Creating and Archiving Regional South Asian Community Histories: Insider/Outsider Dilemmas

In an era of increasing funding cuts to Asian American community organizations and programs within academic institutions, new partnerships and collaborations are being forged to expand the collection of community histories and to create new archives.  Analyzing the issues that arise when conducting collaborative research with various institutional partners, Bhatt’s paper explores the possibilities and challenges that arise from these new collaborations, particularly in light of differing investments in historical narratives and research products.  On one hand, new partnerships push researchers to create products that have a wider audience and engage constituencies outside of the academy, particularly through the use of multi-media and multi-modal methodologies. At the same time, as competing stakeholders become invested in the production of specific community histories and stories, the potential for new silences and hierarchies of knowledge production to arise is imminent.  Drawing on her experiences as the co-author of a new book examining the evolution of South Asian American communities in the Pacific Northwest, she discusses the challenges of writing and representation in light of her shifting status from oral historian to community “insider” to academic observer through her project.  She also draws attention to the gender, class, age, and power dynamics of representation in light of conflicting personal stories and community desires.