a children’s book). Margaret credits her global rolling stone persona in her experiences as a writer, artist, inter-cultural public educator and project manager, to her time at Woodstock.

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