In Between Worlds

Cultural Struggles of Britain's South Asian Immigrants

Many societies are grappling with legal, religious and cultural issues relating to immigration depicted in films such as “The Namesake” or “Bend it like Beckham.” Judith Brown, Beit Professor of Imperial and Commonwealth History at Balliol College, Oxford University, will put these issues in historical perspective during her visit to Westmont College next week. The Erasmus Society Lecture is free and open to the public.

Brown will lecture on “Great Britain’s Changing Religious Landscape: The Impact of South Asian Migration” Thursday, April 12, at 7 p.m. in Westmont’s Founder’s Room in Kerr Student Center. She will describe how migrants to the United Kingdom from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh are struggling to retain aspects of their cultural and religious heritage while finding their place within British society.

The lecture is based on Brown’s recent book, “Global South Asians: Introducing a Modern Diaspora.” She has written and edited more than a dozen books including “Gandhi: Prisoner of Hope” and “Nehru: Profiles in Power.”

Prior to her 17-year tenure at Oxford, she was senior lecturer in history at Manchester College. She earned her doctorate at Girton College, Cambridge. She has served on several higher education governing bodies and has spent five years at the invitation of the British government on the Indo-British Round Table. She is a member of the Kluge Scholars’ Council of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Many South Asian migrants to Great Britain are either Hindu or Muslim. Brown describes how their arrival has increased the number of mosques and temples in major British cities, altering Britain’s religious landscape.

“How can nations accommodate cultural and religious differences while remaining true to their core values?” asks Chandra Mallampalli, assistant professor of history. “The topic is also significant in light of the growing prominence of South Asia in the global economy. India is among the fastest growing economies in the world and migrants to the U.K. and the U.S. provide a vital source of labor in information technology, medicine and engineering.”

Mallampalli says that Brown’s lecture will be an interesting follow-up to issues raised by Thomas Friedman during his hugely successful February visit.

“I think we’ll leave her lecture with a better grasp of the challenges of living in a religiously, racially and culturally diverse world,” Mallampalli says.

Her visit to Westmont is co-sponsored by the World Christianity lecture series.