Conner Singh VanderBeek
Visiting Assistant Professor
Education
- Ph.D. University of Michigan
- M.A. University of Michigan
- B.A. Northwestern University
- B.M. Northwestern University
Areas of Expertise
- Ethnomusicology
- South Asia
- Cultural Studies
- Sikh Studies
- Diaspora Studies
Background
I am a mixed Punjabi-Sikh and American ethnomusicologist from the Central Valley of California and based somewhere between California, Vancouver, and Toronto.
I am a scholar of Punjabi diasporic art and culture, a composer and pianist, and a media artist. I also play harmonium and Javanese Gamelan, sew stuffed animals and study South Asian textiles, and moonlight as a collaborative artist.
My dissertation, titled “Talking Over Each Other: Diasporic Punjabi Artists and the Ideologies of Public Arts in Multicultural Canada,” engages diversity policy in Canadian arts and its relationship to the commodification and tokenization of Punjabi-Canadian artists. I also focus on cultural memory and identity politics in the Sikh diaspora.
You are always welcome to ask me about my sewing projects, my noise music practice, or my favorite sports teams.