1. Chapter 4
The Multicultural
Society

2. Where are you from?
 Primordial ties (language, culture, place of
birth)
 We tend to identify ourselves with a particular
group
 We also tend to distinguish ourselves from the
rest of the population.
 WHY DO WE DO THIS?
 What benefits does this have for us?
 Does it cause us to be seen different by the rest of
society?

3. Social Hierarchies
 Social hierarchies (e.g. Tutsi/Hutu in
Rwanda)
 Tutsi above Hutu
 Hutu revolted and committed genocide
against the Tutsi

4. Cultural Conflict/Genocide
 Ghosts of Rwanda
 http://digital.films.com/PortalViewVideo.aspx?xtid=44271&loid=1139
73&psid=0&sid=0&State=&title=Ghosts of
Rwanda&IsSearch=Y&parentSeriesID=
 This video is just a few minutes of a
documentary on the Rwanda cultural
conflict/war/genocide
 What are your feelings, perceptions about
this?

5.  Access to power, wealth and status
(Colonialism) (Rwanda)
 Globalization of culture
 “She is an illegal ‘alien’ “ - ALIEN?
 “African American” vs. “African”
 Africans do not share an identity, or cultural ties
to “African Americans”.. Very different identity

6. Immigration/Migration and Refugees
 Immigration is …………..
 Migration is ……………..
 Refugee movements
 All create “Identity Crises”
 We see : transnational identities, political
identities and identities of struggle
 Palestinian Christian, Africans etc.
Do you, or do you know people who would
identify with these?

7. Globalization and Culture
 Culture is LEARNED, is SHARED (not
individual) behavior, and includes both
ABSTRACT (language, religion) and
MATERIAL elements (architecture,
technology)
 Culture is the social glue that binds
people
 Culture is dynamic, not static

8. Cultural Diversity
 Cultural diversity refers to variation in
institutions, language, customs, beliefs,
traditions and values
 Ethnic groups (USA, Canada)
 13% of the USA is foreign born
 20% of Canadians are
foreign born (2006 Census)

9. Assimilation
 Assimilation refers to the merging of
different groups and their cultures into a
single common culture (e.g. melting pot
in USA)
 Integration refers to adoption of “certain”
ways of life from the “host society”
 Different ethnic cultures do not simply
"blend in” – Aboriginals, Africans

10. Pluralism
 Ethnic and racial differences should thrive
(as long they are not a threat to dominant
culture)
 This happened in the 70s in the US
 African Americans
 Hispanics
 All gaining momentum in labour force.
 Civil Rights Movement
 Focus is on tolerance of diversity
 Really? What do you think about this?

11. Pluralism - continued
 Social Darwinism underlies pluralism
 Survival of the fittest
 Social groups compete for resources and
power
 Stereotypes assuming strengths and
weaknesses of a particular group
 East Indians – ambitious
 Mexican Americans – family orientation

12. Multiculturalism
 Multiculturalism :
 Recognizes multiple cultural cores
 Acknowledges culture beyond ancestry
or nationality
 Promotes democratization among
groups

13. Multiculturalism
 An expression of a need to belong
 On the rise in North America
 Product of globalization
 Commercialization of MC (e.g. gay
market, Hispanic market, senior market)
 Multiculturalism in Canada – perspective
of youth
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU2A
9avgHmY

14. Multiculturalism – Affinity Groups
 Affinity Groups:
 The common thread of identity for culturally defined
groups
 These groups rival biological family,
neighbourhoods for importance/influence
 Powerful, and rival unions, political parties, religious
affiliations
 Seen as the “nursery of human nature”
 Often have emerged from subcultures
 Examples: Meetup.com, reading/book clubs…..

15. Subcultures
 What is a subculture?
 A group, that is part of the dominant
culture, yet clearly differentiates
themselves from the dominant culture…
for many reasons, in many ways. They
exist within mainstream culture
Connotes subservient population
‘less than’ the dominant
culture/population

16. Subcultures - Continued
 Examples of Subcultures:
Example:
Example:
 Many academics prefer the term:
 Co-culture : connotes a standard of
unity/equality, rather than substandard
perception (SUB = inferior)
- this is more of a MC perspective

17. Counterculture
 Countercultures – group that tends to react
against/resist the directives of the dominant
culture… most often to elicit some change/shift
in thinking in the dominant culture. Causes
the cultural pendulum to swing in the other
direction.
 Example: cultural pendulum we talked about

18. Counterculture - continued
 Countercultures: openly oppose the
dominant culture
 Actively seek to change the dominant
culture.
 Example: Black Panthers
 In Oakland Bobby Seale and Huey P.
Newton founded the Black Panthers in
1966 with a ten-point platform for
addressing racial and economic inequality
in America.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLzIsJqxC5I

19. Counterculture - continued
 Example: Hippies – Opposition to social
norms, hair, clothes, etc. and politics – war
in Viet Nam
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR_HLlR
P1ro

20. Identity Politics
 Identity politics-refers to beliefs,
behaviour and action of culturally diverse
groups
 Power of culture- to transform society
 Identity politics threaten the
“conventional nation-state” (minorities)

21. Mobilizing Agents
 What is a mobilizing agent?
 Who do you/we know in our current
culture that would be considered a
mobilizing agent?
 Why?
 How can they effect change?
 Do we need them? Why?

22. Multicultural Paradox
 Refers to the interplay between:
 Homogeneity- biological and social
similarities of a group
 Heterogeneity – biological and social
differences of a group