Celebration Of Diversity Research Articles

Racial Preoccupations, Realism, and Elite Perspective in Joseph O’Neill’s Netherland

ABSTRACTI argue that Joseph O’Neill’s Netherland is a novel offering fascinating criticisms of white, Eurocentric perspectives when understood within the context of research about conservative Caucasian responses to racial, ethnic, and national diversity. Narrator Hans situates readers in post-9/11 New York and tells the story of leaving his predominantly white Manhattan milieu to join a cricket league. Originally from The Netherlands, Hans comes to the US from London, and the vast majority of the characters he interacts with are first-generation Americans; he is also the only Caucasian in his cricketing circle. Within his immersion into New York’s diversity, we see Hans’s racial conservativism, which emerges from his elite Western European experience and education. By taking a narratological approach to the novel, I go against the grain of recent criticism about the novel (including articles published in this journal) and assert that Netherland is critical of its central character. O’Neill draws on formal strategies of juxtaposition and implication to reveal the shortcomings in Hans’s thinking, even while showing Hans making efforts to deepen his relation to history’s Others. Thus we see O’Neill make whiteness meet itself by meeting otherness, simultaneously exposing the ways facile celebrations of diversity can mask the deeper problem of global inequality.

Belonging and the intergenerational transmission of place identity: Reflections on a British inner-city neighbourhood

This paper explores the subjectivities of neighbourhood identity and belonging. It considers how far, and in what ways, place identity and attachment are transmitted cross-generationally. Three broad themes have framed this research. First, the ways in which the formation and reproduction of neighbourhood identities have been influenced by geographical, political, contemporary and historical contexts. Second, and relatedly, the roles played by intersectional factors such as race and class. Third, the extent to which alternative neighbourhood identities challenge and contest ‘mainstream’ narratives that stigmatise and undermine disadvantaged inner-city communities. This paper draws on a case study area of ‘Liverpool 8’ (part of the wider Toxteth locale), a historically ethnically diverse inner-city area which attracted negative press coverage during the 1980s and 2011 riots. Drawing on a series of in-depth interviews with residents, the research reveals evidence of strong neighbourhood belonging and identity, shared and diffused across generations, based on subjective experiences, both positive (e.g. celebration of diversity, neighbourliness) and negative (e.g. racism, discrimination). To some extent, younger generation narratives reveal subtle changes that suggest a broadening of spatial horizons, beyond the residents’ immediate neighbourhood. However, at the same time, socio-economic and ethnic inequalities act to temper and stifle socio-spatial networks and experiences outside the immediate neighbourhood, for younger – as well as older – generations.

Occupying the intersection: RuPaul’s celebration of meritocracy

RuPaul’s Drag Race is an intersectional show on multiple levels: it broaches new forms of representation as well as new televisual culture.To us, the international mainstream success of the programme is a celebration of diversity and a clarion call for a new world that is not predominantly White or heteronormative. Drag Race makes you dream of a different kind of television landscape that seems to be on the verge of becoming a reality. In this intervention we want to expand on that: how is this show—a monument to trans and queer representation— twined with how television is changing? And seemingly in contrast to this: might its new-found mainstream success also obscure how its politics of representation can be problematic?

Commonwealth Engagement in Education: Prospects in the Era of SDGs

ABSTRACTThis paper analyses Commonwealth engagement in education against a background of issues, trends, and partnerships in education. It argues for reforms towards a ‘New Commonwealth’ that is fit for the 21st century; embracing the celebration of diversity and moving beyond the donor/recipient model of development. The relevance, effectiveness, and sustainability of education engagement by the Commonwealth are gauged in relation to the focus of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) on the indigenous, immigrant, refugee, and other disadvantaged populations. The paper explores education challenges facing these population groups and proposes some options or niche areas that may be considered for Commonwealth engagement in education. The first option is engagement in the influential Global Partnership for Education (GPE), where Commonwealth countries already operate, and synergies are possible with UNICEF, UNESCO, and the World Bank. Second is pan-Commonwealth ‘facilities’ for implementing bi-lateral projects. Third is Commonwealth Talent Academies to address youth unemployment and illegal migration. Fourth is using COL to enhance distance learning leadership. Fifth is a Commonwealth Teachers Exchange Scheme to ‘right-size’ teaching forces. Sixth is the Commonwealth Remittances Transaction Cost Reduction initiative. Viability of these options will depend on the appetite for reform towards a multi-polar Commonwealth with financial burden sharing.

