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The belief that different cultural or ethnic groups have a right to remain distinct rather than assimilating to \'mainstream\' norms. Though often restricted to the cultural practices of ethnic minorities in education and the arts, more critical theories of multiculturalism strive to encompass the practices and institutions of the whole of society. The dilemmas of multiculturalism for \'liberal democracies\', in terms of the equal rights of all citizens versus the particular needs of minorities, are outlined by Taylor (1992 and subsequent commentaries). Liberal theories of multiculturalism risk depoliticizing or commodifying the term, reducing it to \'the united colors of capitalism\' (Mitchell, 1993; cf. liberalism). More critical theories have therefore attempted to identify oppositional forms of multiculturalism as well as narratives of authenticity, genealogy and heterogeneity (Lowe, 1996). The idea of \'multiculture\' has also been introduced to undermine the belief in homogeneous cultures and Identities on which liberal theories of multiculturalism depend. (See also ethnicity; difference.)Â (PAJ)
References Lowe, L. 1996: Imagining Los Angeles in the production of multiculturalism. In A.F. Gordon and C. Newfield, eds, Mapping multiculturalism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 413-23. Mitchell, K. 1993: Multiculturalism, or the united colors of capitalism. Antipode 25: 263-94. Taylor, C. 1992: Multiculturalism and \'The politics of recognition\', ed. A. Gutman. Princeton: University of Princeton Press. |
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