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Threads of a Community: The Sikh-American Experience

The Humanities and World Religions classes came together to create an installation about the Sikh American community post 9/11. This was done through visual mediums and informational texts to provide a deeper understanding of the Sikh-American experience. This installation dives deep into Johan Galtung’s Typology of Violence, which uses the symbol of a triangle to signify three different points that act in unison to perpetuate the status quo. He believed that there were three contributing factors to violence— direct, structural, and cultural. Direct violence immediately impacts another person, while structural violence is within institutions, such as the government, law, education, or health and people in power. Cultural violence is the most difficult to interpret because it is deeply rooted in personal and societal beliefs. Inversely, this theory also applies to peace. It gives us hope that there is an antidote to systemic violence that can be made possible by us. It provides an opportunity for observers to understand the structures that come together to form peace and violence, and the impact they can create towards a more-informed society. With this installation, we are hoping to contribute to cultural peace. 

Video made by BG Humanities students Xavier Lipani and Milana Podlinevas,

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