Chinese Canadian History: A Journey of Immigration

Imagine labouring to build a nation, only for that same nation to dismiss what you have done for them. What if you were born in a country that did not consider you a citizen? Would you choose to volunteer to serve a country that has never once served you? This was the reality and the dilemmas of early Chinese immigrants in Canada. Faced with racial discrimination and social barriers, Chinese Canadians were not even considered citizens until 1947. How did Canada emerge out of the Exclusion Era into our present-day multiculturalism? What is the legacy of this shift? Join award-winning researcher and historian Eunice C. Der to uncover the history of Chinese Canadians, the impact of their contributions to Canadian society, and how we remember what they have done for us all.

About the Speaker

Eunice C. Der (she/her) is a writer, an award-winning researcher, and an emerging museum professional in Toronto. She completed her HBA at the University of Toronto, and is now pursuing her Master’s Degree in Museum Studies at Harvard University. She has presented her research on the importance of material culture in rewriting historical narratives across the GTA. Her writing has appeared in Ricepaper Magazine, Muse Magazine of the Canadian Museums Association, and the first three volumes of U of T's material culture and semiotics journal, The Material Merge.