Multicultural Dilemma Research Articles

Let the right one in: ethnic boundaries in a Colombian immigrant youth program

Although research on minority youth has established the value of coethnic spaces for safe ethnic identity exploration, research has seldom examined how youth in these spaces draw ethnic boundaries or offered appropriate frameworks addressing boundary-setting. This study uses Berry’s acculturation framework to explore ethnic boundary-setting within a Colombian immigrant youth dance program in the US. Seven members participated in a multi-year qualitative study that triangulated surveys, interviews, and responses to a hypothetical multicultural dilemma that ‘positioned’ Colombian participants as part of an in-group on the basis of their ethnicity. Specifically, it explores the strategies they employed to deal with the dilemma and the role context played in those strategies. With findings that reveal how youth incorporate the arguments found in mainstream immigration debates to justify integration, segregation, and exclusion of non-Colombians, this study argues that to understand strategies employed, it is necessary to examine local, national, and transnational contexts.

"Vindication, Cleansing, Catharsis, Hope": Interracial Reconciliation and the Dilemmas of Multiculturalism in Kay and Dorr’s Jubilee (1976)

Research Article| December 01 2013 "Vindication, Cleansing, Catharsis, Hope": Interracial Reconciliation and the Dilemmas of Multiculturalism in Kay and Dorr’s Jubilee (1976) Emily Abrams Ansari Emily Abrams Ansari Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google American Music (2013) 31 (4): 379–419. https://doi.org/10.5406/americanmusic.31.4.0379 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Permissions Search Site Citation Emily Abrams Ansari; "Vindication, Cleansing, Catharsis, Hope": Interracial Reconciliation and the Dilemmas of Multiculturalism in Kay and Dorr’s Jubilee (1976). American Music 1 January 2013; 31 (4): 379–419. doi: https://doi.org/10.5406/americanmusic.31.4.0379 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All Scholarly Publishing CollectiveUniversity of Illinois PressAmerican Music Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. Copyright 2013 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois2013 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Gender, diversity and migration – challenges to Nordic welfare, gender politics and research

PurposeThe aim of the article is to discuss the challenges from immigration to Nordic (gender) politics, theories and research. The research question is to what extent Nordic welfare and gender equality politics is based on exclusive solidarity biased towards the native majorities. A key issue is how Nordic gender theory and research has addressed multiple inequalities. The article briefly revisits the academic debates about gender equality, diversity and multiculturalism, which arguably represent two different paradigms: multicultural approaches have addressed the accommodation of minorities with diversity as the key concept, while feminist approaches have focused on gender (in)equality with gender as the key concept.Design/methodology/approachThe intersectional approach suggests that increased migration and mobility present similar challenges for the two bodies of thought to address complex and multiple inequalities within and beyond the nation state. The main part explores “the multicultural dilemma” in greater detail focusing on the intersections between gender and etho‐national minorities in Denmark, Norway and Sweden.FindingsPerceptions of diversity and gender equality/women's rights are contextual and dynamic as intersecting diversities and inequalities are embedded in national histories, institutions and policies. Scholars have demonstrated that the discourse about women's rights and gender equality has become an intrinsic part of Nordic identities and belongings. The article suggests that the new forms of inequalities among women can be interpreted as a Nordic gender equality paradox between the relative inclusion of the native majority women and the relative marginalization of women from diverse ethnic minorities in society.Originality/valueThe intersectionality approach to gender and ethnicity in Scandinavia is in this article combined with a transnational approach to gender, diversity and migration.

The multicultural dilemma: Between normative and practical reasoning

The multicultural dilemma: Between normative and practical reasoning

Beyond the dilemmas of multiculturalism: recognition through ‘relational reason’

Recent sociological research has shown that the ideology of multiculturalism, after having been adopted as official policy in many countries, has generated more negative than positive effects (fragmentation of society, separation of minorities, cultural relativism). This article discusses the possible alternatives to multiculturalism, asking whether the path of interculturality can be a solution or not. The idea of interculturality has the advantage of stressing the inter, namely what lies in between different cultures. But it does not yet possess a conceptual and effective means to understand and handle the problems of the public sphere. To go over the failures of multiculturalism and the fragilities of interculturality, a lay approach to the coexistence of cultures is required, which is able to give strength back to Reason, through a new semantics of inter-human diversity. The author suggests the development of ‘relational reason’, beyond the forms of rationality already known. To make human reason relational might be the best way to imagine a social order which is able to humanize the globalizing processes and the increasing migrations.

British National Identity and the Dilemmas of Multiculturalism

Nationalism and multiculturalism are often perceived as polar opposites with the former viewed as the disease and the latter the cure. Contrary to this view, this article argues that a strong national identity, albeit of a particular kind, is prerequisite to a stable and functioning multicultural society. The article seeks to identify both the causes and the implications of the absence of an overarching, civic national identity in Britain, further to the goal of seeking a meaningful solution. It is our contention that the problem lies in the difficulty involved in reconciling current pressures on British identity with a coherent narrative of British history, especially its imperial past.

Islam, "War on Terror" and the Future of Muslim Minorities in the United Kingdom: Dilemmas of Multiculturalism

British Muslims have substantial claims of social ostracism, discrimination, and denials of a right to identity. There is increasing anger and frustration at the United Kingdom's pursuit of the global "war on terror." The draconian legislation and administrative policies of the recent Labour Governments overtly target Muslim minorities. This article critically analyzes the issues confronted by British Muslim communities in the context of a socially and politically strained environment since the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The article laments the increasing negativity about "multiculturalism," and argues that Muslim identities deserve an affirmed and celebrated position within the matrix of contemporary British society.