It matters how you manage diversity: cultural difference in Northern Ireland’s secondary schools

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to examine contrasting managerial approaches to cultural diversity in secondary schools in Northern Ireland and understand the influence of different approaches on school culture and student attitudes. Northern Ireland has a long-standing history of conflict between Protestant and Catholic cultural groups, which has led to a school system that is largely segregated. A recent influx of immigrants has added to cultural diversity in the region. This study compared two secondary, non-selective schools, one deliberately integrated, possessing a commitment to discussion and celebration of cultural diversity, the other circumstantially integrated (resulting from the influence of unrelated local conditions) with an approach that de-emphasised cultural difference among students. Drawing on interviews with principals and teachers, student focus groups, class observations, and field notes, the study found that discussion and celebration of diversity resulted in more positive attitudes toward diversity than an approach that de-emphasised cultural difference. The study concludes that in order to foster positive student attitudes toward diversity, discussion and celebration of cultural difference is more effective than a de-emphasis of cultural difference, and integration is more important than school type.

Disabled community voting bloc holds potential power

LOS ANGELES — “When we embrace disability in our society, we are embracing diversity,” said Catherine Perez, director of the Loyola Marymount University's Coelho Center for Disability Law, Policy & Innovation at the center's inaugural symposium examining the civic engagement of the disabled. Perez, director of the Coelho Center, introduced the keynote speaker by stating that the event “is about love, respect, and the celebration of diversity.” The keynote presentation addressed how a politically empowered voting base made up of those in the broader disability community could have wide‐ranging implications for the future government.

Establishing Professional Learning Communities to Support the Promotion of Equality and Celebration of Diversity: Reflections from a North-East Community Learning Teacher

This article presents findings from our collaborative Outstanding Teaching, Learning and Assessment (OTLA) project which employed an action research methodology to explore Equality and Diversity (E&D) practices within our settings. Identified issues included lack of staff confidence exploring E&D in the classroom; lesson observations reporting “tokenistic” or “strained” E&D work, and concerns that shared or collaborative E&D practice within or between educational settings rarely occurred. Our question therefore was how best to empower teaching and learning communities to effectively promote equality and celebrate diversity. We attempted to establish a Professional Learning Community (PLC) (Vescio et al, 2008), whilst simultaneously seeking to engage learners more actively in the design and development of their E&D work. These processes helped enable symbiotic knowledge exchange between staff, and between staff and learners, enriching teaching, learning, and assessment practices as collective E&D practices began to travel within and beyond the realms of our settings. Future endeavours include further exploration of the impact of our E&D PLC upon learning and assessment outcomes, with particular focus on further collaboration with learners, examination boards, and third sector partners to aid diversification of both internal and external assessment practices.

Preschool teachers’ training and attitudes towards multicultural education in Malaysia

Multicultural education is crucial in promoting cross-cultural understanding, recognition, and celebration of diversity in Malaysia-one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. Preschool teachers play central roles in laying the foundation for cultural acceptance and positive racial interaction during early childhood. This study aims to explore Malaysian preschool teachers’ training and attitudes towards multicultural education. A quantitative questionnaire survey approach was used to gather the required data. The participants consisted of 1,067 preschool teachers from 267 private and government preschools providers in the country. Two validated instruments were employed to measure the variables in this study. The trainings received by the preschool teachers were measured by the Teachers’ Training Multicultural Education Scale (TTMES) while their attitudes towards multicultural education were gauged by the Multicultural Teaching Scale (MTS). Findings showed that preschool teachers were positive about the trainings that they received in relation to multicultural education. However, the extent to which they actually understood the concept of multiculturalism was doubtful in view that two thirds of the teachers demonstrated misconception about the fundamental principles of multicultural education when their attitudes towards multicultural education were examined. Significant differences were found in teachers’ training and attitudes according to the categories of preschools; teachers from mono-cultural preschools displayed the least positive attitudes towards multicultural education. Implications of the study were discussed in the paper.

