Multicultural Case Research Articles

The exogenous cultural incorporation of football into the Australian mainstream: a case of polyglot multiculturalism

AbstractThis paper explains soccer’s entrance into the Australian mainstream in consequence of the Australian Football Federation (FFA) exercising symbolic violence, a modus operandi with the goal of re-writing the game’s cultural history. The claim is that the FFA attempts to hide the game’s historic foundations of ethnic diversity, with a multitude of ethnic-minority clubs (Greek, Italian, Hungarian, Maltese etc.) as well as its own actions which led to their eventual elimination and to create a perception that the game is Anglo-Australian. These attempts, it is claimed here, are similar to the theoretical model of polyglot multiculturalism; the dominant majority group will allow ethnic minorities to practise their own cultures so long as certain cultural boundaries, which may threaten the dominant culture, are not crossed.This paper contributes to the literature of multiculturalism in that it uses the empirical case of soccer in Australia to describe the imaginary boundary which a dominant culture will...

Plurality and the Rule of Love

This article constructs a positive theological case for liberal multiculturalism through a close interrogation of the exegetical methods of Augustine of Hippo (354–430). Drawing out the political implications of the charitable hermeneutics of De doctrina christiana, I suggest that Augustine authorizes political theology to respond generously to multicultural practices of social co-existence and notions of “deep diversity.” In this guise, the Augustinian method of Scriptural reading provides a means of cherishing diverse cultural forms. Yet, alongside these inclusive affirmations, Augustine’s Scriptural politics suggests that liberal multiculturalism should not be an uncontested project for the Church. In place of a politics of separatist autonomy or passive tolerance, Augustine points us towards a radical politics of difference rooted in a fusion of truthfulness and love

The political culture of the 1990s immigrants from the former Soviet Union in Israel and their views toward the indigenous Arab minority: a case of ethnocratic multiculturalism

This paper deals with the potential and actual impacts of the 1990s immigrants from the Former Soviet Union (FSU) on the state of multiculturalism, peace orientation and civil society in Israel. It examines the attitudes of these immigrants toward the character of Israel and their location in its cultural fabric. At the same time, it explores their stand toward the indigenous Palestinian Arab citizens and the prospects of creating an all‐encompassing civil culture. The analysis shows that immigrants are tending toward the expansion of pluralism and the secularisation of Israel, and a redefinition of the legitimate borders of Israeli society. However, this orientation is not based on a holistic perspective. It is, rather, aimed at serving the needs of the immigrants themselves and facilitating their integration into the existing ethno‐national structure from an advantaged position. Therefore, they are expected to reinforce a system of exclusion that places the indigenous Arab population beyond the pale. In this sense, the FSU immigrants are leading toward a type of multiculturalism that may be termed ‘ethnocratic multiculturalism’. This type differs from types of multiculturalism that have developed in Western democratic countries by being selective: it draws the borders of legitimacy according to an exclusive ethno‐national basis, rather than on the basis of inclusive values.

The Case of Multiculturalism: Kaleidoscopic and Long-Term Views

(2001). The Case of Multiculturalism: Kaleidoscopic and Long-Term Views. Social Identities: Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 393-407.

White Noise: The Attack on Political Correctness and the Struggle for the Western Canon.

This paper provides a critical overview of the debate about political correctness and the status of the Western Canon in education. The paper analyses a number of critical themes in the debate: Who is it under attack? What is the Canon which is to be defended? Why does it need to be defended? And what notions of knowing and learning underlie the arguments of the proponents of the Canon? After outlining the ways in which the arguments of those attacking political correctness and defending the Canon are profoundly flawed, the paper suggests that the case for multiculturalism and diversified curriculum needs to be substantially strengthened if it is to present a viable alternative.

A Process Model for Multicultural Social Work Practice

The authors discuss the first three steps of an eight-step communication process model designed to help social workers become effective multicultural practitioners. Introduced are type 1 and type 2 practice errors that cause failed communication and unsuccessful multicultural intervention. The three steps of the model are acknowledge cultural differences, know yourself, and know other cultures. A multicultural case is presented to identify and analyze type 1 and 2 errors in the worker–client relationship and in supervisor–worker interactions.