INTRODUCTION:
There are different views and definition of multiculturalism; the definition of multiculturalism depends on the context in which it is used. In sociology, multiculturalism is the idea that various cultures exist in a society and all these cultures deserve equal treatment (Macionis, 2010). Sociologists believe that members of different cultures can live peacefully alongside each other and assimilation is not necessary. This essay will focus on both the positive aspects and the main tensions that arise in a multicultural society.
SAMPLE BACKGROUND – HISTORY OF MULTICULTURALISM IN BRITAIN
Britain today has many people with different ethnic backgrounds from various countries. The history of multiculturalism began during the times of British colonialism. Britain once had the largest and most extensive imperial holdings in all of Europe, colonizing about 25% of the globe at the peak of its power in the 1920s (Piper, 2007). Some of Britain’s most prominent colonies were in Africa and India, which were primarily for the purpose of resource extraction. Many of these countries fought long and hard to become self-governing which led to the process of decolonization. Decolonization refers to the process by which Britain and other European countries lost their colonies; this process was either through violent armed resistance or peaceful political protests. India was the first country to gain independence in 1947 followed by a number of African and Caribbean countries in the 1960s.
Although there have been Africans in Britain since the Roman times, their number remained few until the beginning of decolonization: after World War II, many African officers working for the British army settled permanently in Britain where they ha...
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...h as extremism and genocide.
Works Cited
• Bikhu, P. (2006) Rethinking Multiculturalism: Cultural Diversity And Political Theory (2nd ed.) Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
• Lerman A. (2010) In Defense Of Multiculturalism [online]. Available at < http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/mar/22/multiculturalism-blame-culture-segregation> [Accessed on 11 March, 14]
• Macionis, J, J. (2010) Sociology (13th ed.) London: Pearson Education
• Piper, K. (2007) Introduction To Multicultural Britain [online]. Available at [Accessed on 9 March, 14]
• Spinner-Halev, J. (2002) Cultural Pluralism And Partial Citizenship In: Joppke, C. and Steven, L. (ed.) Multicultural Questions. Oxford: Oxford University Press
• Watson, C, W. (2000) Multiculturalism. Buckingham: Open University
...Multiculturalism: Essential Primary Sources. Ed. K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 353-355. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Apr. 2014
middle of paper ... ... Given that multiculturalism is a framework that says that anyone can sit at the table so long as they accept certain political and cultural divisions which ultimately work to make impossible your ability to change the basic structure of meaning in society, or which seek to extract any political potential from the things you say, the things you embody and the things you want. You can have holidays, but not your language. You can have a month of the year for your race, but no justice.
Takaki, Ronald. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. 2nd ed. New York, NY:
Turning now to Will Kymlicka’s article, I agreed with much of what Kymlicka says, however I find his ideas of multiculturalism over glorifying the Liberal accomplishments and success, as attributed to only Liberal success in making multiculturalism more popular. However, I find that the issue of multicultural...
Kottak, Conrad Phillip and Kayhryn Kozaitis 2012 On Being Different, Diversity and Multiculturalism in the North American Mainstream, 4th edition, McGraw Hill Press, New York: Chapter 1.
“Multiculturalism” entered public speech in the late 1960s and early 1970s in Canada that focused on unique cultural diversity, nationalities, and ethnicity across the nation. Multiculturalism and Immigration are important factors in the development of Canada to attain a strong multicultural example of economic stability, social and political growth which leads to the emergence of Canada’s identity and culture.
Takaki, Ronald. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1993.
35 Fleras, Augie, and Jean Leonard Elliott. Engaging Diversity: Multiculturalism in Canada. Toronto: Nelson, 2002: 164.
Heewon Chang and Timothy Dodd, 2001, “International Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity: An Annotated Bibliography” , 2001 edition of EMME, the Electronic Magazine of Multicultural Education,
Multiculturalism is a significant fabric of Canadian society that defines its unique identity among the rest of the world. Enactment of the Canadian multicultural policy (1971) affirmed government position and recognition of multiculturalism as a vital element of Canada. It is imperative to understand that multiculturalism is a static concept that keeps changing overtime and has a multidimensional entity. Canadians have always and will continue to revise the concept of multiculturalism to suit the ever expanding needs of Canadian society. In this paper, I will evaluate the reasons behind Canada’s adoption of multicultural policy and assess whether the policy should be maintained or not. I will defend the thesis that Canada’s multiculturalism
The mention of the abolition of multiculturalism for a “new” post-multiculturalist approach becomes difficult to understand. It claims, “to avoid the ‘excesses’ of multiculturalism” (47), however where does this notable governmental and social switch take place? How is the term coined, and how is it understood in theory versus in practice? How is it different from its predecessor? Even the classification of history struggles to define what is considered to be modern, let alone post-modern, and yet the term suggests a positive approach to alleviating difficult assimilation projects similar to those faced elsewhere (47). This notion may developed on the grounds of “someone else’s problems” ¬– in regards to its Canadian context – as a means to label, or justify, miscellaneous aspects of multiculturalism. However, with the government-wide commitment to policies and programs, in conjunction with social understanding, it naturally becomes subject to a wide array of differing opinions. As both immigration and citizenship policies change, its public reception often shifts as well. Especially since the channels referred to within the ‘multiculturalism...
Instead, multiculturalism places a wide range of claims of accommodation such as religion, ethnicity, language, race and nationality (Song, 2010). In the case of Australia, the acceptance of multiculturalism based on such far-flung claims has essentially resulted in the advent of politics of recognition among the minority groups seeking accommodation or integration in Australia. This is shown by Song (2010) who states that key among the claims fronted by Australia’s minority groups is self-government or at least some sort of recognition that affords such communities a form of autonomy. One key comparison is the aboriginal communities of Australia and those of Canada, whereby claims for recognition based on the uniqueness of ethnicity have left a bad taste in the mouth of white
multiculturalism hype is not all it is cut out to be and segregates communities rather
In this week’s readings the subject of dimensions of cultural diversity were covered comprehensively in both books. Understanding and Managing Diversity presented a nicely laid out illustration:
In his article “The Failure of Multiculturalism”, Kenan Malik uses the diverse European culture to study and explain the irony of multiculturalism. He defines multiculturalism as “the embrace of an inclusive, diverse society” (Malik 21). Integration between cultures is practically inevitable, but several nations view this as a threat towards upholding their culture. Due to this, many countries have made attempts at properly integrating new people and ideas while trying to prevent the degradation of their own. This can result in unjust regulations and the reverse effect of an intended multicultural society.