Dr. Balbir Singh

Biography

Balbir K. Singh is an Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair in Art Racial Justice at Concordia University, as well as the Director of the Dark Opacities Lab, which focuses on BIPOC political aesthetics. Her interdisciplinary scholarship draws on cultural theory and ethnic studies to examine racial, gendered, and sexual politics. Through anti-colonial methodologies, Singh engages with themes of embodiment, surveillance, and policing, particularly in the context of post-9/11 racial and religious hyper-policing. She is currently working on a manuscript titled 'Militant Bodies: Racial/Religious Opacity Minoritarian Self-Defense,' which explores the complexities surrounding racial and religious expression, including attire and adornment among marginalized communities. Singh also addresses issues of anonymity and representation in her forthcoming book 'Opacity Black Brown: Race, Aesthetics, Anonymity.' Her academic work has appeared in prestigious journals including Sikh Formations, Critical Ethnic Studies, and Surveillance Society. Previously, Singh held roles at Virginia Tech and postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Illinois and the University of Texas at Austin. She teaches several courses related to Asian Arab diasporic cultural studies and art history at Concordia University.

Research Interests