Developing Sustainable Methods for Broadening Participation by Transforming Mainstream Science and Technology Communities Through the Normalization of Inclusion

Advances in science and technology (S&T) have fueled significant progress in modern society, creating greater demand for a skilled workforce. An important source for S&T talent is being missed due to the loss in greater numbers of people from underrepresented backgrounds such as women, ethnic and racial minorities, and people with disabilities. Progress has been realized in supporting underrepresented individuals (URIs) in S&T by creating strong support systems through same-identity or minority–majority communities such as the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing, Association of Women in Mathematics, Society of Women in Engineering, the Society of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science, and many more. And yet there is a significant gap between the potential URIs in the S&T workforce and their actual presence. The time has come to expand diversity and inclusion efforts in mainstream scientific communities where professional lives and careers are played out. However, for real change to occur, we cannot just support the underrepresented; we need to transform mainstream communities into places where everyone is not just welcome but is thriving and productive. The easy part of this equation is to apply evidence-based methods for supporting URIs in mainstream communities. The hard part is transforming communities through education, empirical experiences, and sustained efforts that result in tangible benefits to all. This article explores issues and posits potential approaches to develop sustainable methods for broadening participation by transforming mainstream S&T communities through the normalization of inclusion.

Introduction

Introduction

The Black Madonna in the Italian American Artistic Imagination

This essay sets out to explore the image of the black Madonna in Italian American artistic and literary expressions, providing thought-provoking examples of how this holy icon of universal motherhood has been persistently associated with the articulation of empowering strategies, with antagonism towards any kind of patriarchal restraints, with the healing of deeply ingrained divisions (of gender, class, ethnicity), and with the celebration of diversity in unity.

Interfaith Marriages and Negotiated Spaces

Discourse on interfaith marriages in India at present involves diverse narratives ranging from opposition and resistance to acceptance. These alliances deserve greater focus in terms of their uniqueness, challenges as well as everyday negotiations that form part of their lives. Based on narratives of respondents from Dhanak, an organisation of inter-caste and interfaith couples, this article presents some domains of their lives and spaces being negotiated by them within their families. These domains include the issue of conversion, protecting identity, celebration of diversity and socialisation of children, perceptions of themselves vis-à-vis other families and parental outlook towards the alliance.

Living with diversity in Jane-Finch

In the past decades, diversity has become a popular catchphrase in theoretical, policy and public discourses in Canadian cities. Toronto is Canada’s most diverse city, wherein a long-standing immigration history coupled by the introduction of the Canadian Multiculturalism policy in the 1970s have rendered diversity a prominent value for the city’s inhabitants (Ahmadi and Tasan-Kok, 2014). Celebration of diversity has become a popular theme in Toronto’s policy and image making, such that many policy documents have proclaimed diversity as the city’s biggest strength. However, while the celebration of diversity has attracted funds and services to inner city Toronto, stereotyping based on different categories of diversity (particularly ethnicity and class) has resulted in the stigmatization and criminalization of poor racialised neighbourhoods located at the edges of the city. Diversity in urban areas may derive from multiple factors such as behaviour, lifestyles, activities, ethnicity, age, gender and sexuality profiles, entitlements and restrictions of rights, labour market experiences, and patterns of spatial distribution. Research on diversity in the past decades has resulted in the creation of an extensive body of work on the notion. However, there are a few gaps in theory which the present study seeks to address, namely: (a) Research on diversity often overlooks the complexity and dynamic nature of diversity and maintains an overemphasis on ethnicity. (b) Despite plentiful evidence for the diversification of peripheral neighbourhoods, the available body of research focuses primarily on inner-city areas, leaving out the more remote rural and suburban areas (Humphris, 2014). (c) There is a tendency to present a ‘flat’ or ‘horizontal’ type of differentiation of diversity, which does not account for the various positions and hierarchies within and between different categories of difference. In light of these gaps, this study seeks to add to our understanding of urban diversity, as perceived and experienced by those who inhabit, frequent and govern urban areas. It answers the following primary research question: How is diversity experienced at the neighbourhood level, as (a) discourse, (b) social reality, and (c) practice? Diversity as discourse refers to the public narratives around diversity, while diversity as social reality concerns the descriptive characteristics that render an area diverse. Diversity as practice refers to policies, programs and local practices that aim towards managing diversity (see also Berg and Sigona, 2013). The research question is investigated in four interconnected chapters, which engage with the three formerly mentioned dimensions to various degrees. The study further makes use of a variety of qualitative and participatory techniques (i.e. qualitative interviews, roundtable talks, participant observations, and focus groups) to gather rigorous empirical data on living with and managing diversity in an inner-suburban neighbourhood of Toronto, namely Jane-Finch.

