In every corner of Britain, whether it is in England, Scotland or Wales, there are many different cultures and ethnicities. And different cultures is not something new for Britain, because ever since they were invaded, first by the Romans, then by the Vikings, Britain has had a lot of influences from people from different backgrounds. Every one of these invaders has put their stamp on the Britain we know today. Romans influenced Britain by making roads and founding towns like London and York. Also the Vikings had an influence on Britain by as well as the Romans founding cities, such as Dublin and many cities in the former Danelaw (Derby, Grimsby etc.), which is now the northeastern part of England.
Furthermore Britain has invaded a lot of countries themselves. With colonies in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Oceania and both North and South America, the British empire was one of the greatest empire in time. People from all of these colonies immigrated to England, some of them by force (mostly African) and some came to Britain for the opportunities. In the 20th century a lot of people from the Caribbean, India, Pakistan and Hong Kong and many other places came to Britain with the dream of achieving a better life for themselves and their descendants.
That is why this essay will discuss which consequences, and prejudices there is in this diverse society Britain is today.
First of all there is a lot of debate going on about mixed-race relationships, and whether or not, especially the older generations, are tolerant to these relationships. In the 1980s British were not very tolerant to mixed relationships, when a survey showed that 50% of the British people were against such relationships. However this figure dropped, first in the 1990...
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... on the street and some will get killed. Lastly the children of the immigrants are more likely to need special help during their education and this will cost Britain a lot of money. Money they could have used on hospitals or roads.
To sum up Britain has been a multicultural place and they will probably remain so forever. The multiculturalism can be traced back to the invasions of Britain, and afterwards Britain’s status as the greatest empire of their time. This multiculturalism has made room for a lot of mixed-race relationships that firstly were frowned upon, but now they are accepted and cherished by many. Also the entire society has felt consequences from the multiculturalism both advantages such as new cultures expressing themselves through food, music and clothes and cheap labour, and disadvantages such as more racism, and higher unemployment among immigrants.
In the article, “Multiculturalism: Battleground or Meeting Ground,” Takaki starts out addressing the difference in philosophy between him and Woodward when it comes to cultural diversity. Woodward strongly disagrees with Takaki when it comes to the topic of cultural diversity. They both are seeing issue threw two difference lens. Woodward attacked Takaki on the issue when Woodward reviewed Takaki’s “Iron Cages: Rave and Culture in Nineteeth-Century America” book in the “New York Review of Books,” saying it was too narrow in focus (Takaki, n.d). Woodward rebuttal was that the book did not contain any balance, and should have touched on “national issues” to have that balance and not just the American south. Woodward even said that Takaki was
Gone are the days of legalized slavery, of Nazi Germany, of women being incapable of having a notable opinion. No longer is there a system of racial segregation adopted by an entire country, complete white supremacy or lynchings performed by the Ku Klux Klan. Yet, although we are no longer exposed to such past experiences and despite us living in a world where diversity is embraced more than ever, the existence of prejudice remains. Today we have universally come to accept multiculturalism, varied ethnic backgrounds and those populations who historically were forever stigmatized. But in spite of these developments prejudice has manifested itself in other, more subtle ways and no matter how modernized society become such unfavourable attitudes
The idea of multiculturalism, as presented Philip Resnick’s The European Roots of Canadian Identity, not only looks for a solution to the relations between English speaking Canadians and French speaking Canadians, but incorporation of other ethnicities into Canadian society as well. Resnick compares Canada’s multiculturalism as being too lenient to outside cultures to the assimilation system of the United States which puts little emphasis on diversity.
Most people are often unaware or misinformed of many situations that affect them in their everyday life. Some of this issues could include the topics that the authors mention – multiculturalism or white privilege. Gates explains that “the debate [on multiculturalism] has been miscast from the beginning [and] it may be worth setting straight” (26). Gates is addressing the opposition to multiculturalism by expressing that the topic that they might have original viewed as negativity, could actually the key to achieving true ethnic diversity. He is stating that if people continue to believe that multiculturalism is just a way to boost the self-esteem of minorities, then it will continue to create a problematic situation where different ethnicities constantly clash because people fear what they do not understand. McIntosh reveals a prime example of this dismissive nature of understanding cultural diversity. She states that she believes that “whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege” (1). Gates is able to shed light on McIntosh’s claim because the miscomprehension of cultural diversity and the idea of white privilege are intrinsically tied. If people are not taught to respect other ethnicities and their traditions then it creates this idea that the cultural that is being taught – in this case white – is the dominant one. McIntosh states that this is an unconscious effort and I would have to agree.
Although the idea of race is fundamentally a social construct created by people throughout history to identify, and label groupings of specific people, it is still a relevant and controversial topic in today’s society. Especially when focusing on the relational and marital actions between two immensely different races, and how those engaging in such relationship are effected by those close to them. The effect of family, friends, and even strangers in public or online can have an enormous impact on whether the relationship or marriage will be successful, or even determine if it will begin in the first place. For many relationships, we rely on the acceptance of others to be content in our choices,
It is right to say that institutional racism has gradually manifested in Britain throughout the 20th to the 21st century in examples provided above. But the changes in society through laws and regulations have sought to challenge this theory.