Who judges? Democracy and the dilemmas of multiculturalism

Among the many interesting problems considered in this book, I will center my commentary on two issues: (1) on the role of narrative reconstructions as an alternative to objectivist accounts of culture; (2) on the implications of her proposed reformulation of discourse ethics as interactive universalism for the dilemmas of multiculturalism. On the question of the dialogical-narrative reconstructions of identity, a combination of perspectives of participants as well as of external observers is suggested, instead of a shift from the latter to the former. On the more difficult question of the political, legal and moral implications for democratic theory of forms of rational accommodation of cultural differences, I will consider the problem of justification of morality under conditions not only of radical cultural differences but of asymmetries in power and resources among the participants, which seem to present a problem for a model that presupposes a cooperative engagement and free uncoerced consent from all involved.

Contemporary Jewish American Writers and the Multicultural Dilemma: Return of the Exiled (review)

Contemporary Jewish American Writers and the Multicultural Dilemma: Return of the Exiled (review)

Voices of American Indian Assimilation and Resistance: Helen Hunt Jackson, Sarah Winnemucca, and Victoria Howard; Contemporary Jewish American Writers and the Multicultural Dilemma: Return of the Exiled

Book Review| March 01 2003 Voices of American Indian Assimilation and Resistance: Helen Hunt Jackson, Sarah Winnemucca, and Victoria Howard; Contemporary Jewish American Writers and the Multicultural Dilemma: Return of the Exiled By Siobhan Senier. Norman: Univ. of Oklahoma Press. 2001. xvi, 256 pp.$29.95.By Andrew Furman. Syracuse, N.Y.: Syracuse Univ. Press. 2000. ix, 214 pp. Cloth, $39.95; paper, $19.95. Michael P. Kramer Michael P. Kramer Search for other works by this author on: This Site Google American Literature (2003) 75 (1): 210–211. https://doi.org/10.1215/00029831-75-1-210 Cite Icon Cite Share Icon Share Twitter Permissions Search Site Citation Michael P. Kramer; Voices of American Indian Assimilation and Resistance: Helen Hunt Jackson, Sarah Winnemucca, and Victoria Howard; Contemporary Jewish American Writers and the Multicultural Dilemma: Return of the Exiled. American Literature 1 March 2003; 75 (1): 210–211. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/00029831-75-1-210 Download citation file: Zotero Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search Books & JournalsAll JournalsAmerican Literature Search Advanced Search The text of this article is only available as a PDF. 2003 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal Issue Section: Book Reviews You do not currently have access to this content.

Contemporary Jewish American Writers and the Multicultural Dilemma: The Return of the Exiled

Furman explores the ambivalent relationship between multiculturalists and contemporary Jewish American literature and advocates a more inclusive and intellectually valid form than is currently practiced. He also offers a historical overview of Jewish American fiction to situate the contemporary writers in the continuum of Jewish American literary history. Engaging and accessible, Furman's work -- the most comprehensive book of its kind -- invokes the current themes and concerns of this generation: the viability of adopting an Orthodox or Hasidic life amid a secular America, a renewed interest in the vibrant Yiddish world of pre-Holocaust Europe, Israel, Jewish Feminism, and the Holocaust as perceived by the children of survivors. These themes have replaced the those of alienation and marginality, which have preoccupied the novelists of the golden age of Jewish American writing.

Contemporary Jewish American Writers and the Multicultural Dilemma: Return of the Exiled (review)

Contemporary Jewish American Writers and the Multicultural Dilemma: Return of the Exiled. By Andrew Furman. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2000. 214 pp.

Contemporary Jewish American writers and the multicultural dilemma: the return of the exiled

Contemporary Jewish American writers and the multicultural dilemma: the return of the exiled

Dramatized Experience: Civil Discourse, Sensitive Issues

Describes the author’s experience when the director and teacher-trainers of a writing program persuaded him that the oral interpretation he wished them to perform was too troubling and explosive to use. Outlines his questions and anguish about the incident, and the urgency of dealing with the dilemmas of multiculturalism, racial intolerance, and the teaching of writing.

Saving the Savior

This article begins with an autobiographical reflection about what sociology has meant to me as an Iranian intellectual. Sociology has enabled me to think critically about my country's politics and culture, appreciating its strengths without overlooking its unjust and injurious aspects. That experience shapes my answer to the question “Saving Sociology?” If there is anything in sociology that I would like to save–in both senses “to keep” and “to rescue”—it is sociology as a critical, reflective discipline, a discipline that not only studies society but also contributes to its change. As the contemporary world moves toward a “global” society, we are increasingly facing the dilemmas of multiculturalism. Sociologists often investigate other societies or (like myself) look back at their own from a spatial and cultural distance. This situation has created a dilemma for many scholars: Should we criticize problems stemming from “indigenous” beliefs and practices of other societies? Cultural relativism argues that different cultures provide indigenous answers to their social problems that should be judged in their own context. While this approach correctly encourages us to avoid ethnocentrism, it has led to inaction towards the suffering of oppressed groups. Reflecting on the relativist approach to sexual dominance, I question some cultural relativist assumptions. Discussing how “indigenous” responses to male domination in many cases disguise and protect that domination, I will challenge the “localist” approach of relativism and argue for a universalist approach.