Living with diversity in Jane-Fitch

In the past decades, diversity has become a popular catchphrase in theoretical, policy and public discourses in Canadian cities. Toronto is Canada’s most diverse city, wherein a long-standing immigration history coupled by the introduction of the Canadian Multiculturalism policy in the 1970s have rendered diversity a prominent value for the city’s inhabitants (Ahmadi and Tasan-Kok, 2014). Celebration of diversity has become a popular theme in Toronto’s policy and image making, such that many policy documents have proclaimed diversity as the city’s biggest strength. However, while the celebration of diversity has attracted funds and services to inner city Toronto, stereotyping based on different categories of diversity (particularly ethnicity and class) has resulted in the stigmatization and criminalization of poor racialised neighbourhoods located at the edges of the city. Diversity in urban areas may derive from multiple factors such as behaviour, lifestyles, activities, ethnicity, age, gender and sexuality profiles, entitlements and restrictions of rights, labour market experiences, and patterns of spatial distribution. Research on diversity in the past decades has resulted in the creation of an extensive body of work on the notion. However, there are a few gaps in theory which the present study seeks to address, namely: (a) Research on diversity often overlooks the complexity and dynamic nature of diversity and maintains an overemphasis on ethnicity. (b) Despite plentiful evidence for the diversification of peripheral neighbourhoods, the available body of research focuses primarily on inner-city areas, leaving out the more remote rural and suburban areas (Humphris, 2014). (c) There is a tendency to present a ‘flat’ or ‘horizontal’ type of differentiation of diversity, which does not account for the various positions and hierarchies within and between different categories of difference. In light of these gaps, this study seeks to add to our understanding of urban diversity, as perceived and experienced by those who inhabit, frequent and govern urban areas. It answers the following primary research question: How is diversity experienced at the neighbourhood level, as (a) discourse, (b) social reality, and (c) practice? Diversity as discourse refers to the public narratives around diversity, while diversity as social reality concerns the descriptive characteristics that render an area diverse. Diversity as practice refers to policies, programs and local practices that aim towards managing diversity (see also Berg and Sigona, 2013). The research question is investigated in four interconnected chapters, which engage with the three formerly mentioned dimensions to various degrees. The study further makes use of a variety of qualitative and participatory techniques (i.e. qualitative interviews, roundtable talks, participant observations, and focus groups) to gather rigorous empirical data on living with and managing diversity in an inner-suburban neighbourhood of Toronto, namely Jane-Finch.

A Celebration of Diversity: LIS Research in the Nordic Countries as Shown by PhD Dissertations 2005–2014

A Celebration of Diversity: LIS Research in the Nordic Countries as Shown by PhD Dissertations 2005–2014

A Celebration of Diversity: LIS Research in the Nordic Countries as Shown by PhD Dissertations 2005–2014

A study of PhD dissertations in library and information science (LIS) was carried out to investigate which research topics have been of interest in Nordic LIS institutions. Seventy- nine doctoral dissertations from 2005 to 2014, published by 13 different research institutions, were retrieved from the institutions’ archives and from library catalogues. Compared to other metastudies on research topics in LIS, this study on Nordic PhD dissertations revealed a noteworthy difference, namely the high number of dissertations on topics related to cultural policy and literature. The findings are discussed from the perspective of sociology of literature, according to questions of power. The main purpose of the study is to show the relevance of sociology of literature in the diverse and rich research field of library and information science.