Many would agree that segregation is no longer a pressing issue. Although it has been outlawed since 1954, society still implements a similar mindset, especially directed towards interracial dating. Some still believe that people of different races should not form relationships, while others deem it as acceptable. The following researchers use methods like surveys and interviews to analyze the connections between societal judgment and involvement in such relationships. Each study, providing slightly more insight than the previous, suggests the fear of social conflict creates skepticism towards mixed relations.
Since the nineteenth century, the Islamic presence in Britain has expanded. Muslims were considered to be a cheap labour and this was profitable for Britain especially after World War II, when Britain needed to rebuild the economy. The majority of Muslims who came
One problem is defining the tem "multiculturalism". When it is looked at simply as meaning the existence of a culturally integrated society, many people have no problems. However, when you go beyond that and try to suggest a different way of arriving at theat culturally integrated society, everyone seems to have a different opinion on what will work. Since education is at the root of the problem, it might be appropriate to use an example in that context. In 1980, the American school, Stanford University came up with a program - later known as the "Stanford-style multicultural curriculum" which aimed to familiarize students with traditions, philosophy, literature and history of the West. The program consisted of fifteen required books by writers such as Plato, Aristotle, Homer, Aquinas, Marx and Freud. By 1987, a group called the Rainbow Coalition argued the fact that the books were all written by DWEM's or Dead White European Males. They felt that this type of teaching denied students the knowledge of contributions by people of colour, women, and other oppressed groups.
multiculturalism hype is not all it is cut out to be and segregates communities rather
In their book, Smith and Wistrich state that Britain sensed a problem in the identity once there has been devolution of power to Scotland and Wales in 1998 (2009). It maybe true that Scots and Welsh feel more attached to their own na...
In today’s society, it is acknowledgeable to assert that the concepts of race and ethnicity have changed enormously across different countries, cultures, eras, and customs. Even more, they have become less connected and tied with ancestral and familial ties but rather more concerned with superficial physical characteristics. Moreover, a great deal can be discussed the relationship between ethnicity and race. Both race and ethnicity are useful and counterproductive in their ways. To begin, the concept of race is, and its ideas are vital to society because it allows those contemporary nationalist movements which include, racist actions; to become more familiar to members of society. Secondly, it has helped to shape and redefine the meaning of
The class activity was simple: draw a self-portrait. As Ms. Caldera began to look through her students' work, one stood out to her. The drawing was of a young fair-skinned, blond-hair, and blue-eyed girl. Normally this would not be a problem, but in this case it was. The girl who had drawn herself was actually quite the opposite: rich dark skin, brown hair, and brown eyes (Caldera). Considering that the United States is such a large melting pot of cultures, it is normal for children to have difficulty balancing between two cultures. Culture, is really important for a child's development because it ultimately influences their morals and values. Although it is difficult for children to balance the traditions and such of two cultures, they are recompensed with a greater knowledge about the world, and understanding of people.
Britain is and always has been a mixed race society. Gradually over the years, millions of people all over the world arrive either through past invasion or come as an immigrant to escape their own country’s famine, persecution and seeking for better economic opportunities in the UK (Zafra, 2007). The history of immigration and invasion has produced today’s diverse community. However, for the past few years, there has been a dispute concerning whether multiculturalism has obstruct the goal of attaining a peaceful community and instead causing extremism in the UK. According to Michelle Wilkinson (2011), this is resulted by the notion that multiculturalism promotes segregation and different groups having different beliefs leading to heavy tension and radicalization. On the other hand, multiculturalism has also been praised for advancing equality and social recognition (Caroline Howarth & Eleni Andreouli, 2013). In the light of this controversial issue, both aspect of the pro and cons of Multiculturalism to the society will be covered in this essay, exploring as a whole whether the ideology of Multiculturalism in enforcing equality has worked in Britain or not.
The benefits of living in a multi-ethnic society are that you get to meet new people and learn interesting things about them. People get a chance to understand others and realise they’re equal to us. It makes people less ignorant and alters stereotypical views they may have had beforehand from media influence or friends/relatives. We begin to respect them more and understand their views on specific subjects. This could help people become less racist. Also, you get a chance to learn a variety of new languages. If you were learning Spanish at school for example, you could practice it by having a conversation with somebody who’s previously lived there. You get a chance to widen your knowledge about the outside world by learning interesting facts from people from different cultures. It makes life more interesting and less repetitive because without a multi-ethnic society everybody would be similar and you wouldn’t experience many new things. We wouldn’t know about certain religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism. The only known religion would be Christianity so people wouldn’t be able to choose from a wide range of religions like you can now. Furthermore, beautiful buildings such as mosques and temples wouldn’t be around. Our country would be so much more dull and uninteresting. A multi-ethnic society can bring new ideas and ways of doing things into the everyday lives of people living in Britain.