Bristol School of Multiculturalism as Normative Sociology

Abstract

The Bristol School of Multiculturalism is a political theory/sociology interdisciplinary approach to its subject matter, which has been described as a form of normative sociology. It is normative in the way that a lot of critical social theory (e.g., Foucauldian) is not and is not merely “deconstructive” but also a constructive engagement with the concerns of co-citizens. It, however, eschews the abstract, top-down universalism of Rawlsian liberal egalitarianism in favour of a context of national citizenship and pays particular attention to bottom-up political struggle. However, unlike some other activist-oriented perspectives or standpoints, it is neither antistate nor antinational but is guided by a sense of inclusive unity or the common good. Essential to this unity is “recognition” and institutional, not merely symbolic, accommodation of minorities and a perspective on the “multi” which goes beyond the black-white binary and a secularist exclusion of political claims-making by religious and ethnoreligious groups such as Muslims in western Europe. Critically, the Bristol School of Multiculturalism is not just normative in that it does normative sociology, but most importantly, it engages in political theory to justify its normative perspective against objections and rival normative positions. So, the Bristol School of Multiculturalism is perhaps not just a normative sociology but also a form of normative sociological theory.