European qualitative research: A celebration of diversity and a cautionary tale

This contribution aims to highlight the diversity in European qualitative management research as a way of celebrating its ongoing development within Europe. In recognising the strengths that emerge from this diversity in epistemological traditions and methods, attention is drawn to the concerns increasingly expressed by qualitative researchers about growing pressures of standardisation. It is argued that qualitative researchers should take every opportunity to encourage methodological diversity whilst resisting attempts at homogenising the experience and reporting of qualitative management research.

Many faces of the concept of culture (and education)

In this theoretical essay, we examine four conceptual gestalt approaches to culture and education: “culture as pattern,” “culture as boundary,” “culture as authorship,” and “culture as critical dialog.” In the “culture as pattern,” education aims at socializing people into a given cultural practice. Any decline from culturally valued patterns becomes a deficit for education to eliminate. In the “culture as boundary,” encounter with other cultures highlights their arbitrariness and equality. Education focuses on celebration of diversity, tolerance, pluralism, social justice, and equal rights. The “culture as authorship” is about authorial transcendence of the given recognized by others. Education promotes dialogic creativity and authorship. Student/author is the final authority of his/her own education. “Culture as critical dialog” promotes testing ideas, opinions, beliefs, desires, and values. Critical dialog is inherently deconstructive, promoting never-ending search for truth. Education aims at the critical examination of the self, life, world, and society. Student is welcomed as an ultimate spoilsport, a devil’s advocate. In conclusion, we discuss complex relationships among the four gestalt approaches to culture and education and the ontology of these gestalt approaches. As a by-product of our analysis, we critically deconstruct the concept of meaning making as deeply dialogic process, separating it from its many masks that are mistakenly identified with it.

Fatalist Luxuries

This article, grounded in long-term ethnographic research among producers of contemporary luxurious embroideries and fashions in Lucknow, a North Indian city famous for its golden age as a powerful cultural center of opulence and excess, shows how anthropological knowledge can enrich current critical discussions of luxury and inequality. Since the 1990s, anthropology has seen a boom in consumption and material culture studies coterminous with the rise of identity politics and its celebration of diversity. In anthropological theory, as well, linking consumption to identity has stolen the limelight. In the process, questions of production, inequality, and reproduction of social structures have been overshadowed. Critical reappraisal of luxury in anthropological theory can paradoxically show us a way out of this identity trap, since luxury, unlike other consumer goods, demands that we think about inequality. Luxury also forces us to think beyond luxury brands, goods, and commodified experiences, pushing us toward more fundamental questions about what constitutes a good life, morality, and social order. The ethnographic case presented here, which reveals how structural violence can go hand-in-hand with paradoxical luxuries facilitated by fatalist attitudes, points to what such an anthropology of luxury might look like. In a village near Lucknow, women embroider luxury pieces for fashion ramps and celebrities, while being fed meritocratic dreams of individual progress and success by fashion designers and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) who try to convince them to work ever harder in the name of empowerment. But the women laugh at luxury goods, designers, and middle-class activists and, instead, insist on an antiwork ethic and a valorization of leisure—on wasting time over working; they prefer to “luxuriate” rather than indulge in luxury goods. However, this perception of luxury is connected to hierarchical inequality and a sense of social fatalism that has been reinvigorated through new experiences with competitive inequality, neoliberal pollution, and the false promises of meritocracy.

Mixed-sex in sport for development: a pragmatic and symbolic device. The case of touch rugby for forced migrants in Rome

Following the success of its all-male refugee football team, the Italian voluntary-based association Liberi Nantes created a touch rugby team as a pilot project aimed at involving female forced migrants. Initially set up as an all-woman activity to provide a less intimidating environment, the touch rugby group was later turned into a mixed-sex team. While potentially enabling transformative experiences and generating opportunities for challenging gender stereotypes, the mixed-gender character of the touch rugby provision also served broader objectives within Liberi Nantes’ mission. Focusing on the accounts of the activists and volunteers involved in the project, this paper investigates the practical and symbolic reasons for the strategic use of mixed-gender sport and its implications. Notably, by analysing the development of the touch rugby team, we highlight how its mixed-gender nature contributes to nourishing a wider rhetoric of social mixing and celebration of diversity, in which Liberi Nantes’ identity is embedded.