Film Screening and Lecture "Sent Away Boys"
Dr. Hargent Gill, Assistant Professor, Towson University
Wednesday, February 22, 2017 · 4 - 6 PM
"What happens to families in the absence of sons?
What happens to land in the absence of farmers?
What happens to communities in the absence of men?
Sent Away Boys weaves together testaments of individual ambitions and family biographies from Punjab, India to chronicle the gradual transformation of agrarian landscape and patriarchal traditions through ongoing transnational migration.
As the promise of a secure future in agriculture grows increasingly uncertain for young men across the region, escaping India to join the low-wage labor in countries like Canada and USA becomes their sole aspiration. In rural Punjab, being a successful man now entails leaving their village, traveling abroad, and sending money home.
Through interviews with men preparing to undertake often risky journeys and women awaiting the return of their sons, brothers, and husbands, Sent Away Boys shows how the decision to emigrate implicates the entire family and the larger community."
Sponsored by Asian Studies, co-sponsored by the Gender and Women’s Studies Department.