Hello from Toronto, Canada

[RICK SIN]

Hi there,

My name is Rick Sin, a doctoral student at the Ontario Institute of Studies in
Education at the University of Toronto. Here is something about me and my
research interests.

My work on negotiating racial identity in cross-cultural discourse is
grounded in my practice in social work and community involvement over the
past fifteen years.  I have worked with immigrant and racialized
communities in some of the most diverse cities in the world: Toronto,
Montreal, Hong Kong, and New York City.  I have served both ethno-specific
organizations as well as mainstream agencies. I am particularly concerned
with the contradiction between the notions of cultural sensitivity
practice and anti-racism pedagogy with respect to racial identity. In my
research, I will critically examine how racial identity is being
negotiated within the idea of “respect for diversity”; where to draw the
fine line between defining cultural differences and normalizing racial
biases in professional discourse; how power comes into play in knowledge
production process; and what are the theoretical and practical
implications are for anti-racist pedagogy in social work and health care
professions.

My work will focus on the Coroner's inquest into the death of Edmond Yu, a
homeless psychiatric survivor of Chinese descent shot to death by a
Toronto police officer.  Both the incident and the inquest have drawn a
lot of attention from the community. Yu’s family, the Chinese Canadian
community, agencies serving homeless people, advocacy groups concerned
with police brutality, and mental health professionals, have all expressed
different views on why the incident happened and what should be done to
prevent it. I am interested in applying CDA in reviewing the transcripts of
the inquest and examining their different interpretations
recommendations for improving police services and health care for socially
marginalized people.


Please feel free to send me your advice and questions.

Best,

Rick
--
Rick Sin, MSW, RSW
PhD Candidate
Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
   of the University of Toronto
252 Bloor Street West, 12th Floor
Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6
e-mail: rick.sin at utoronto.ca